The dissertation is both a process and a product. It is a process because preparation for it begins from the moment a student enters graduate school; it is a product because it occurs at the culmination of a graduate student's career and signals the student's emergence as a full fledged colleague, a biomedical scientist.

Because it is a process, the preparation for and execution of the dissertation occurs over many years; it can be broken down into a series of stages, each of which will be addressed separately. These guidelines are general departmental guidelines to be followed by all students. Each graduate program area may assign and attach additional guidelines for the dissertation.

Choosing a Mentor: Graduate students should attempt to find a faculty member with whom they have an intellectual affinity. This means they should find a person on the faculty who shares their intellectual point of view, shares research interests, approaches, or sees the scientific world from a similar vantage point. The idea is to find an individual who can facilitate a student's career. This means that the dissertation director can act as overseer, guide, teacher, friend, and colleague to the student. Developing a dissertation does not occur overnight, and students need guidance as to the feasibility of a project, the likelihood of success, and its intellectual appeal and integrity. Each graduate student should work to form such an intellectual bond with a faculty member.

Developing an Idea: The dissertation is designed to be a meaningful venture. Students should develop an idea that has theoretical or practical utility. It is recommended that students define their topic in a manner which satisfies the following criteria:

• The study is stated in terms of a question or problem which needs to be solved;
• The question or problem is meaningful and interesting to the student, to the point where the student can sustain the interest over the course of an extended period of time;
• The proposed study follows from some previous work such as a pilot study, a previous study conducted by the student, a review paper, work by other students and faculty in the department, or specific work in the field;
• The proposed study helps to answer the questions being proposed.

Proposing the Idea: Technically, the dissertation may be proposed at any time during the student's normal course of study. Practically speaking, most students propose their dissertation at the end of the third year of study. However, there is nothing to prevent a well-prepared student from beginning a dissertation earlier. The process actually begins by developing a committee.

Developing a Committee: At the time that the student is ready to begin work on the dissertation the student will select from the faculty a dissertation director to direct the dissertation, subject to the consent of the faculty member. The student must select a dissertation director who is knowledgeable in the problem area.

A committee of at least two other faculty members in the program (at least one of whom is from outside the area of specialization) and one faculty member outside the program is also selected by the student in consultation with the dissertation director. The faculty members from the program should have some substantive knowledge in the area being proposed. This knowledge does not have to be especially focused, but the faculty committee members should be able to substantively add to the student's direction and research.

The faculty member who comes from outside the Biomedical Science Program is on the committee to ensure quality control and to certify to the graduate school that the dissertation and its process have met university procedures and standards. This faculty member may have an interest and expertise in the student's area of research, but specific expertise is not necessary. Consultation with the dissertation director or program director will usually aid in determining who would be an appropriate faculty member from outside the program.

All members of the committee must be members of the Graduate Faculty and must be approved by the department chair and the Dean of the Graduate School. However, clinical faculty or scientists at other institutions may also serve with an adequate justification pending the approval of the department chair and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Once a committee is approved, it is considered exceptional for committee membership to change. A faculty member unable to carry out committee duties (due to illness, sabbatical leave, etc.) may ask to be removed from the committee. A substitute member would then be obtained in keeping with procedures for original selection of the committee. A student changing the dissertation topic substantially may ask for dissolution of the committee. Under such circumstances, a new committee would be formed, and the entire process would resume from the beginning (i.e., approval of a proposal, etc.).

The Dissertation Proposal: The student should arrange a meeting with the dissertation committee to review the written proposal, allowing at least 1 week for reading time between delivery of the proposal and the meeting. After the meeting, the student should provide a copy of the proposal and the Proposal Action Form including revisions mandated by the committee, to the Graduate Office for filing in the student's folder.

Although there are minor variations in how the proposal should be written (consult your dissertation director), there are major common elements of the written prospectus. There are four major sections: introduction, method, handling of results, and bibliography.

The introduction should contain a concise and relevant review of literature pertaining to the question or problems at hand. The question should be formulated within this section and specific rationales should be given for the project. The introduction should read like a persuasive argument. Namely, the literature cited should indicate what has been done and why the proposed project follows logically from what has been done previously. The argument usually makes an explicit statement of the specific hypothesis to be tested in the research. The argument should also convince the reader that the particular way in which this project will be undertaken is appropriate or necessary for a successful resolution.

The method section should be given in sufficient detail so as to allow the committee members to understand and critique all aspects of the proposed project. Specific information should be given including animals or tissues to be used, assays procedures, experimental design and protocols, specialized equipment, statistical analysis, etc.

The third section should present any preliminary data that demonstrate feasibility of the project. Secondly, this section should also include a description of expected results and potential pitfalls. Finally, the significance and implications of expected results should be discussed. The entire section should not be very long but nevertheless should be inclusive.

A bibliography must be included in the proposal; it is a complete list of literature cited, prepared in a form appropriate to the field of specialization. Any additional information which is useful to the committee should be included in the proposal (and the final dissertation) as appendices.

The proposal can vary in length depending upon the complexity of the problem and procedures undertaken. The final proposal draft should be double spaced and typed neatly with all pages carefully proofread.

It is important that the committee not be convened until the dissertation director and the student feel that the proposal is in proper form. It is often the case (and most dissertation directors insist) that the student will have shared the proposal with all of the committee members in advance of any committee meeting being called. The proposal should demonstrate that the student has full command of the area under investigation, that the basis for the project is sound, and that the procedures have been carefully thought out. A rushed proposal is likely to engender reluctance and skepticism from committee members.

The candidate should have a reasonable expectation that the dissertation will ultimately be approved if the research is conducted in the manner specified in the approved proposal. It is important, therefore, for the committee to reach agreement upon the design and implementation procedures of the research.

Review of Progress: If more than two years elapse between the proposal and the dissertation, the student's dissertation committee may call a formal committee meeting to review the progress of the research. If, during the course of the research, the student encounters difficulties so that the student is not able to continue in the manner approved at the proposal meeting, the student should obtain written approval of the committee to amend the proposal. The amended proposal should also be placed in the student's file in the Graduate Office.

Data Collection: It is expected that data collection will be performed in the School of Medicine, on the Columbia Campus, or in an affiliated institute in the Columbia area under the direct supervision of the committee. Exceptions will be possible under unusual circumstances, but the rationale for such exceptions must be extremely persuasive. Such exceptions must be approved by the dissertation committee. Such approval would require the specification of an on-site research supervisor as well as that supervisor's agreement to assume responsibility equivalent to that of a department faculty member serving as supervisor.

All research, both on and off-campus, requires appropriate prior approval by the animal care review committee, or other institutional review committees.

Regular Consultation with the Dissertation Director: Consultation with the dissertation director is permitted and encouraged. During the analysis and write-up phase of the dissertation, it is permissible for the student to get feedback on all aspects of the project. Typically, two or three drafts of the final dissertation are reviewed by the dissertation director and returned to the student for revision. At this point, it is permissible and highly recommended to get feedback from committee members as the dissertation is being prepared.

Preparation of the Dissertation Document: The final document after having been reviewed and approved by the dissertation director may be submitted at least once to the other committee members for their feedback. After feedback from committee members, the final version of the document can be prepared. This final version should be consistent with the guidelines published by the graduate school (type size, margins, paper weight and other such rules). Committee members should have a completed document for two full weeks prior to the date of the defense.

The Defense: The defense is the culmination of a lengthy process of research and scholarly effort. It is a time of celebration and of closure; lt also marks the beginning of new careers. The Biomedical Science Graduate Program fully expects that each candidate who has proceeded through the process of developing a dissertation should see and mark the occasion of the dissertation defense in a positive manner.

The defense has traditionally been seen as an examination. While it is still an evaluation of the student's final piece of work, the likelihood that a student will pass is exceedingly high, if all other stages and aspects of the dissertation process have been successfully navigated. Students should approach the defense as a meeting of closure with anticipation, but with every expectation for a celebratory success. The faculty and students of the program are strongly encouraged to come to the dissertation seminar, and those with a special interest may also attend the subsequent dissertation defense. Each student's culmination of work should be seen as a success not only for the student, but for the department, the university, and the academic body as a whole.

The dissertation defense should not be scheduled until:

1. the dissertation director is satisfied with the final draft;
2. all other work and program, department or university requirements are completed;
3. the dissertation committee members have had sufficient time to read the final draft (a minimum of 10 days).

The dissertation seminar must be announced through the Graduate Office at least one week in advance and should be scheduled for a time and place to facilitate attendance by the program and university community. The dissertation director will briefly introduce the student to those assembled. The seminar will be a formal presentation of about 50 minutes summarizing the dissertation, followed by 5-10 minutes of open questioning from the audience.

Following the seminar, the candidate and the dissertation committee adjourn to a conference room for a series of substantive questions by the examining committee. The chair of the examining committee who will conduct the proceedings is frequently someone other than the dissertation director to avoid a conflict of interest. The nature of the questions will deal with issues that are raised by the research; this should be an intellectual debate of theories, data or applications. Questions and comments would not ordinarily deal with proofreading and technical errors; such matters should be dealt with in advance of the defense. Anyone else assembled may then ask any relevant questions that they might have. At the conclusion of the examination, the examining committee will ask all assembled to leave the conference room so that they may deliberate.

There are four outcomes:

1. Students can successfully pass the defense with signatures by the examining committee placed on the cover sheet to the dissertation;
2. students can provisionally pass the defense, but a signature of the dissertation director might be withheld until necessary changes are made to the document as specified by the committee;
3. students can be told that major changes need to be incorporated into the dissertation, and that the defense meeting is being broken into two parts, with the committee reconvening to assess changes that the student makes;
4. the student fails --- failure would come about because of gross incompetence, plagiarism, unethical behavior, or some other major unforeseen situation which in the eyes of the faculty nullify the process and the product of the dissertation. This is a highly unusual circumstance which would come about only in quite exceptional cases, if all other aspects of the dissertation process have been followed successfully.

Publication: Students are unequivocally encouraged to publish their dissertations. The student should be the first author of the publication but others who have made substantive contributions to the work may be assigned as co-authors.