The First Two Years

Coursework

• Students are required to take SB300 Introduction to Systems Biology, MedSci300 Conduct of Science, and four additional courses chosen in consultation with their faculty advisors. These courses must be passed with a B- or better.

Rotations

• To facilitate choice of advisor(s), the program recommends that students temporarily join research groups for periods of 6–12 weeks during their first year of study. Two to four “rotations” are recommended, with the last to be completed by the end of the summer of the first year, after which the student will select an area of research and one or more advisors.

Teaching Requirement

• All students are required to teach one term.

Qualifying Examination

• The purpose of the examination is to ensure that the student is prepared to embark on dissertation research. The examination is given in two phases. The first phase must be completed by June 1st of the student’s first year, and is intended to evaluate the student’s progress in acquiring competence in mathematical and/or computational approaches. Students will formulate a question related to any problem in biology and devise a mathematical or computational approach to addressing it. Results of the project will be presented in a short written summary and orally. Phase two must be completed by the end of December of the student’s second year. Students will prepare and defend an original research proposal related to the student’s proposed dissertation research.
• As a rule, students who have not completed and passed the qualifying exam by the end of December of their second year of graduate study are put in unsatisfactory status and may be asked to withdraw from the program.

Advising

Academic Advisors

• On arrival, each student is assigned two academic advisors to guide the student in their choice of courses and rotations.

Dissertation Advisory Committee

• Once students decide on their research topic, they form a Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC). The DAC periodically reviews and advises students’ progress toward completing the dissertation. The DAC should consist of at least three faculty members, exclusive of the student’s dissertation advisors.
• At the first meeting of the Dissertation Advisory Committee, the research proposal is reviewed and the student is required to defend it. The first meeting must occur within six months of the student’s qualifying exam.

Dissertation

Independent Research

• Acceptable modes of dissertation research include experiment-based research, theoretical research, and combinations of the two. The program does not attempt to constrain students to dissertation research in the traditional formats of systems biology’s parent disciplines. Collaborative research is encouraged.
• It is expected that preparation of a dissertation is usually full-time work for no fewer than one-and-a-half years, following the qualifying examination. The dissertation must give evidence of independent original research and be clearly, logically, and carefully written in proper English. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Graduation Requirements

• A student who expects to complete a dissertation in time to receive a degree the following June, November, or March, must file an application for degree, accompanied by a note of approval from the dissertation advisor, at the Registrar’s office of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, no later than a date specified each year in this handbook.
• Copies of the typewritten dissertation must be submitted to the Dissertation Examining Committee and the Director of the PhD program in Systems Biology at least two weeks before the final examination is scheduled to take place. To obtain a degree at the end of the academic year, sufficient time must be allowed for the examination, dissertation correction, and binding.

Examiners

• The student and the student’s dissertation advisors must select three examining committee members whose names are submitted to the chair of the Committee on Higher Degrees for approval.
• In accordance with GSAS policy, three signatures are required on the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate; two examiners signing the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate must have an FAS faculty appointment. The chair of the Committee on Higher Degrees in System Biology may serve in the capacity of an FAS appointed signatory.

Public Seminar and Private Oral Defense

• The dissertation examination has two components: public seminar and private oral defense. In the oral defense, the candidate is questioned on the subject of the dissertation and its relation to the student’s special field and collateral subjects. If the reading committee is unable to agree on its recommendations, the Committee on Higher Degrees in Systems Biology decides the question of the acceptance of the dissertation.
• On completion of all the requirements, the original bound dissertation, with the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate signed by the reading committee, and one unbound copy will be deposited at the FAS Office of the Registrar for inspection by any member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
• After Commencement, the original bound copy is deposited in the Harvard Library, open to public inspection. A second bound copy is kept by the department in which the student worked.