Summary of Requirements

The requirements for admission to candidacy include

• the prescribed course-work
• the satisfactory completion of an oral qualifying exam not later than the end of the fourth semester. The student will constitute a qualifying committee of no fewer than four faculty by the end of the summer following the first year. A written thesis proposal (not to exceed 10 pages) shall be submitted by the student not less than two weeks prior to this examination. While this document will commonly form the basis of the qualifying exam, there are no formal restrictions on the extent or range of questions asked of the candidate. The purpose of this examination is to determine whether or not the student has the motivation, intellectual capacity, curiosity, educational background, and the technical skills necessary to pursue the Ph.D. program successfully.

Upon satisfying these requirements the student will be formally admitted to candidacy for the PhD. Degree in biology and computational biology.

The student’s thesis research will normally be done under the supervision of a member of the faculty of the CCMB, and proceeds through the following steps:

1. Shortly after advancing to candidacy, the student will constitute a thesis committee consisting of not fewer than four faculty advisors, at least one of whom must not be a member of the Brown University faculty.
2. The student will meet with this committee at least annually.
3. Upon completion, the thesis will be presented at a meeting open to students, faculty, and the public followed by a thesis defense to members of the thesis committee and other faculty members who choose to participate. The thesis must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the defense.