The purpose of the Qualifications Evaluation is test the student’s ability to identify a research question, formulate a testable hypothesis parse the hypothesis into testable aims, and articulate a limited set of experiments to address these aims. The student will be evaluated for basic knowledge in the field of research, and ability to think logically and communicate effectively in both written and oral formats. The student is also expected to recognize the strengths, weaknesses, and feasibility of the proposed approach. The student is not expected to have substantial preliminary data for the written or oral examination.
All graduate students are required to complete the Qualifications Evaluation within the first 14 months of their residence (typically by Nov. 1). The Qualifications Evaluation requirements include: 1) preparing a written proposal, and 2) presenting and discussing the proposal during an oral examination by a committee of 3-4 members of Penn’s Bioengineering Graduate Group.
The combined exam period will take place during a 3-week window, during the first two weeks of which the written document for the qualifier will be prepared.
While preparing the qualifier (both written and oral components), the student is not to consult the advisor. Students can consult with peers. Students can also use online resources such as Google and PubMed but not ChatGPT or other LLM.The Bioengineering graduate coordinator, the GEC chair, and the Bioengineering Graduate Group chair will provide administrative guidance, if necessary.
The written document should take the form of an NIH R21 proposal, including sections for Specific Aims, Significance, Innovation, Approach, and Literature Cited. The proposal should be no longer than 7 pages, using at least 0.5” margins, single spacing, and 11-point font (preferably Arial). As a rough guideline, one page should be used for Specific Aims, 1-2 pages for Significance and Innovation, and <2-5 pages for Approach. The Literature Cited section does not count towards the page limit. For the oral portion of the exam, your presentation should last 10-15 minutes when uninterrupted (no more than 10 slides for planned presentation, excluding the title slide; backup slides are permissible, but only to address committee questions). Example R21 for reference
Riccardo Gottardi, Graduate Examinations Committee Chair
Revised 2024
The written document should take the form of an NIH R21 proposal, including sections for Specific Aims, Significance, Innovation, Approach, and Literature Cited. The proposal should be no longer than 7 pages, using at least 0.5″ margins, single spacing, and 11-point font (preferably Arial). As a rough guideline, one page should be used for Specific Aims, one page for Significance and Innovation, and five pages for Research Design and Methods.
Example R21 for reference
The Literature Cited section does not count towards the page limit. For the oral portion of the exam, your presentation should last 10-15 minutes (no more than 10 slides, excluding the title slide) when uninterrupted. A sample timeline is below:
Students are strongly encouraged to schedule the qualifier as soon as possible to minimize conflicts with coursework and schedules of committee members!
Student Registration Form -Students receive a google sheet with available dates. Students will sign up on a date/time that is convenient for both advisor and student by April15th.
R21 Basics
Excerpts from NIH PHS 398 Instructions
Advisor Guidelines – Advisor should consult with student on available date and time for oral exam along with a confidential topic and recommendations for committee members.
Advisor Registration form will be received on April 16th and must be completed by April 30th.
Exam Committee Guidelines
Evaluation of Exam and Overall Recommendations Form
Kate Venit (kvenit@seas.upenn.edu), Associate Director, Graduate Programs
Yale Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. (ycohen@pennmedicine.upenn.edu), Chair, Bioengineering Graduate Group
To be eligible to defend your proposal and advance to candidacy, a student must have passed the Qualifications Evaluation and be in good academic standing. All Ph.D. students should defend their dissertation proposal by the end of the fall semester of their third year of graduate studies.
Access the Dissertation Registration web form here.
Before the third year, each student and advisor should identify a dissertation research topic, select potential committee members, and develop a timeline to defend their dissertation proposal by the end of the fall semester of their third year of study. All students must formally register for the Dissertation Proposal (access registration form here) by the end of the fifth semester of graduate study. If the student took a leave of absence during his/her studies, or believes he/she may have other extenuating circumstances, contact the Graduate Group Chair so that a timeline to defend the proposal can be determined based on individual circumstances.
The Graduate Group Chair will review the topic, committee members and timeline proposed on the registration form. After reviewing your registration and committee recommendations, you will receive an email confirmation and approval of your registration. Changes or additions to the committee require approval of the Graduate Group Chair.
Download the Guidelines for Selecting Your Committee.
The advisor must approve the dissertation proposal before it can be distributed to the committee. The dissertation proposal is based on the NIH application format, and should have the following sections: Cover page including title, student and advisor name and contact information, Table of Contents, Abstract (<1 page), Specific Aims (1 page) and Research Strategy (6-12 pages). There is a 13-page limit, single-spaced with minimum font size of 11, excluding the Cover Page, Table of Contents, Abstract and References. The Specific Aims section states the specific objectives of the research proposed (e.g., to test a stated hypothesis, create a novel design, solve a specific problem, challenge an existing paradigm or clinical practice, address a critical barrier to progress in the field, or develop new technology). The Research Strategy section includes subsections: Significance (e.g. importance of the problem and how project will improve scientific knowledge, technical capability), Innovation (e.g. methods, instrumentation, theories, etc.), and Approach (overall strategy, methods and analyses, as well as preliminary data, potential problems and alternative strategies). This format emphasizes scientific and technical merit of the proposed studies, with less emphasis on preliminary data.
Concurrent with the final stages of writing, the student should schedule a date for the proposal defense allowing a minimum of two weeks for the proposal to be reviewed by the committee. The student should copy his/her advisor on all correspondence with committee members. To facilitate rapid convergence on convenient meeting time and dates, students should find 5-7 dates/times that work for the student and advisor, and use meeting planner websites (e.g. www.doodle.com or when2meet.com) to help schedule the meeting. If the student has continued difficulty scheduling due to an unresponsive committee member, he/she should inform the advisor for help. If the member is non-responsive for more than a week, do not hesitate to contact the Graduate Program Coordinator or Graduate Group Chair to expedite the scheduling of the oral exam.
When the student has finalized a date, he/she must inform the Graduate Program Coordinator. Meeting rooms can be reserved through the SEAS Room Reservation Request Form found on-line: www.seas.upenn.edu/about-seas/room-reservation/ The student should send an email to all committee members with confirmation of the date and meeting place. The student will send a reminder to all committee members of the time and location one week before the meeting. The Graduate Group Chair and Graduate Program Coordinator should be copied on the reminder, which can be distributed by e-mail.
If there is a need to change the meeting time of the presentation the student must confirm these changes with committee members and make sure that everyone is agreeable to the change. The student must also inform the Graduate Program Coordinator and the Graduate Group Chair of any changes that are made.
The Oral Presentation period of the dissertation defense should last approximately 45 minutes and will be followed by a question-answer period of similar length. Adjustments may be made with regard to the length of the presentation and subsequent discussion based on committee discretion, but the student should tailor his/her presentation roughly to these guidelines. The conference room should be reserved for two and a half hours to also allow the committee time for evaluation and discussion. The committee chair will report the recommendations to the Graduate Group Chair through the form below: Acceptance of Proposal Form
It is imperative that all committee members be present at the oral presentation. If a member of the committee is unable to attend, the student must obtain approval of the committee chair and Graduate Group Chair to go on with the proposal. In this case, the absent member will be required to send comments to the Committee Chair two days prior to the presentation. At the Committee Chair’s discretion, these comments or questions may be used to test the candidate’s knowledge of the subject area.
The dissertation advisor is an ex-officio member of the committee and should always be present at the examination and at all meetings of the committee. However, the advisor must allow the student to demonstrate his/her knowledge and command of the subject on his/her own and will be recognized by the committee chair only to clarify issues when requested by a committee member.
The student will be informed orally on the outcome of the dissertation proposal defense following the examination. Confirmation of the outcome should be submitted by the Committee Chair through the Acceptance of Proposal Form.
The committee may request revisions to the proposal, accept it as is, or very rarely, suggest a retake or fail the student. The dissertation committee must accept the proposal before the student advances to Candidacy.
PhD milestones must be recorded and submitted by the student through the school’s new Penn Grad Forms website called BP logix. To access the appropriate form for the proposal, choose – “Penn Graduate Forms”, next select “Available forms”, then choose and complete the “Candidacy Examination” form. The form is simple to complete, enter the date you completed your proposal and click submit. Thank you!
NOTE: Students who have not defended their dissertation proposal and advanced to candidcay by the end of the Fall semester of their 3rd year of graduate studies must petition to the Graduate Group Chair for an extension. The petition should explain why a proposal was not submitted and provide a schedule for submission. The University regulations state that the maximum time limit for a student to “Advance to Candidacy” is five years, after which time the student will be dropped from the rolls. Dissertation proposals must be defended and approved at least 12 months before the Doctoral Dissertation is submitted. The Graduate Group Chair will not accept a Doctoral Dissertation before this period has passed.
Starting in their second year, students will meet with a mentoring committee annually. Prior to candidacy, the mentoring committee will be composed of their Qualifying committee. After candidacy, the mentoring committee will be composed of their Dissertation committee, which depending on the nature of a student’s thesis may include members of the Qualifying committee. At least one week prior to the annual meeting (which also includes the candidacy exam), the student will provide a brief progress report (3-page max, excluding non-mandatory figures), an updated CV, and a copy of their IDP. At the beginning of the meeting, the student will meet alone with the committee, followed by a meeting of the advisor(s) with the committee. The committee chair will fill out the PhD Committee Meeting Report.
Access the Progress Report Submission form here.
The purpose of the Dissertation Committee is to provide objective advice and fresh points of view to the student and Advisor. A lively discussion may be expected at these meetings, which is sure to benefit the student and the student’s research. Committee meetings are also important for ensuring that the student is: i) on schedule to complete the Thesis in an appropriate time frame, including maintaining the appropriate balance of experiments, analysis, writing, and dissemination; ii) thinking about and effectively pursuing post-graduation career plans; and iii) at the appropriate time is given permission to defend.
Upon completion of the research program, as determined by the student and advisor, each student must prepare a doctoral dissertation that is read by the dissertation committee and defended in a public presentation. The dissertation must follow the rules and format stipulated in the Doctoral Dissertation Manual issued by the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.
Although strict style guidelines have not been set by the Bioengineering Graduate Group, it is stressed that the requirements of all good scientific writing, i.e. clear logic, clear and grammatically correct writing, and common sense in the presentation, should be followed. In general, the student should also consult previous Ph.D. theses available in the library for guidance as to how to best solve problems of presenting voluminous data, graphs, equations, etc., that are often encountered in an engineering dissertation.
The importance of good organization, with appropriate chapter subheadings as required, cannot be over emphasized, since the reader is faced with the problem of assimilating and critically assessing a great deal of information. Students should also be cognizant that significant differences in styles exist for theses in engineering and the life sciences; although Bioengineering spans both, at Penn the Bioengineering Ph.D. is an engineering degree and students should follow that model.
It is the responsibility of the dissertation advisor to ensure that the written copy of the dissertation submitted to the committee meets the above basic requirements.
In order to submit the dissertation, it must be in its final form, i.e., typed, with final drawings, and complete with references and appendices.
When the advisor approves the dissertation, it is time to send it to the committee and schedule the public defense. The student must allow sufficient time for the reading of the dissertation by the committee, the final examination, and possible revisions and rereading; otherwise the student may be required to register for another semester to complete the process. Specifically, the student may schedule a date for the defense, allowing a minimum of three weeks for the dissertation to be read. When the student has finalized a date he/she must inform the graduate assistant within three weeks of the date so that the Graduate Program Coordinator can prepare the proper paperwork and post notices of the defense to the University community. Communicating confirmation of the date and meeting place to each committee member is the responsibility of the student. If any of the original committee members are unavailable, the Graduate Group Chair will appoint replacements as needed. Upon agreeing to an examination date, the committee members guarantee to complete an initial review of the dissertation at least One week prior to the scheduled exam date. During that week, they should be available for consultation with the student to discuss possible necessary dissertation revisions and deficiencies prior to the examination. The responsibility for initiating contact rests with the student, but an equal responsibility rests with the dissertation committee to make the student and advisor aware of problems prior to the examination. In extreme cases, the committee chair may act to postpone the examination date if in his/her judgment the dissertation is not ready for defense.
The actual final examination consists of a defense of the dissertation by the student. It is conducted in two parts:
At the conclusion of the final examination, the committee decides by majority vote, as to whether the student passes the final examination and whether the dissertation is acceptable. The results are transmitted to the Graduate Group Chair, who has primary responsibility for acceptance of the dissertation as representative of the entire Graduate Group Committee. It is expected that in all but the rarest circumstance the Graduate Group Chair will consent to the committee’s recommendation, and will break a tie vote if necessary the Graduate Group Chair can overrule the dissertation committee. In order to overrule the dissertation committee, the Graduate Group Chair must submit a written opinion to the entire Graduate Group Committee, who then take final action.
If the student is judged to have passed the final examination, but the dissertation is deemed to require revision, the review committee shall determine what revisions are necessary, and the basis for further review. Such revisions will be specified in a letter from the Examining Committee Chair sent to the candidate and his/her advisor within 48 hours of the examination. The dissertation committee chair is responsible for overseeing this aspect of the review and for certifying to the Graduate Group Chair that the dissertation is finally acceptable. The student must then submit sufficient copies of the approved dissertation for each of the committee members, if they require them.
All information needed to deposit your dissertation and graduate is found here: Graduate Degrees – Penn Provost
The must make an appointment with the office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education to submit the dissertation.
The student must inform the graduate assistant of the date and time of the appointment at least one week in advance in order for the assistant to complete the degree worksheet and ensure electronic forms are approved and processed.
Access the University of Pennsylvania Doctoral Dissertation Manual here.
Since all PhD candidates at the University of Pennsylvania are governed by procedures established in the SAS Graduate Office, Engineering PhD candidates should be aware that their applications for graduation are processed in the SAS Graduate Office and that their dissertation is submitted there.
The SAS Graduate Office firmly observes the deadlines they establish, so it is important to adhere to their requirements.
Early application for graduation is necessary to ensure that grades, dissertation preparation and/or revisions, and financial obligations can be fulfilled by the deadline for graduation. Also, the process for ordering and printing diplomas can take up to three months.
Candidates for PhD degrees need to apply for graduation online.
PhD Students – Penn Provost
Confer with your adviser and inform him or her of the need for a timely reading and signature before graduation.
Apply to graduate through the provost’s online application system found on the page at the link below:
Make sure that your financial obligations are cleared before the end of the final semester.
Check that your academic record is complete, and that appropriate courses have been taken for the degree.
Order cap and gown from the University Bookstore in early March if you wish to participate in the May graduation ceremony. May is the only formal graduation ceremony. (Students who graduate in August or December of the preceding year are invited to attend the May ceremony. Students anticipating graduation in the same year may request, by approval, to participate in the May ceremony.)
