Final Examination

The initial phase of the Defense of the dissertation takes place as part of a public seminar of the Department. The members of the Ph.D. Committee are required to attend. After the public seminar is over, the candidate and members of the Ph.D. Committee adjourn to conclude the examination in private. The examination may cover any area or topic ranging from basic knowledge to future research directions. Typically, the private examination is a change for high-level discussion of scientific concepts between colleagues. The result of the examination should be reported to the student immediately afterward.
In some cases, Ph.D. Committees require extensive revisions to the dissertation prior to acceptance. In these circumstances, students are strongly discouraged from leaving Vanderbilt prior to completing final revisions. In cases in which students do leave, they will be personally responsible for all expenses including a continuing registration fee, i.e., this will be paid by the student, not the advisor. The dissertation advisor and Ph.D. Committee may place a deadline on correcting any deficiencies identified during the final examination. Failure to meet this deadline may result in termination from the program.

Biochemistry students usually complete their graduate studies and defend roughly four to five years after entering graduate school. Completion is required by the Graduate School within four years of successfully passing the qualifying exam. If a student has not completed all degree requirements four years after the qualifying exam, the student may request an extension of six months. An extension request should be addressed to the Director of Graduate Studies and submitted to the Program Administrator at least 8 weeks in advance and should be accompanied by a letter from the Ph.D. advisor indicating the reasons for the extension. Upon consent of the Biochemistry Graduate Education Advisory Committee, the request will be submitted to the Graduate School. A student is allowed a maximum of two 6-month extensions. Students will be dismissed from the program if they have not completed all degree requirements by the end of the second extension period, which is a stated policy of the Graduate School.