Candidacy

section III, article 5

Candidacy status is an indication that a doctoral scholar has developed sufficient mastery of a discipline to advance towards the PhD. The scholar will rely on this foundation to produce an original research contribution in their field in the form of the dissertation.

Eligibility

PhD scholars are eligible for candidacy when they have earned at least 54 credit hours at the 500 level or above. All incomplete (I) and In Progress (IP) grades must be resolved. Candidates must be in good standing with the program. Scholars must also complete the following before entering candidacy:

  • Rotations
  • JPE: LGS Ethics course JPE 600 (JPE 610 may be completed after entering candidacy) 
  • Chemistry JPE Requirements
  • Second Year Qualifying Exam
  • TATTO: TATT 600 & TATT 605 (x 2 semesters)
  • Six chemistry courses (or equivalent course release based on transfer coursework) with a minimum G.P.A. of 2.7

Timing

Scholars should enter candidacy as soon as all requirements have been completed. Scholars must reach candidacy by September 15 of their fourth year. Scholars who do not meet this deadline will be placed on academic probation, will not be eligible for PDS funds, and may forfeit financial support. These sanctions will be lifted when the scholar enters candidacy.

How to apply

Scholars enter candidacy by submitting the application to enter candidacy, available on the LGS website. Chemistry will confirm that all program requirements have been met and LGS will confirm that remaining requirements have been met. Scholars are considered “in candidacy” when the Dean has approved the application to enter candidacy.

Eligibility for the MS based on candidacy

Once scholars have completed all candidacy requirements, they are eligible for an M.S. degree “on the way” to the Ph.D. Scholars should review the guidelines in the M.S. Degree appendix. The degree is not awarded automatically and is not the same as a terminal degree (which requires full completion of JPE requirements.) Scholars are responsible for pursuing the degree if they wish.


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Next: IV: Milestones

Third Year Milestone

section III, article 6-B

Proposal development is a critical skill for scholars. Success in research and teaching arises from the ability to recognize problems and creatively address them. In the process of creating research proposals, scholars practice critical thinking, evaluate the work of others, and become more familiar with the scientific literature. 

In the Third Year Milestone, scholars will prepare three one-page research pre-proposals. Pre-proposals are not full proposals or completely-researched proposals. The pre-proposals provide an opportunity for faculty to coach scholars to successfully prepare an original research proposal for the Fourth Year Milestone.  

Topic

  • One pre-proposal may describe the scholar’s short-term proposed research activities specific to the research agenda of their primary research mentor’s laboratory. 
  • Two pre-proposals must describe a scholar’s research idea that is independent of the specific research aims of their primary research mentor’s laboratory. 

Format and Content

Scholars should prepare each pre-proposal using the “quad sheet” format taught in the proposal course (CHEM 597R). A quad sheet format template is available.

  1. Objective and Motivation
    Identify the gap in knowledge, and its importance. 
  2. Hypothesis 
    What must be tested to achieve the objective?  
  3. Scientific / Technical Approach
    Concisely describe a proof-of-principle experiment. 
  4. Impact
    Describe expected outcomes and new knowledge arising from the proposed research.

Ideally, each quadrant will include a descriptive graphic and one or a few sentences of relevant text.

Assessment Criteria

Faculty will provide feedback on the following criteria: 

  1. Importance of the problem, and necessity for a new approach; 
  2. Novelty of the hypothesis; 
  3. Creativity and practicality of the scholar’s approach to the problem; 
  4. Quality of the quadrant chart presentation. 

Scholars are required to enroll in CHEM 798C to receive course credit for proposal preparation and presentation. Scholars should enroll in the semester in which they plan to complete the requirement.

Assessment Timeline


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Next: Fourth Year Milestone