BME Master S Thesis Guidelines

BME Master’s Thesis Guidelines

A Master’s Thesis allows a student to include extensive research experience as part of the graduate program. It is designed for students who plan a career in teaching, industrial research or possibly continuing in a PhD program. MS students who count 4-6 credits of BIOMEDE 590 toward their MS degree must complete a Master’s Thesis. To be eligible to write a thesis, these credits (at least 4) must have been performed in the same research lab. PhD students who obtain a MS degree can count 4-6 credits of BIOMEDE 590 as both their Master’s Thesis and Qualifying Examination (QE). In this case, the final thesis document will be in the form of a QE proposal. NOTE: Effective in the Winter 2018 term, BIOMEDE 590 will be letter graded.

Steps for SUGS and MS students, and PhD students who are NOT counting BIOMEDE 590 as both their Master’s Thesis and QE 1) Form the Master’s Thesis Committee. The committee consists of 3 faculty members: 1 Chair and 2 additional members. The Chair must be a BME faculty member (core, associate or affiliate) and is also the BIOMEDE 590 project adviser. If the Chair is not a BME core faculty member, at least 1 of the 2 additional members must be a BME core faculty member. Once the committee has been formed, the student will need to email it to the BME staff*. 2) Register for BIOMEDE 590 under the Committee Chair’s section number. 3) If the course is taken for only one term, the written MS thesis and oral defense are due by the end of the term. If the course is taken for more than one term, a written report is due at the end of the first term, and the thesis and oral defense are due by the end of the second term. Note on MS Thesis format and scope: Students must adhere to the thesis formatting requirements for their MS thesis. The length and specific content of the thesis document should be determined in consultation with the Committee Chair. However, the thesis must present a substantial body of work and be comparable in scope, depth, and quality to a manuscript prepared for peer review (with extended Background and Discussion sections). 4) At least 2 weeks before the Master’s Thesis defense, the student must email the following information to the BME staff* so that it can be forwarded to the BME community: defense title, abstract, date, time, location and Chair. 5) After the oral defense, the Committee Chair must submit a memo to the BME staff* which states whether the student has successfully defended their thesis. 6) If a student would like the Master’s Thesis to be listed on their transcript under “Milestones”, the student must email the BME staff* no later than the last day of class in the term in which the student plans to graduate. Designation in the “Milestones” section is the only indication on the transcript that a thesis has been completed.

Steps for PhD Students who are counting BIOMEDE 590 as both their Master’s Thesis and QE Proposal 1) Inform Maria Steele that the student is counting BIOMEDE 590 as both their Master’s Thesis and QE. 2) Form the QE Committee. 3) Register for BIOMEDE 590 under the Research Advisor’s section number. 4) If the course is taken for only one term, a written report must be prepared by the end of the term. If the course is taken for more than one term, a written report is due at the end of each term (the format of the report is at the discretion of the Committee Chair). In both cases (one or multiple terms), the oral QE exam can be delayed until a later term, within the QE guidelines, and a formal QE document is due before the oral portion. In this case the BIOMEDE 590 grade is assigned based on the written reports(s), but the MS degree and candidacy are not conferred until the written and oral QE have been successfully completed. Students should to refer to the QE Memo for Examiners and Students for complete information on the QE.

* Susan Graeber (SUGS), Maria Steele (MS, PhD) Revised November 2017