After the first
year, students focus on laboratory research. Nevertheless,
course instruction continues in the form of the annual
Topics in Biology course
and an annual postgraduate course of the student’s choosing.
In the second year, students defend their doctoral thesis
research proposal, and, in their last year, they defend
a proposal for postdoctoral studies. Students are awarded
the Ph.D. degree after successful defense of a thesis
that describes their original research.
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| Watson
School Students at work in Urey Cottage |
Doctoral
Thesis Research Proposal and Thesis Advisory Committee
In January of the second year, students defend a written
doctoral thesis research proposal. The proposal includes
a clear outline of goals and specific aims and describes
the broader scientific context and debate surrounding
the proposed research. After successful oral defense of
the research proposal, a thesis advisory committee consisting
of the research mentor, academic mentor, and the thesis
research proposal examining committee is constituted to
guide the student with his or her doctoral research.
Thesis
Preparation and Defense
With the approval of the thesis advisory committee,
each student prepares a written thesis on his or her
original research. To defend the thesis, students present
a public seminar and are subsequently examined by the
thesis committee and an additional examiner external
to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. A satisfactory defense
and fulfillment of all curricular requirements results
in the granting of the Ph.D. degree. The Watson School
of Biological Sciences graduate program is designed
so that students can complete their doctoral studies
in approximately four years. If, at four years, a student
and thesis committee agree that more than four and one-half
years are required to complete the doctoral program,
the student and thesis committee may petition for an
extension. |
