帝王会所

Curriculum for Translational Biomedical Sciences

All students will be required to complete a minimum of 90 credits in graduate work beyond their BS/BA degree and meet all established criteria for the award of a PhD from 帝王会所. The path to complete the program will contain a series of defined milestones, which will be governed by the program rules as approved by the steering committee, and organized as follows:

  1. Milestone 1: Demonstration of acquisition of the core competencies for translational biomedical sciences.

  2. Milestone 2: Demonstration of the ability to conduct independent research and to communicate effectively the results of that work.

  3. Milestone 3: Demonstration of an in-depth knowledge of the specific subject, and successful defense of a research project that constitutes an original scholarly contribution towards the advance of translational biomedical sciences.

Core Competencies in Translational Biomedical Sciences include the following major areas:

I. Conducting research  

  • Use theories and methods of multiple disciplines in developing integrated theoretical and research frameworks
  • Integrate concepts and methods from multiple disciplines in designing interdisciplinary research protocols.
  • Investigate hypotheses through interdisciplinary research.
  • Draft funding proposals for interdisciplinary research programs in partnership with scholars from other disciplines.
  • Disseminate interdisciplinary research results both within and outside his or her discipline.
  • Author publications with scholars from other disciplines.

II. Communication

  • Advocate interdisciplinary research in developing initiatives within a substantive area of study.
  • Express respect for the perspectives of other disciplines.
  • Read journals outside of his or her discipline.
  • Communicate regularly with scholars from multiple disciplines.
  • Share research from his or her discipline in language meaningful to an interdisciplinary team.
  • Modify his or her own work or research agenda as a result of interactions with colleagues from fields other than his or her own.
  • Present in an interdisciplinary research setting.

III. Interacting with others

  • Interact in training exercises with scholars from other disciplines.
  • Engage colleagues from other disciplines to gain their perspectives on research problems.
  • Attend scholarly presentations by members of other disciplines.
  • Collaborate respectfully and equitably with scholars from other disciplines to develop interdisciplinary research frameworks.

Core Coursework

Acquisition of these core competencies will be facilitated by the following courses (Minimum: 18 credits), which are required of all TBS graduate students:

  • one course in Biostatistics and/or Epidemiology (3 credits)
  • one course in Bioethics, TBS 5680 (3 credits) and one in Responsible Conduct of Research (1 credit)
  • one course in Technical Writing (3 credits)
  • one course in Tools for Translational Research, TBS 5720 (3 credits)
  • one capstone course in Translational Competencies, TBS 6500 (3 credits)
  • two seminars in Translational Biomedical Sciences Career Development, TBS 6220 (2 credits) (Note: students in the TBS program are expected to attend this seminar every semester until graduation).

Demonstration of the ability to conduct independent research and to communicate effectively the results of that work.

Following satisfactory completion of the competency requirements, students in the TBS program are expected to demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research and to effectively communicate research results. This is part of the process for admission to candidacy in the TBS doctoral program and fulfills the qualifying examination requirement.

As early as the first semester of graduate study, a student in the TBS program must begin to engage in research under the supervision of a TBS graduate faculty, and register for credit hours of TBS 6940: Independent Research. Students will present in public the results for their independent research project, followed by a defense-style exam with three TBS faculty members. The examiners will meet with the candidate in closed session and probe for evidence of research creativity, formal thinking and rigor. The examination committee will determine in advance the scope of the questions, and they will address not only the research presented, but also background and related material, to assess both depth and breadth of knowledge.

Doctoral Dissertation

Following admission to candidacy, the student will formally select two mentors from different disciplines, and then form a doctoral advisory committee. In concert with this doctoral advisory committee, the student will define the dissertation topic and prepare a written research proposal in the format of (or substantially equivalent to) an NSF or NIH fellowship application. The doctoral advisory committee must approve this proposal by the fourth semester in the program. The doctoral advisory committee will be charged also with determining the appropriate elective course work, that is, the content knowledge in support of the dissertation research.