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The written component includes a research report, a teaching report (if applicable), an academic report, and an individual development plan. The research report follows the NIH R21 format and is up to seven pages in length plus references. The teaching report (1 page maximum) should include a list of courses for which the student has served as a Teaching Assistant (TA) and courses the student is interested in being a TA for in the future and why. Any guest lectures the student has given, and other teaching related activities should also be included. The academic report should include the Personalized Learning Plan (PLP), which is composed of the completed/current and planned coursework charts. The Individual Development Plan is developed using myIDP (http://myidp.sciencecareers.org).
All first-year students are required to attend a seminar on the IDP in the fall and a seminar on the Qualifying Exam in the spring. Students can review more specific information about the IDP, including an introduction to the Individual Development Plan and an IDP template.
For the oral exam, the student should have a detailed understanding of the field in which they are performing/proposing research and relevant techniques, and have thought through their specific design, including potential pitfalls and alternatives. The oral exam is a 20-minute presentation based on the written report and includes two parts: research and academic development. The student spends 15 minutes on research, and 5 minutes on the coursework, teaching, and development plan. Students may use slides, and the presentation on research can follow the structure of the written report. The committee can ask questions during or after each part of the presentation. Questions cover the approved exam subject areas, completed coursework from the student’s PLP, and items on the faculty rubric.
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