Neuroscience Doctoral Students Forms and Policies

Lab Rotations & Faculty Ph.D. Supervisor and Lab for Dissertation Research

In the first year, NGP students complete three 8~week lab rotations and eight required core courses in the fall and spring semesters. Students will choose, by mutual agreement their faculty Ph.D. Advisor and the lab in which dissertation research will be performed by March 1st.

NGP Mentor/Mentee Agreement Form: Complete ‘NGP Mentor/Mentee Agreement Form’ with faculty advisor and send to the program coordinator by March 1st.

Plan of Study ~ End of Spring Semester Year 1

Students must complete a Plan of Study (POS) through My FAU portal by May 1 and submit for approval. This will plan out the expected course work and research credits needed to complete to earn the 72 credits required for the degree. Select three elective courses from the NGP electives with faculty advisor and meet with the program coordinator to complete and submit Plan of Study by May 1. All students are required to have an approved POS on file with the FAU Graduate College in order to maintain full-time graduate status to receive a tuition waiver, beginning in the summer semester of Year 1.

*Please see NGP Handbook and University Catalog for all requirements

Select a Supervisory Committee ~ Spring Semester Year 2

NGP Supervisory Committee Members Approval Form

Supervisory Committee Members: In the second year in consultation with their faculty mentor, a Supervisory Committee of 4 or more faculty assembled by each student during the spring semester of Year 2. At least 3 must be full time FAU tenured or tenure-track Graduate Faculty (including the Ph.D. Supervisor as Chair) who are NGP program faculty, are knowledgeable in aspects of the proposed research and serve as voting members. The fourth may be a voting tenured or tenure-track FAU graduate faculty member of another, non-NGP graduate program. Students may include on their committee one affiliate faculty member from MPFI, with voting rights, in place of one of the 3 FAU faculty members, or in addition to the FAU faculty members. For a student conducting their dissertation work in a lab at MPFI, the advising MPFI faculty member will serve as the Committee Co-Chair. The Chair of the Committee must be a tenured or tenure-track, full time FAU Graduate Faculty member. Research-track faculty can be added as non-voting Committee members.

Students also may include one tenured or tenue-track graduate faculty-level member from another academic institution. If you plan to include a fourth faculty member from another university on your committee, contact the NGP Program Coordinator well in advance of your first committee meeting and provide the name and contact information of this individual. The Program Coordinator will provide the student with the forms needed for FAU to approve them for temporary FAU Graduate Faculty status. The student will send these forms to the outside faculty member. The forms for approval include an updated CV, an Affiliate Appointment Personal Data sheet and checklist, a completed Form 1 (Graduate Faculty application), and a letter requesting appointment as FAU Affiliate Faculty with Graduate Faculty status. All these forms must be returned by the outside faculty member to the NGP Program Coordinator. The forms will then go to the College of Science Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and the Dean of Graduate College for approval. This process will take significant time (weeks).

The Supervisory Committee reviews each student’s plan of study, their dissertation proposal, decides when they are ready for the advancement exam (and later the dissertation defense) and provides advice and support. The Committee will administer the Qualifying Exam required for advancement to Ph.D. candidacy.

Students are required to meet at least once with their full Committee before the end of the spring semester in year 2 and before their qualifying exam. Before the meetings, students will provide the faculty supervisor and Committee members with a description of their accomplishments thus far using the Student Progress Summary form.

*Please see NGP Handbook and University Catalog for all requirements

Forms (2) Required Annually – Spring Yearly

Student Progress Self Summary Form : Student will provide their committee with an updated Progress Summary form before each meeting.

• Student Progress Committee Evaluation Form (chair/faculty advisor submits): Students are required to meet with their Supervisory/Dissertation Committee members annually, starting spring of Year 2 to review/discuss their progress towards advancement and degree completion. All Committee members are expected to attend to provide advice and support for the student's research efforts. At least three members must be tenured or tenure-track FAU Graduate Faculty. Chair: The Chair will fill out this form and the Chair and student shall sign the final version. The Chair will submit the form to the program coordinator in the NGP Administrative Office.
• Individual Development Plan Form (IDP) (student submits): Student will submit form to the NGP program coordinator after their committee member meeting each year in the spring semester.

Plan of Study Revision: Annually revise if courses change and add grades for completed courses. Graduation semester students Plan of Study checked to match transcript to meet the program requirements with 72 required credits.

Annual Individual Development Plan (IDP) Form

By the end of year 2, and every summer semester thereafter until graduation, students are required to work closely with their faculty mentor to create an annual Individual Development Plan (IDP), using the NGP program form.

Qualifying Exam, Proposal Defense and Advancement to Ph.D. Candidacy ~ Spring or Summer Year 2/Fall Year 3

Students must advance to Ph.D. candidacy towards the end of 2nd year, no later than the fall semester of their 3rd year. They must be in "Good Standing", and they must have completed RCR training; to include submitting a current CV, and Form 8.

• Current CV
• Form 8: Admission to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree

Yearly Committee Meeting: Students who have advanced are required to meet with their Supervisory/Dissertation Committee at least once every spring semester to provide updates on their research progress. Meetings can be more frequent if needed. The Supervisor, in consultation with the Committee members, will submit the annual Student Progress Evaluation report to the NGP Program Coordinator and Program Director.

Doctoral Dissertation Defense and Graduation ~ Year 5

Once a student has passed their advancement to candidacy, the Supervisory Committee becomes the Dissertation Committee and will continue to mentor and guide the student in their dissertation work until completion of the Ph.D. degree. Students are encouraged to consult frequently with their committee members as they progress in their research. Any changes in Committee membership must be reported to the Program Coordinator and Program Director.

Application for the Ph.D. degree must be made one semester BEFORE the semester of graduation and the student Plan of Study at the Graduate College at that time MUST match exactly the actual record of course completion and current enrollment. If not, the Graduate College will not approve graduation. It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to all Graduate College required guidelines and Graduation Deadlines posted on their website for final Ph.D. degree approval.

Application for the Ph.D. Degree & Plan of Study: Application must be submitted one semester before the semester of graduation. Plan of Study MUST match exactly the actual record of course completion and current enrollment for graduation to be approved. It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to all FAU Graduate College required guidelines and Graduation Deadlines posted on their website for final Ph.D. degree approval.

The "FAU Graduate Dissertation and Dissertation Guidelines" can be downloaded from the Graduate College website as a pdf file. The written dissertation, formatted according to the Guidelines, must be given to the Dissertation Committee members and the NGP Program Coordinator no less than 1 month before the oral defense date. At least 2 weeks in advance of the defense the student MUST confirm with the Program Coordinator that the Supervisor and Committee have agreed the student is ready to defend and provide the defense date and time so it can be advertised to the university community.

*Please see NGP Handbook and University Catalog for all requirements