Graduate Studies in Biochemistry
Program Information
General Information First Year Report Timing Evaluation
Graduate Student Handbook Courses Thesis Safety
Awards Graduate Endowment Fund SOGS
General Information
The Department of Biochemistry offers MSc and PhD graduate degrees. Both degrees require completion of a research-intensive thesis, course work, and participation in a seminar program. We also offer the Accelerated MSc Program.
New students usually register in the MSc program. Those wishing to complete a PhD degree may transfer into
the PhD program before completion of their 5th term (20 months). Students entering the PhD program directly must complete a qualifying exam before the completion of 3 terms (1 year) in the PhD program.
First Year Report
All Master's students are responsible for composing a 3-4 page report, not to exceed 8,000 characters that:
- Introduces the Master's thesis project, emphasizing the key hypothesis to be tested.
- Describes relevant background literature. This part should constitute one-third to one-half of the report (about 1.5 pages).
- Describes and evaluates procedures being used in the studies.
- Where possible, presents any relevant results.
- Provides research direction.
Timing
The First Year Meeting should be held, at the latest, within one month of completing the third term. To provide the advisory committee sufficient time to review the report, the student should submit the report to committee members at least one week before the scheduled meeting. The student is responsible for setting up the committee meeting.
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Evaluation
The report will be evaluated only by the student's advisory committee. No formal grade will be assigned to the report. The student will be expected to answer questions relevant to the report. A short summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal should be provided to the student by each committee member. These summaries and a copy of the report will be kept in the student's file. If the advisory committee believes the report to be unacceptable, then the student should be clearly informed that significant improvement would be necessary for the qualifying exam and the principal supervisor should guide the student in upgrading the report to an acceptable level.
This written report is not meant to replace the qualifying exam, but to aid the student in his/her preparation. The scope of the report is significantly less than the qualifying exam, but after appropriate updating and revising, much of the report could be included as part of the qualifying exam.
The above information is also included in the Graduate Student Handbook.
Graduate Student Handbook
For detailed information on our graduate program please consult the Department of Biochemistry's Graduate Student Handbook. This handbook contains information on:
- The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Requirements (roles and responsibilities of the program, supervisor, advisory committee, and student)
- Qualifying Exam
- Seminars
- Course Information
- Thesis Information
- First Year Report
The Handbook also contains other contact information and useful links. If you have any questions regarding any Department/Faculty requirements, please contact Barb Green.
Thesis Information (MSC and PhD)
Guidelines for the preparation and
examination of MSc and PhD theses are provided by the The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
Safety Information
For the most up-to-date information go to Human Resources, Health & Safety.
Last updated July 18, 2012 by J. Penchuk
