UMMC Program in Neuroscience

Handbook

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Dissertation

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GRADUATE SCHOOL TIMELINES

The Graduate School requires that students approaching time to defend notify the School of their intent to defend. This is done via submission of an application for the degree to be conferred at a specific time of the year. Degrees are conferred 3 times a year, in August, December, and May. The last days for applying for a degree:

  • Mid-April for an August degree
  • Mid-August for a December degree
  • Mid-January for a May degree

Exact dates will vary slightly due to the calendar and can be found on the Graduate School Academic Calendar online. Forms require the PIN Director’s signature.

Deadlines for completion of ALL requirements for degree conferral are as follows:

  • Mid-June for an August degree
  • Mid-October for a December degree
  • Mid-March for a May degree

Exact dates will vary slightly due to the calendar and can be found on the Graduate School Academic Calendar online.

Requirements include, in reverse order of event occurrence:

  1. No later than two weeks following the defense, the student must turn in the final version of the dissertation, complete with all Dissertation Advisory Committee member signatures, to the Graduate School.
  2. Public seminar and oral defense by the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee.
  3. At least 2 weeks prior to the public talk/defense, the student must provide their Dissertation Advisory Committee with a firm if not final draft of the dissertation.
  4. Obtaining clearance from the Dissertation Advisory Committee that the student is ready to formally begin writing the dissertation. This is mandatory, and a Dissertation Advisory Committee meeting can be called as soon as the student, in consultation with their advisor, is ready to make their case for being ready to write.

DISSERTATION FORMAT

The dissertation format will follow the guidelines set by the SGSHS which allows for two formats.

  1. Article-style thesis/dissertation format, which is intended for doctoral students whose final, completed dissertation will consist of a number of manuscripts or published articles. This may include articles already published in, submitted to, or to be submitted to peer-reviewed journals. In addition, it may include data from studies conducted during the candidacy that are part of the dissertation but not yet included in manuscripts either submitted or in preparation.
  2. Traditional style dissertation, which is intended for students whose dissertation consists of a single set of studies, or a single monograph.

The Program in Neuroscience expects that students will have multiple studies and publications deriving from their PhD dissertation. Accordingly, the Article-style dissertation format is recommended. Previously published articles to be included in the dissertation should be formatted according to the standard outlined by the Graduate School (see below). Thus, formatting should be seamless and consistent between sections/chapters.

DISSERTATION OUTLINE

Dissertation Outline (Article-style format):

  1.  Title Page
  2. Signature Page
  3. Abstract
  4. Dedication (optional)
  5. Acknowledgements (optional)
  6. Table of Contents
  7. List of Tables (see Note 1)
  8. List of Figures (see Note 1)
  9. Introduction and Review of Literature (see Note 2)
    1. Literature cited in Introduction and Literature Review (see Note 3)
  10. Research Chapters: Each chapter containing:
    1. Title page including authors contribution statement (see Note 4)
    2. Introduction (see Note 5)
    3. Materials and Methods (see Note 6)
    4. Results: (see Note 7)
    5. Discussion (see Note 8)
    6. Literature cited (see Note 3)
    7. Figure captions
    8. Tables and Figures
  11. Overall Summary and Discussion (see Note 9)
    1. Literature cited in Discussion (see Note 3)

 Notes:

  1. Lists should be according to Chapter, using a 1.1,1.2…to n.1,n.2 format
  2. This section will describe the overall hypothesis or question, the studies and sub-hypotheses or questions, and explain their significance. It will contain an extensive review of relevant background literature to describe the broader context and introduce main concepts and hypotheses or research questions.
  3. All citations will be formatted identically throughout the dissertation, including Introduction and Literature Review, all chapters, and Summary and Discussion. Set your citations manager to use Journal of Neuroscience style for this section and throughout the dissertation.
  4. Since manuscripts may contain multiple authors and include data not collected by the student, the contributions of each individual author will be stated on the title page of each research chapter.
  5. The typical journal Introduction; usually a word limit set by the journal and not including a very broad literature review background.
  6. Material and Methods: only for that particular chapter
  7. Results: only for that particular chapter
  8. Discussion: only for that particular chapter
  9. In the overall Summary and Discussion, the student will describe how the studies fit together and test the overall hypothesis or address the overall question. Future directions may be identified.

All formatting including fonts, margins, etc., must be consistent throughout the dissertation and adhere to SGSHS guidelines. Complete guidelines and formatting tips can be found on the SGSHS website.

It is the student’s and research mentor’s responsibility to strictly adhere to the formatting guidelines.

DISSERTATION DEFENSE

The student will present their dissertation research in a public, seminar-style setting. After a short period of questions from the pubic audience, the public portion of the defense is concluded. The public defense should be structured at a standard 1 hour seminar (e.g., 45-50 minute presentation and 10-15 minutes for questions). The student will be asked by the examiners to leave the room for a brief period of time. During this time, the examiners, comprised of the members of the advisory committee, will share their impressions and determine the order of questioning.

The student is then invited back into the room and the exam begins. The exam will typically last for 1-2 hours.

After completion of the questioning, the student is again asked to leave the room, while the examiners reach their decision and compile recommendations.

Finally, the student is invited back into the room and the Chair will convey the exam committee’s decision to the student in the presence of all examiners.

The research mentor will oversee any revisions required by the examiners.