Guidelines - Practicum and Thesis Oral Defense
Section: Practicum and Thesis Defense
BIST 918: Practicum (3 credits)
The project will be written up as a Master’s thesis which will include the following sections: background to the problem, experimental design, description of the data, analytical methods, results, and interpretation of the latter. This paper will be defended orally, after no fewer than two faculty members (the advisor and one other) have read it and deemed it ready for presentation.
Deadlines for Thesis Defense
Expected Graduation Date: December 2008
Timeline of Thesis Preparation
August – November 2008: Work on Thesis
November 7, 2008: Submit Thesis to Advisor
November 17, 2008: Submit Thesis to Committee Members
November 25, 2008: Oral Defense of Thesis
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Building D, Room 201
Expected Graduation Date: May 2009
Timeline of Thesis Preparation
January – April 2009: Work on Thesis
April 1, 2009: Submit Thesis to Advisor
April 10, 2009: Submit Thesis to Committee Members
May 5, 2009: Oral Defense of Thesis
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Building D, Room 201
Expected Graduation Date: December 2009
Timeline of Thesis Preparation
August – November 2009: Work on Thesis
November 6, 2009: Submit Thesis to Advisor
November 16, 2009: Submit Thesis to Committee Members
November 24, 2009: Oral Defense of Thesis
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Location TBD
Guidelines for Practicum
Goal
The Practicum will provide students with an opportunity to implement a combination of the skills they have acquired and to extend them in a limited context. Through the Practicum, students will implement the knowledge and methodologies acquired during the formal academic process, gain practical experience and new techniques, improve their communication skills and develop their capability to work as a team member. It is also designed so that the project’s principal investigator will benefit from the student’s expertise and abilities.
Overview
The Practicum is a 3-credit course offered in both semesters. Students will be involved in a research project under the supervision of a DBBB faculty member and possibly a qualified professional from outside. The work performed for this project will be written up as a Master’s paper which will be defended before graduation in front of a committee.
Projects may be of a methodological or an applied nature. For methodological projects, the research topics will extend methodologies presented in the classroom curriculum but will not be beyond the students’ reach based on their recently-acquired knowledge. The work may involve some theoretical derivations and some simulations. The topic will typically be carved out of the mentor’s research. Applied projects typically consist of sophisticated data analyses requiring the implementation of state-of-the-art statistical and bioinformatics tools. The work is usually supervised by two faculty members, one in the application area and one in DBBB.
Guidelines
• The first Practicum meeting will be held in December. Mentors will present their projects including expectations and required skills. In addition, monthly meetings should be held between the student, the mentor(s), and the academic advisor in order for the latter and the Department to be informed of the student's progress.
• If the primary mentor or supervisor is not a member of the Department, a co-mentor from the Department will be assigned.
• The project is expected to last for 20 weeks with a work load of about 6-8 hours per week. If a student spends 4 hours per week, the project will take 40 weeks.
• The Practicum may extend over the summer when the student works with the mentor as a summer intern and receives financial support from the mentor (subject to the mentor’s funds’ availability). The internship normally lasts for 2-3 months.
• The project will be written up as a Master’s thesis which will include the following sections: background to the problem, experimental design, description of the data, analytical methods, results, and interpretation of the latter. The document will be prepared using LaTeX and will follow the format set by the Department. This paper will be defended orally, after no fewer than two faculty members (the advisor and one other) have read it and deemed it ready for presentation.
• The thesis committee consists of the mentor(s) and two other faculty members of the student's choice. The presentation will be open to all students and faculty of the Department. After the presentation, the committee will hold a closed session and vote on the decision to pass or fail the thesis. The defense will be considered successful if no more than one committee member votes “fail”.
• Students’ Responsibilities:
• Once the preliminary steps have been taken to establish the Practicum site and mentor(s), the student must schedule an initial meeting with his/her mentor(s) to discuss the nature and the scope of the Practicum and to establish goals and expectations.
• The student must meet with her/his mentor(s) weekly over the Practicum period.
• Students are responsible for adhering to the thesis preparation, completion, and oral defense time line.
• Mentors’ Responsibilities
• A formal document is required to explain the goals and expectations for the successful completion of the Practicum. The document should specify background and objectives of the study, as well as estimated time commitments.
• Assignments and responsibilities should be in accordance with individual needs and abilities.
• Meeting with the student should be held weekly to provide the necessary guidance.
• Students should be provided with opportunities to practice and develop professional skills in a variety of situations.
Together with the other committee members, mentors are responsible for the evaluation of the Practicum, and the grade assignment.
DOCUMENTS FOR DOWNLOAD:
1) Thesis Guidelines - available as .pdf
2) Thesis Deadlines for December 2008 Graduation - available as .pdf
3) Getting started with LaTeX (as published in WSS, Jose Maisog) - available as .pdf