Progress Toward the PhD Degree: Benchmarks and Timeframe/Deadlines

Rotations provide students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with a range of laboratory environments, research topics, mentoring styles, techniques, and approaches to research. Laboratory rotations also give faculty mentors the opportunity to get to know students better and to evaluate their work ethic, work habits, and approach to research, as well as overall research interests and aptitude. It is important for students to realize that evaluations during each laboratory rotation are a two-way process.

Students must begin a laboratory rotation immediately upon entering the program and must always remain actively engaged in laboratory research. To arrange rotations, students contact individual faculty members well in advance of the intended start date. Students should discuss possible rotations with more than three faculty mentors so that possible rotation options are thoroughly explored and to ensure that space is available at the proposed time.

All rotations should have a rotation plan, prepared by the faculty mentor and given to the student at the beginning of the rotation. There is no specified format, but the document should contain a brief overview of the dates of the rotation, the goals of the project, and the faculty mentor’s expectations of the rotation. The faculty mentor should also specify the format of the rotation summary (written, oral, or both) that is to be completed by the student at the end of the rotation period.

All rotations must be evaluated by the student and the faculty mentor. In addition to meeting to provide verbal feedback and discuss the rotation, written evaluations need to be completed by both the student and the faculty mentor. Evaluation forms are found on the GEPA website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/home/forms.aspx.

The GEPA Office updates these forms from time to time. It is the student’s responsibility to make certain that the most current evaluation form is used, and that the evaluation is completed in a timely manner. Forms should be turned in (electronically) within 1 week of completion of the rotation.

Obtaining mentoring, guidance, and constructive criticism are important aspects of developing into a PhD level scientist. Students are encouraged to seek advice from many sources as they cultivate the knowledge and skills necessary for success. Outlined herein are the required evaluation and assessment processes; however, this does not mean that other sources of guidance are not also encouraged (e.g., additional mentors are encouraged, including other faculty and peers).

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

All graduate students are required to have an IDP (Individual Development Plan) in place. Tips and instructions for developing your IDP can be found at http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/. Students should start developing an IDP early during graduate school and revisit this throughout their time in graduate school (and beyond). The Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education requires that all students have an IDP in place no later than the beginning of the third year of study.

Annual Reviews

Students are required to conduct an annual self-evaluation and receive feedback from faculty regarding their progress. The annual evaluation process for first year students differs slightly from that of all other students; therefore, this process is described below in two parts. This process is not only required by the Program, but by the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, who requires that each doctoral student’s faculty mentor/thesis advisory committee submit a Progress Report by June 30^th of each year. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure this process occurs each year. Forms can be found at and downloaded from the GEPA website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/home/forms.aspx

First year students

The Program Director serves as the advisor for all first-year students. Students are encouraged to seek guidance from the Program Director as needed throughout the academic year. The Program’s Steering Committee will evaluate and discuss the progress of all students. This evaluation will include academic performance, rotation evaluations, and attendance and participation in Program and University functions. Also considered will be whether the student has selected a Thesis Advisor. The results of this meeting are communicated to each student in a meeting with the Program Director, who will also provide a summary of this evaluation to the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education. MD/PhD students are evaluated by their Thesis Advisory Committee each year that they are in the Program.

All other students

Students should seek input from their mentor, members of their Thesis Advisory Committee, and other faculty as needed. However, at a minimum, students are required to meet with their full Thesis Advisory Committee at least once per year. Ideally, these annual committee meetings will be held during the same week (and preferably on the same day) as the student’s spring seminar. Students should complete their portion of the annual evaluation prior to the committee meeting. For students in years five and above, this annual meeting should be held before June 15^th. 

MD/PhD students typically enter the PhD portion after the basic science years of the MD curriculum. During their first and/or second year of the MD program, they should discuss the Toxicology PhD Program with departmental faculty and the Directors of the Toxicology Graduate program. During this period, they should evaluate possible dissertation research mentors. At least one research rotation must be completed before their entry into the PhD program. A research rotation in the lab of the ultimate dissertation research mentor is also required if not already done.

Based on their basic science courses in the medical curriculum, MD/PhD students are granted 30 credits toward the 96-credit requirement for the PhD. Thus, many of the required courses for Toxicology PhD candidates (i.e., IND 431, IND 432, PHP 403, and PHP 404) are waived for most MD/PhD students. 30 credits can only be transferred IF the student earns more than 96 credit hours of PhD research. Please refer to the University policy on credit sharing between two degrees.

The required courses are: TOX 521, TOX 522, and BST 467. In addition, each student is required to take the Toxicology Student Research Seminar (TOX 558) and Ethics (IND 501). Additional courses are typically small group seminars and journal clubs (1-2 credits each) where students learn how to critically evaluate and orally present recent literature. The number and types of additional courses should be discussed with the mentor.

For the PhD portion of the combined MD/PhD, students take an oral qualifying examination based on their proposed thesis research by October of their second year of study (i.e., the third semester). Thus, it is critical that students form their thesis advisory committee by the start of their second semester of PhD research. Typically, the combined degree students complete the PhD portion in 3-4 years.