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Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Degree
Requirements
Interim Advisor
The
Director for the Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate
Program will serve as interim advisor to PhD students until
they have selected a major professor. The interim advisor
will assist the student in the selection of a course of
study and in the selection of laboratory rotations. The
interim advisor will also ensure that all early requirements
are met. At all stages of the student’s participation in
the graduate program, the interim advisor will try to ensure
the smooth progress of the student through the program. A
permanent graduate faculty advisor, usually the major
professor, should be appointed as soon as an area of
research is identified but no later than July 1 the first
year.
Transfer Credits
and Course Substitution for Advanced Standing
Applicants
with previous graduate or medical training may request
advanced standing to reduce course requirements so that the
time to complete a degree is reduced. Students may be
excused from repeating courses in the Integrated Biomedical
Science Program when a similar graduate course has been
taken elsewhere within the past three to five years. The
student should consult with the Director for the Integrated
Biomedical Science Graduate Program immediately after
orientation so that a decision may be reached within the
drop-add period of registration. Decisions regarding
transfer of graduate credits as a substitution for required
program core courses are decided by the Advisory Committee.
Students may be asked to provide information about the
course including an outline, credit hours, and required
tests; in some cases, a competency exam may be recommended
as a condition of course waiver. It is unlikely that
transfer of credits will be allowed from colleges or
universities whose standards are unknown to the faculty of
the University of South Carolina. Note that USC Graduate
School policy requires that all course work including
transfers must be no more than eight years old when the
Ph.D. degree is awarded. The Graduate School imposes a
limit to the number of credit hours that may be
transferred.
Academic
Regulations
Grades and
Academic Progress
Graduate courses may be passed for degree credit with a
grade as low as C, but the student’s average on all
courses attempted for graduate credit must be at least B
(3.0 on a 4 point system). Graduate students whose
cumulative grade point average drops below B (3.00) will
be placed on academic probation and allowed one calendar
year in which to raise the grade point average to at
least 3.00. Students who do not reach a cumulative 3.00
grade point average during the grace period will not be
permitted to enroll for further graduate course work in
that degree program. Appeals for reinstatement to
degree candidacy may be made first to the Integrated
Biomedical Science Graduate Program Advisory committee
in the first “umbrella” year and the major professor’s
department committee thereafter. The appeal and the
committee’s recommendation will then be forwarded to the
Dean of the Graduate School.
Graduate
Assistantships
The
primary means of graduate student support is the
Graduate Research Assistantship. Graduate
Assistantships are provided to support costs of graduate
education, providing a stipend for living expenses and
reduced or waived tuition. The graduate assistant is
considered a temporary employee of the University and is
normally obligated to assigned responsibilities in
supporting the research endeavors of the university.
The maximum number of hours of assigned duties required
per week during semesters with required course work is
twenty; during summer or semesters without required
coursework, the student is expected to devote full time
to research.
Whereas
the Program Office coordinates administrative processing
of appointment forms at the start of each fiscal year,
supervision of graduate assistants is delegated to the
major professor or to an appointed advisor prior to
selection of the major professor. Graduate Assistants
are not normally expected to work during examination
periods and school holidays. Other vacations are at the
discretion of the major professor or the program
director (before a major professor is selected). It is
the responsibility of the supervisor to discuss the
period of appointment, work schedule, specific duties,
manner, method, and schedule of evaluation with the
Graduate Assistant. Regular reviews should give
feedback to the Graduate Assistant about areas of
excellent performance and substandard performance which
are detailed enough to make clear what results are
desired.
Graduate students are expected to devote full-time
effort to their studies and assistantship research
responsibilities. Additional employment is therefore
discouraged during terms of appointment. Students must
discuss with their supervisor and obtain prior approval
for any additional employment to insure that it does not
interfere with academic performance. Students may
request assistantship appointment for less than a
12-month period if they need time off to pursue other
activities. Failure to comply with these policies is
grounds for termination of assistantship support.
Teaching
Assistantships and responsibilities
The
Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program supports
all students during the first year. Some departments
participating in the program have major undergraduate
teaching responsibilities and all graduate students in
the integrated program will be expected to participate
in teaching in some way during their first year. All
incoming students will attend the Graduate School’s
teaching assistant training program during the
orientation period and will be assigned some teaching
responsibilities. These will usually be the running of
one or more laboratory sessions or recitations. Teaching
assignments will be made by the participating
departments.
Curriculum
Teaching
tracks
The
annual Graduate Studies Bulletin (available at the
Graduate School’s website) lists, with a brief
description, all graduate course offered by the
University of South Carolina, arranged by graduate
program and department. The Master Schedule (accessed
from the Registrar’s website) lists which courses are
offered in a given semester, as well as meeting time,
place, and instructor. In order to satisfy program
requirements, the sequences below are strongly
recommended for all first year students:
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY TRACK
SEMESTER I (FALL
SEMESTER)
BIOL 711 -
Structure-Function Nucleic Acids - 3 credit
hours
BIOL 717 -
Biological Chemistry - 3 credit hours
BMSC 700 -
Interdisciplinary Lab I - 1 credit hour
BMSC 706 -
Biomedical Ethics - 2 credit hours
BMSC 801 - Seminar
in Biomedical Sciences - 2 credit hours
First
year students will also attend a course in which faculty
will present their research interests. This will enable
the selection of a major professor. They will also
register for research credit for their rotations.
SEMESTER II (SPRING
SEMESTER)
BIOL 718 -
Intermediary Metabolism - 3 credit hours
BMSC 705 - Cell
Biology - 3 credit hours
BMSC 801 - Seminar
in Biomedical Sciences - 2 credit hours
Again,
registration for research credit during rotations will
be required.
NEUROSCIENCE TRACK
In the
first semester students are required establish their
basic education in biochemistry and molecular biology.
In the second semester, students participate in
neurobiology basic training modules which will provide
students with neuroscience-based literacy using a
modular format that can accommodate training graduate
students from diverse backgrounds ranging from
psychology to cell & molecular biology. The five week
modules (2 hrs, 30 min twice a week) provide basic
literacy in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology,
neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, or molecular
neuroscience, plus the needed proficiency in physiology
and quantitative methods required for conducting
research in neurobiology.
Students may take additional modules in their second
year of training. Additional Fundamental Psychology
Modules may be used to fulfill this requirement as well:
Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Learning
and Motivation, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive
Developmental Neuroscience, Integration across areas of
Psychology.
SEMESTER I (FALL
SEMESTER)
BIOL 711 -
Structure-Function Nucleic Acids - 3 credit
hours
BIOL 717 -
Biological Chemistry - 3 credit hours
PHPH 751 -
Fundamental Neuroscience – x credit hours
BMSC 700 -
Interdisciplinary Lab I - 1 credit hour
BMSC 706 -
Biomedical Ethics – 2 credit hours
BMSC 801 - Seminar
in Biomedical Sciences - 2 credit hours
First
year students will also attend a course in which faculty
will present their research interests. This will enable
the selection of a major professor. They will also
register for research credit for their rotations.
SEMESTER II (SPRING
SEMESTER)
PHPH 752- 753 -
Neurobiology disease Modules
BMSC 801 -
Biomedical Seminar
PHPH742 -
Neuroscience Seminar
BMSC 801 - Seminar
in Biomedical Sciences
Again,
registration for research credit during rotations will
be required.
In
either track, other items, such as journal clubs, may be
recommended. The Biomedical Sciences Graduate Committee
may recommend additional course work in special
circumstances.
Discussing
the Research Interests of the Faculty
In the
first semester, students are also expected to meet the
faculty to familiarize themselves with the ongoing
research in the biomedical sciences across the
university campus. To help the student, symposia will
be scheduled at the beginning of the first semester in
which potential mentors will describe their research.
Students should attend these symposia and may meet with
potential mentors individually.
Laboratory
Rotations
A
laboratory rotation will usually consist of
approximately 8 weeks of research experience working
with a faculty member; this may consist of a small
independent project or of a component of an on-going
project. A student who undertakes a laboratory rotation
with a faculty member is under no obligation whatsoever
to continue dissertation research with that professor.
A student will start rotations in his/her first
semester.
To
ensure the smooth progression of the student through the
program, it is a requirement that students must do one
or more for-credit laboratory rotations during the first
year. The student must complete Form 1 (see Appendix)
identifying the chosen mentors and return it to Ms
Roberts in the Graduate Office as soon as a mentor is
selected. A new Form 1 detailing the planned rotation
must be submitted for each rotation. The forms should
also be signed by the faculty member involved.
The
faculty member in whose laboratory a rotation is carried
out should submit a report on the student’s performance
to the Graduate Office using a form that may be obtained
from Ms Roberts or downloaded from the program web site.
Selection of
Major Professor
The
selection of major professor is by mutual agreement and
is formalized by submission of a completed “Selection of
Major Professor” form to the program office (Form 2, see
Appendix). The student should formally affiliate with a
major professor by the end of the first year of graduate
study. Failure to identify a major professor by July 1
after the student’s matriculation into the program may
result in suspension from the program.
It is
important that the selection of a major professor be an
informed decision by the student and advisor. The
symposia given during the first semester by potential
advisors to showcase their research interests will give
students the opportunity to select faculty with whom
they share an interest. Rotations allow the student and
faculty to determine on a trial basis whether they can
act productively in a student/mentor relationship and
whether the student can commit to a specific area of
research.
The
choice of a major professor by a graduate student and
the acceptance of the role of major professor by a
faculty member are important decisions that imply a
certain sense of obligation on both sides. The choice
of a major professor is normally made with every
intention of that being a final decision. However, it
is appreciated that a student may decide that the choice
was inappropriate for that student; therefore, a
mechanism exists for changing the major professor. It
is pointed out to the student that this is not a
decision to be taken lightly. It will almost certainly
delay completion of his/her degree program as it will be
necessary to develop a new dissertation research program
and have it approved. If a change in major professor is
to be made, it should always be made prior to the point
at which the student attempts the Comprehensive
Examination.
In the
event that a graduate student deems a change of major
professor necessary, the procedures of the major
professor’s department will apply. The student may seek
advice from the department’s graduate director and/or
the director of the integrated program, if necessary.
Compact
As
noted above, selection of a major professor and a
laboratory in which to work entails a commitment by both
the student and professor and should not be entered into
lightly. The student is undertaking to complete a
rigorous research project in a professional manner and
the professor is committing to support that project. The
Graduate Directors of the American Association of
Medical Colleges have drawn up a draft compact for
professor and graduate student. A copy of this follows.
Both the student and major professor should read and
agree to this compact.
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