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The BME GSC formally reviews each student’s progress toward their degree and provides the outcome of its review in writing to the student and their supervisor. Reviews may happen in the form of established milestones, such as the qualifying exam All PhD students are reviewed at the end of their second year one, the proposal at the end of year two or three, and the final oral defense at the end of year four or five. Since BME allows flexibility with regard to each student’s milestone completion timeline, additional procedures are in place to ensure each student is reviewed at least annually.
Mechanisms of Review
Year 1 Students will be reviewed by the end of the first year via the qualifying exam.
Year 2 Students will be reviewed via the dissertation proposal, satisfactory progress in research, or independent GSC review at the end of the second year.
Year 3 Students will be reviewed via the dissertation proposal, completion of required, formal coursework, satisfactory progress of research, or independent GSC review at the end of the third year.
Year 4 and 5 Students will be reviewed via completion of required, formal coursework, the dissertation proposal, final oral defense, satisfactory progress of research, or independent GSC review at the end of the fourth and fifth year.
in the program and annually thereafter. The qualifying exam serves as the annual review for first-year doctoral students. All master’s students are reviewed annually.
Milestones Agreement
The BME Milestones Agreement is reviewed and signed by all incoming graduate doctoral students and is one of the ways students’ progress is determined. Milestone completion serves as one metric to determine satisfactory academic progress. Failure to meet the expected time of achievement for each milestone may be considered failure to meet satisfactory progress, as determined by the GSC and the student’s supervisor.
UT Austin Milestone | Expected Time of Achievement |
Review degree requirements and milestones agreement with graduate advisor | 1st semester |
Successful completion of the qualifying exam | End of 1st year |
Advancement to candidacy | End of 2nd year |
| Completion of the Proposal | Between the end of the 2nd and 3rd years |
Complete all required, formal coursework | End of 3rd year |
IRB (human testing) approvals (if needed) | Variable |
IACUC (animal testing) approvals (if needed) | Variable |
Dissertation completed, successfully defended, and approved by committee | End of 5th year |
Exit interview completed and submitted to Survey of Earned Doctorates | End of 5th year |
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All BME doctoral students are required to complete Teaching Assistant (TA) service to the department. Students who entered the program before fall 2019 are required to complete two semesters and students who entered the program in fall 2019 or later are required to complete one semester. This requirement can be petitioned and waived by the Graduate Advisor but is approved in rare circumstances, such as when a student receives fellowship funding for the duration of their doctoral studies.
Satisfactory completion of the TA requirement counts toward satisfactory progress toward the degree. As a TA, students are expected to:
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When to Expect Your Annual Review
Annual reviews may will take place in August each year. The outcome of your annual review will be communicated to you via email by the GSC Chair or their delegate, or via outcome forms such as the qualifying exam or proposal outcome forms. You will not necessarily receive a separate communication from the department about your progress if you've completed a program milestone within a given academic yearoutcome form for first-year PhD students. If you have questions about progress toward your degree, speak to the Graduate Advisor.