Date Effective: June 27, 1995

POLICY & PROCEDURE MEMORANDUM ACADEMIC PROGRAMS - 15

SUBJECT:   Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree - Interdivisional Program in Clinical Investigation

INTRODUCTION

The Ph.D. degree, with a sub-specialty in clinical investigation, is a cooperative graduate training program with the School of Medicine, and an extension of the current cooperative graduate training program which awards a Master of Science (Sc.M.) degree. This degree will have a more extensive curriculum, and require a more substantial thesis contribution than the current Sc.M. degree (PPM 14). While the degree is awarded by the University through the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the program is directed and administered by an Inter-School Advisory Council and a Program Director appointed by the Deans of both Schools.

This memorandum contains the following information concerning minimal degree requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Clinical Investigation:

        I.            Administrative Requirements

                             A.            Academic Prerequisites

                             B.            Residence

                             C.            Curriculum and "Outside" Courses

                             D.            Oversight of Thesis Preparation

                              E.            Submission of Approved Thesis in Prescribed Format

                              F.            Time Limit for Completion

2. Certifications by the Faculty

                             A.            Comprehensive Written Examination in Principal Subject

                             B.            Preliminary Doctoral Oral Examination

                             C.            Ph.D. Thesis and Oral Defense

1. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

                             A.            Academic Prerequisites

Policy

Candidates ordinarily must have an appropriate Doctoral Degree (e.g., M.D.) in the biomedical sciences, and ordinarily will be enrolled in a postdoctoral clinical training program within the University.

Procedure

Administrative clearance: Acceptance is by approval of the Program's Advisory Council after review by the Council's Committee on Candidate Selection. The Admissions Office will be responsible for receiving and filing admission materials and credentials. The student's acceptance is tentative until the receipt of all official and complete required transcripts. The Admissions Office is responsible for identifying those students with missing transcripts. The Registrar's Office will not allow such students to register for more than two quarters.

2. Residence

Policy

A minimum of four consecutive terms of registration as a full-time student is required. If a student completes a masters program at this School and continues into a doctoral program, the subsequent four-term residency may be waived by the Department if it was satisfied as part of the master's program. In order for this waiver to occur, a student's enrollment must be uninterrupted (for example, a student completes a masters program in May and continues into a Ph.D. program in September of the same year).

Requests for exceptions will be handled on an individual basis by the Committee on Academic Standards pending approval by the University Graduate Board.

Procedure

                                                      1.            While the official records will be maintained by the Registrar, the student's advisor is responsible for monitoring fulfillment of this requirement.

2. Request for evaluation of credit earned toward fulfillment of residency requirements should be directed by the student's advisor, following approval by the Program Director, to the Committee on Academic Standards.
2. Curriculum and "Outside" Courses

Policy

                                                      1.            At least 90 credit hours of course work is required, as specified in the catalogue. A core curriculum of approximately 70 credit hours will ordinarily be accomplished in a summer quarter and four contiguous academic quarters in the same year. The remaining credit hours will be earned in electives and thesis research in the ensuing quarters. Deviations from this scheme may be approved in special circumstances by the Program's Advisory Council, if deemed to be in the best interest of the student's career development.

2. At the completion of the course work and year of residence, the student must be in good academic standing. A student not in good academic standing will be placed on probation. The decision to permit continued enrollment of a student on academic probation will be made by the Program Director with the concurrence of the Program's Advisory Council and the SHPH Committee on Academic Standards.

Procedure

                                                      3.            Official records of all course work taken to fulfill this degree (including course work taken in the School of Medicine) will be maintained by the SHPH Registrar.

4. Exemption from certain required courses, based on previous training, experience, or by examination, may be requested from the course instructor after approval by the Program Director. For credit units exempted from a required course, the student must elect an equivalent number of units in formal courses and/or special studies.
5. To remain in good academic standing, all of the following achievements are required: (a) a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75; (b) no grade of "F" in any required course; (c) no more than two grades of "F" combined in any courses; and (d) no more than six credits of "incomplete" work at any one time.
6. No more than one retake of a required course in which a student receives a grade of "F" will be permitted.
7. While the official records will be maintained by the Registrar, each student and department should keep records of "outside" course units.
8. Requests for evaluation of credits earned at other schools should be directed by the advisor, following approval by the Department Chair, to the Committee on Academic Standards.
3. Oversight of Thesis Preparation

Procedure

During the first year of training, the student will be appointed a Faculty Advisor, who will oversee the progress of the student's academic work and conduct of thesis. The student will be required to meet with the Thesis Advisor at least twice annually, to update the advisor regarding progress of thesis work. The advisor will assist the student in complying with time lines for thesis preparation and submission.

The GTPCI Research Review Committee will appoint a Thesis Subcommittee, consisting of the Faculty Advisor plus at least two other faculty members with relevant expertise. The other members of the Thesis Subcommittee will work with the Faculty Advisor to ensure satisfactory progress of the thesis research.

5. Submission of Approved Thesis in Prescribed Format

Procedure

See PREPARATION OF THESIS

Policy

A thesis proposal must be submitted to the Program's Advisory Council, which must approve the proposal prior to commencement of the Thesis Project.

6. Time Limit for Completion

Not more than seven years may elapse between the date of matriculation and fulfillment of all requirements for the doctorate. This is in compliance with the School's time limitation requirement. The matriculation date is the first day of the quarter in which the accepted degree candidate begins his/her coursework. The matriculation date is not changed when a student transfers to another degree program; it does change when a student completes one degree program and enters another. During this seven-year period of time, the student must remain continuously registered in an acceptable registration status. Students registered either in residence or non-residence must conform to the seven-year limit. Only students who have been approved for formal leaves of absence may extend this time beyond seven years.

2. CERTIFICATIONS BY THE FACULTY

                             A.            Comprehensive Written Examination

Purpose

This examination constitutes a comprehensive inquiry into the student's grasp of the subject matter underlying the degree. It should explore the student's understanding of scientific principles and methods as well as his/her substantive knowledge of the major disciplines in related areas involved.

Policy

This is a written comprehensive examination required of all degree candidates.

Procedure

                                                      1.            The Curriculum Committee of the Program's Advisory Council arranges for, administers, and evaluates the results of this examination.

2. Timing. The examination should normally be given at the end of the first year of residence, or the completion of the core 70 credit hours of curriculum, and before the preliminary oral examination.
3. Results. The outcome of the examination is determined by the Program's Curriculum Committee with review and approval by the Program's Advisory Council. An evaluation of the student's performance on this examination is to be submitted to the Registrar for transmittal to the Committee on Academic Standards.
4. If a student's performance is unsatisfactory, only one re-examination is permitted.
1. Preliminary Doctoral Oral Examination

Policy and Procedure will be the same as those presented in the Policy and Procedure Memorandum for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, revised July 28, 1992, as stated below.

Purpose

The purpose of this examination is to determine whether the student has both the ability and knowledge to undertake significant research in his/her general area of interest. Specifically, the examiners will be concerned with the student's: (1) capacity for logical thinking; (2) breadth of knowledge in relevant areas; and (3) ability to develop and conduct research leading to a completed thesis. Discussion of a specific research proposal, if available, may serve as a vehicle for determining the student's general knowledge and research capacity. However, this examination is not intended to be a defense of a specific research proposal.

Policy

1. This is a University examination under the jurisdiction of the Graduate Board and is required of all Ph.D. students.
2. In some special cases involving transfer from other doctoral programs after the Preliminary Oral has already been taken, the Final Oral Examination may serve the purpose of the Graduate Board Oral Examination. Approval for this change must be granted by the Committee on Academic Standards.

Procedure

                                                      3.            Examining Committee: Requests for a preliminary oral examination must be sent to the Registrar's Office on the appropriate form at least four weeks prior to the examination. The committee shall consist of five voting members, the majority of whom must have a primary faculty appointment in a Department other than the one sponsoring the candidate. Each must have a current appointment as Assistant Professor or higher in a JHU department or program. A minimum of three Departments of the University, at least two being from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, must be represented.* Not more than two members of the primary department can serve, and one of these must be the thesis advisor. The second departmental member will be the student's clinical mentor. At least one member must hold neither a primary nor joint appointment in the student's department. The senior faculty member outside the student's major department will normally serve as Chair and must hold the rank of Full or Associate Professor and be appointed by the Graduate Board. One adjunct faculty may serve on the Committee, but may not serve as the Chair.

*Primary department is defined as members of the Advisory Council for Graduate Training Program in Clinical Investigation.

                                                      2.            Time of examination: The examination should be given at the earliest feasible time, not later than the end of the student's third year in residence, and before significant engagement in dissertation research.

3. Reexamination: If the student fails the preliminary oral examination and is permitted a reexamination, he/she must be reexamined within one year.
4. Conduct of Examination and Report of Results

                                                                               a.            Before presenting the request for the examination, the Department shall contact prospective examiners to ensure that they are available to serve on the Committee. Once an examination committee has been approved by the Graduate Board Office, substitution of committee members may not be made without prior approval of that office.

If one of the officially appointed members of the Committee fails to appear on the date fixed for the examination, the previously approved alternate (if designated) must be prepared to discharge the responsibility of the absent individual. A preliminary oral examination may not be held with fewer than five officially approved faculty members in the room.

2. The conduct of this examination should follow guidelines stated in the Graduate Board document entitled, "Suggestions for the Chair of Graduate Board Oral Examinations." Copies of this document are on file in the Registrar's Office.
3. Immediately following the examination the committee must evaluate the success or failure of the student by a closed ballot prior to any discussion of the candidates performance. One of the following results must be reported to the Registrar's Office by the Committee Chair:

Unconditional Pass: If the members each vote "unconditional pass" on the first ballot, this result is reported with no further discussion. If one or more members vote "conditional pass" or "fail," then the committee should discuss the specific concerns of those members as discussed in conditional pass below.

Conditional Pass: The Committee may decide that further evidence of qualifications is necessary and impose a specified condition that the candidate must fulfill within a given time period. If at least one member votes for fail or conditional pass on the immediate closed ballot, then the whole Committee must discuss and subsequently vote (with an open ballot) on possible conditions. Those who feel the need for a condition or failure must convince the others, or vice-versa. The Committee should make a concerted effort to reach a consensus.

If it is not possible to reach this consensus, then the majority will determine whether the final outcome is unconditional or conditional pass, and the nature of any required condition.

In the case of a conditional pass outcome, the Committee will remain appointed until the condition is removed. Terms of the condition and its removal must be reported in writing to the Registrar's office.

Failure: If a majority of the Committee decides that the candidate has failed the examination, the Committee must recommend a future course of action. The recommendation may be one of the following:

1. No reexamination.
2. Reexamination by the same Committee.
3. Reexamination in written form and conducted by the same Committee.
4. Reexamination by a new Committee. If the recommendation is for a new Committee, at least one outside member of the original Committee shall be appointed to the new Committee and must be approved by the University Graduate Board.
3. The result of the examination must be recorded on the appropriate line at the bottom of the scheduling form for that examination. Each member of the Committee must sign the form and it must be returned by the Chair to the Registrar's Office at the Bloomberg School of Public Health immediately after the examination.
2. Doctoral Thesis and Oral Defense

Purpose

A written thesis must be: (a) based on original research; (b) worthy of publication; (c) represent a substantial contribution to the candidate's chosen field of research; and (d) be acceptable to a Committee of Thesis Readers. Evaluation of the thesis shall be conducted by a Committee of Thesis Readers after the Program Director and the student's Thesis Committee agree that the candidate is ready. For this evaluation, individual readers shall determine: (a) the originality and publication potential of the research; (b) the candidate's understanding of the details of the methodologic and analytic work; (c) the magnitude of the candidate's contribution to his/her chosen field of research; and (d) the final quality of the written thesis document. The two departmental members will be the student's clinical mentor as well as the thesis advisor.