Translational Science Plan of Study
Academic Year
The Translational Science Ph.D. program is a joint degree program, and the semester structure of the Health Science Center is different from the academic institutions. The Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences operates under a "super semester" system, with two six-month semesters. There is no summer semester at the Health Science Center; however, students may/will enroll in summer courses at one of the other three participating academic institutions. As a result, the summer semester is included in the academic year for the Translational Science Ph.D. program and in the example Plan of Study.
Students should refer to the Graduate Catalog of their Home institution to determine credit hour requirements for full- and part-time students. At the Health Science Center, full-time graduate students are required to complete a minimum of 24 semester credit hours each academic year; part-time students are required to complete a minimum of 12 semester credit hours per academic year.
Curriculum Sequence
Students may attend the Translational Science Ph.D. program as full- or part-time students. There is no prescribed sequence of courses for the Translational Science Ph.D. program, and courses may be taken at any of the four universities participating in the joint Translational Science Ph.D. program. Some courses are offered only one time per year and some courses require prerequisites, so students and their academic/graduate advisors or supervising professors are encouraged to develop an individualized degree plan to maintain an established schedule to graduation.
Although a full-time student can complete the Translational Science Ph.D. program in 3 years, many students will require more time (4-5 years) to accommodate the real world challenges of conducting translational research. Because the program design provides for numerous course choices based on research and career goals, only the Translational Science educational domains are identified in this full-time student example. See a for the Ph.D. in Translational Science.
Additionally, the   is multi-institutional. The actual number of courses taken at each institution will depend on the students’ research interest and individualized degree plan.
To maintain progression toward completion of the  Translational Science Ph.D. program  in three years, as a full-time student, the following expectations and milestones should be met:
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Year 1
- With the academic advisor or supervising professor, develop an individualized curriculum plan
- Enroll in and successfully complete selected core, track elective, and/or free elective courses
- Identify an area of research interest
- Identify a Supervising Professor
- If not already selected, a network for purposes of identifying a Supervising Professor
- Create a Compact and Milestone Agreement with an advisor or supervising professor (to be reviewed annually)
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Year 2
- With the academic advisor or supervising professor, review and/or revise individualized curriculum plan
- Enroll in and successfully complete selected core, track elective, and/or free elective courses
- Establish a qualifying examination committee
- Successfully complete the qualifying examination
- File for admission to candidacy
- Select a Supervising Professor (if not done in Year 1)
- Form a Dissertation Committee
- Obtain IRB or IACUC approval for research, if needed
- Begin/continue dissertation research
- Complete scheduled Semi-Annual Evaluations; review the Compact and Milestones Agreement
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Year 3
- Complete the dissertation research project, including writing the dissertation, revising the dissertation, and successfully completing the final oral defense
- Complete scheduled Semi-Annual Evaluations; review the Compact and Milestones Agreement
- Apply for graduation during registration for the semester of oral examination
- Schedule, announce, and present the final oral examination (defense of dissertation)
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Subsequent Years
- Completion of unfinished tasks from previous years-complete research; write/revise the dissertation; prepare/present the final oral examination; apply for graduation
- Complete scheduled Semi-Annual Evaluations; review the Compact and Milestones Agreement