After passing the QE, students organize a Thesis Advisory Committee in consultation with their mentor. The committee includes the thesis advisor and at least three other faculty; one of whom should have their primary affiliation with another DBBS program. The faculty of the advisory committee should be chosen for their expertise and their willingness to help guide the student’s research. The chair of the thesis advisory committee must be different than the thesis advisor, but need not be a member of the PMB Program. The final Thesis Examination Committee requires at least five members, so a thesis advisory committee with only four members must be augmented by the time of the thesis defense.
Students must see the Program Director to obtain approval of the advisory committee composition; the necessary Thesis Advisory Committee Approval form is available on the DBBS website.
For the thesis proposal meeting, a student prepares a proposal written in the format of an NIH pre/postdoctoral fellowship application (-15 pages total) with sections on Background and Significance, Specific Aims, Research Methods, Anticipated Results, Potential Pitfalls, and a Timetable for completion of the aims. The written proposal must be provided to the committee at least two weeks in advance of the oral presentation.
At the thesis proposal meeting, the student presents the proposal to the advisory committee. During the presentation, the student will discuss esearch progress to date, describe the experimental plan and anticipated outcomes, and respond constructively to concerns or alternative ideas raised by committee members. The thesis proposal, and all subsequent meetings of the thesis advisory committee, will be chaired by a committee member other than the thesis advisor. This chairperson will be responsible for completing a written report of the thesis proposal examination and for completing reports at subsequent thesis committee meetings. These reports are sent to the Graduate Studies Office which, in turn, sends copies to thesis committee members and the chair of the program. It is strongly recommended that the student e-mail a copy of the form to the chair prior to the meeting.
Thesis Committee Meeting Forms are available at:
The thesis proposal must be prepared and defended by June 1 of the student’s second academic year. Failure to meet this deadline will result in immediate suspension of stipend support.
After approval of the thesis project, the student should provide written and/or oral progress reports to the thesis advisory committee and must convene a meeting of this committee at least once per year. It is customary for the student to send their committee a brief (~2 page) update summarizing their progress ~1 week prior to the advisory committee meeting. Note that committee meetings should be scheduled during the regular academic year and not between June 1 and September 1 – many faculty have 9 month appointments at the University and have no academic duties during the summer. A quorum of four committee members is required to hold a thesis update meeting.
