TATTO. The Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity Program (TATTO) provides teacher training and experience for students in the GDBBS. Completion of the TATTO program is required for all Ph.D. students. This three-day required summer course takes place one week immediately prior to the beginning of the Fall semester. In most cases, students attend in the summer following their first year of graduate study, however, this may be adjusted in special circumstances.
Teaching Assistantship (TA). All students in the GDBBS are required to serve as a Teaching Assistant for one semester, usually during the second graduate year. Teaching Assistants typically serve as laboratory instructors or discussion leaders for small groups. Teaching Assistants also assist students with problems during scheduled office hours, help prepare handouts and/or laboratory material, and help administer and grade exams. Students assigned to laboratory courses assist in setting up laboratory exercises, and help students understand the theoretical and practical aspects of the exercise.
Directed Study. In the Spring semester of the second year, each IMP student will participate in a program of Directed Study with their thesis mentor. Each student will discuss with their mentor at least 15 primary papers that are in line with the student's dissertation research. This list is to be handed in to the Director of Graduate Studies at the end of the semester. Only 6 credit hours of Directed Study can be used toward the 16 credit hours of coursework.
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
At the end of the Spring semester of the 2nd year for Ph.D students, a Qualifying Examination is administered to evaluate each student's mastery of scientific concepts and experimental design before permitting him/her to proceed to full-time doctoral dissertation research. This examination consists of two parts: 1) a written examination and 2) an oral examination.
Written Examination
The written examination is a "mock grant proposal." The idea for the proposal must originate from the student. It can, however, be related to the studentıs research topic and deal with some other aspect. The advisor may not have input on editorial or experimental details of the proposal.
The research proposal must be hypothesis-driven and adhere to the following guidelines:
I. Specific aims : this section should include a statement of how the proposal addresses a missing element of information in the proposed field of research, your hypothesis and a succinct description of how you will test that hypothesis. Include a brief description of the experimental approach. Two aims are recommended. This section is to be typed double-spaced, with 1 inch margins throughout. (1/2 to 1 page limit)
II. Background: briefly describe the previous work in the field, gaps in our knowledge about the subject and data that leads to the hypotheses to be tested. (3 page limit recommended)
III. Research design and methods: this should include rationale for the experiments, possible outcomes and interpretation of those outcomes with respect to the hypothesis, potential problems and alternative approaches. (10-11 page limit recommended)
Literature Cited
The research proposal is to be typed double-spaced in 12-point character size with 1 inch margins throughout (including Specific aims) and may be up to, but not exceed, 15 pages in length, not including references. Instructions in the NIH PHS398 (R01) application form should be reviewed for reference. Proposals that do not adhere to these format requirements will be returned. Students are encouraged to solicit funded R01 grant applications from faculty as guides for organizing their Qualifying Exam research proposals.
The oral examination will be administered during the first week of June.
A committee of three IMP faculty members will be assigned to administer the oral examination to each student, with one faculty member who will serve as chairperson. Thesis advisors will not be permitted to attend the examination. The examination will begin with the student providing a five minute overview of the written proposal. No slides or overhead transparencies may be used, however, it is permissible to write/draw material on the dry ink board just before the examination. Each member will then be given ten minutes to individually ask questions, followed by a five minute period when the other members can pose follow-up questions. There will be two rounds of questioning.
The written and oral parts of the examination will be graded separately. If a student fails either or both components of the qualifying examination, he/she will have one more opportunity to retake and pass the written and/or oral parts of the examination within three months.
