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The
Doctor of Philosophy degree in craniofacial biology is awarded under the
jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Students should also refer to the
Requirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School section for
general regulations. All courses applied toward the degree must be
courses accepted by the Graduate School.
This
program is designed to provide health science-oriented training for the
professional with interests in academic, as well as clinical, aspects of
craniofacial biology.
New Student
Orientation Committee
All
new students seeking Master of Science and/or Doctor of Philosophy
degree objectives will be assigned to an orientation committee. This
committee will function to advise and guide new students through their
first semester. Thereafter, each student will identify a mentor and
assemble a guidance committee.
Guidance
Committee
During
the second semester of study each graduate student should select a
guidance committee. The guidance committee must include five faculty
members who will be of assistance in the student's education. The
student's mentor will serve as chair of the guidance committee. One
committee member must be a USC faculty member from outside the program.
The graduate program director will be ex officio a member of all
guidance committees.
The
guidance committee will monitor the student's progress, recommend
readings or additional training, and determine when the student is ready
for the qualifying examination. It is the student's responsibility to
meet with the guidance committee at least once during every semester of
each academic year. The results of these formal meetings should be
summarized by the student in a written statement and submitted to the
program director each semester.
Screening
Procedure
As
soon as the student has satisfactorily completed the core courses and
selected the committee, a screening meeting with the guidance committee
should be called. The screening procedure may consist of an oral
examination; the student will outline his research progress and be
examined on academic development. The committee may recommend that the
student take specific additional course work and that readings in
certain areas be initiated to remedy deficiencies. A brief report will
be given to the student and included in his or her file. The student
will meet with the committee each semester; they shall agree when the
student is prepared to take the qualifying examination in the next
semester or if the student should resign or be dropped from the program.
Course
Requirements
A
total of 60 units is required: 26 units of required courses, 34 units of
elective courses, including directed research, and four units of
dissertation. Students must achieve a 3.0 GPA or better in the following
required core courses: CBY 573, 574, 577L, 579, 583, 585, 587, and 671;
and a 3.0 GPA or better overall. Students with a Doctor of Dental
Surgery or other professional degree may be granted waivers for having
completed equivalent course work.
It
is the student's responsibility to obtain from the Graduate School the
Request for Permission to Take the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination form
which must be signed by all committee members. This form must be
completed 60 days before the qualifying examination.
Qualifying
Examination
The
Ph.D. qualifying examination is offered during the fall or spring
semesters. A written examination will cover specific subject areas of
the core curriculum, as well as topics selected by the guidance
committee. After successfully completing all parts of the written
examination, the student will prepare and submit an original research
proposal to the guidance committee which presents, in National
Institutes of Health (NIH) format, the student's proposed dissertation
research. If the submitted proposal is acceptable, an oral examination
will be conducted. This examination will include a defense of the
proposal and could also include material from the written examination
and related topics. A student failing any part of the examination may be
allowed one additional opportunity to pass that portion, at the
discretion of the guidance committee, within the regulations of the
Graduate School governing the repetition of qualifying examinations.
Dissertation
The
doctoral dissertation is to focus upon an original research problem
which reflects the creative scholarly abilities of the candidate and
contributes to the general advancement of biological understanding, as
well as to an understanding of the theoretical basis of disease and its
treatment.
Defense of the
Dissertation
An
oral examination on a rough or final copy of the dissertation is
conducted within one month following submission of the manuscript to the
committee.
M.S.
in Craniofacial Biology | Ph.D.
in Craniofacial Biology | Courses of Instruction
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