Definition of Satisfactory Progress Towards Degrees

This document will be provided to all students and faculty in the Department in an attempt to clarify our degree requirements. It is intended as a supplement to the Biostat Program of Study Brochure which gives details of course, exam, and other requirements. Policies of the Graduate School, to which our degree program is subject, take precedence over the guidelines given here in case of any conflict. Statements of Graduate School policies are available to students and faculty on request.

The faculty of the Department of Biostatistics approved this statement on satisfactory progress at its meeting on November 19, 1992. It updates an earlier version which was approved August 3, 1989.

• General Expectations

  A full-time graduate student in the Department of Biostatistics is considered to be making satisfactory progress if he/she:

  • registers for a full course load each quarter during the academic year (Autumn, Winter, Spring). A full-time load during the academic year is defined as 10 credits. RAs, TAs, and trainees are required to take a full load in summer also unless a petition for a waiver is approved. A full load in the summer is 5 credits.

  • maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

  • completes the required courses in the prescribed amount of time (outlined in the Program of Study (Degree Requirements) ). In most cases this requires more than the minimum number of credits shown above.

  • takes and passes the qualifying examinations in the summer following the year that the sequences are taken.

  • for M.S. students: identifies a thesis advisor and topic during the second year of study and completes the thesis within a year thereafter.

  • for Ph.D. students: identifies a Ph.D. advisor and topic within a year of passing all qualifying examinations and passes the General Examination within two years of passing the qualifying exams.

• Persons Responsible for Evaluation of Student Progress
  • The student's academic advisor is responsible for monitoring the student's progress with respect to: registration in appropriate courses, sitting for qualifying exams, general advice, and interpretation of departmental academic guidelines.

  • When the student begins a thesis the thesis advisor takes over the responsibilities in 2a). In the case of a Ph.D. student the Supervisory Committee shares responsibility for judging the quality and progress of the thesis research.

  • The departmental faculty reviews the progress of each student in the department at least once a year in a (closed) faculty meeting. Advisors are responsible for reporting the results of this review to their advisees. In addition any student judged to be making unsatisfactory progress will be so informed in writing by the Graduate Program Advisor.

  • The full faculty is responsible for determining success and failure on qualifying examinations. The Graduate Program Advisor reports the results of all such examinations in writing to students taking the exams.

• Criteria for Performance/Progress Evaluation
  • Course load and course grades.

  • Qualifying examination scores.

  • Quality of other scientific efforts e.g. research assistantship, teaching assistantship, independent study, abstracts, papers; as judged by faculty and/or outside reviewers.

  • Quality of thesis as judged by readers and supervisory committee.

• Conditions Warranting Recommendation to Alter a Student's Standing
  (i.e. warning, probation, final probation, drop actions)
  • The Department of Biostatistics is guided by Graduate School Memorandum No. 16.

  • Accumulated G.P.A. less than 3.0 or a single quarter G.P.A. less than 3.0 will lead to a warning. Two quarterly G.P.A.s less than 3.0 will result in a recommendation for probation except in extenuating circumstances.

  • Failure to pass a qualifying examination in the number of attempts stated in the official brochure will lead to a drop recommendation.

  • A grade of incomplete or no credit for thesis (BIOST 700 or BIOST 800) will lead to a warning.

  • After two warnings, for any reason, a recommendation for probation will ordinarily be made.

  • It is the Graduate School Policy that all work for the Masters degree must be completed in six years. All work for the Ph.D. degree must be completed in ten years.

• Appeal Procedures
  • A Biostatistics student may appeal evaluations recommended to the Graduate School by the Graduate Program in Biostatistics through the Dean's Office of the School of Public Health. In that case, procedures analogous to those followed for undergraduates would be instituted, as described in steps 1 ABC of the attached document entitled, "School of Public Health Undergraduate Academic Procedures," Sept. 1987. If indicated, procedures like those described in section 2.A.B. and 3 A-E would be implemented, but under the auspices of the Graduate School rather than the School Of Public Health and Community Medicine.

Link to:

Graduate School Memorandum No. 16, February 1, 1989.