Faculty & Staff

Admissions Committee for PhD Programs in Biomedical and Clinical & Translational Sciences

Purpose

To attract, evaluate, and select the best possible graduate student applicants for the graduate degree programs in the Biomedical Sciences within the School of Medicine and Pharmacy, keeping in mind the mission and values of the schools.

Membership

  • The individual graduate programs shall select one faculty member annually from each graduate program for potential appointment from the dean. Faculty members may self-nominate through their chair.
  • Faculty members of the Admissions Committee will elect a Chair annually from the voting membership.
  • One senior graduate student will be elected by the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) to serve as a voting member.
  • The Chairperson of the Recruitment Committee will serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member.
  • An Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies will serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member, as the Dean's representative.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Pre-select applicants for invitation to the Graduate Programs Open House.
  • Interview prospective graduate students.
  • Following interview selections, applicant files will be distributed to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, the Chair, the Graduate Program Coordinators, and faculty and student recruitment committees to make personal contact with the applicants.
  • Take action and select applicants following review of credentials and interviews, based on the number of training positions available as identified by the Graduate Program Coordinators and the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies.
  • Review and propose annually the minimum admissions requirements for graduate programs including those areas where proficiency is required, and where undergraduate course work may be flexible.
  • Develop and evaluate an instrument that considers various aspects of the applicant's record including but not limited to degrees earned, grade point average (GPA), coursework difficulty, GRE scores, research experience, letters of recommendation, level of interest for advanced training in a specific discipline and the personal interview.
  • Provide to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies a rank-ordered list of qualified applicants for final selection.
  • Formal offers of acceptance and other decisions by the Committee shall be signed by the Chair, the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, and the Associate Vice President for Research.
  • Serve as first-year advisors as assigned for each applicant accepting appointment to the graduate program.
  • Review the academic progress of all students completing a full semester of graduate course work. Any student with a GPA below 3.0 shall be counseled by their advisor and placed on academic probation. Comprehensive first-year GPA must be 3.0 or higher to advance to the second year. Failure to meet this standard may result in dismissal from the graduate program.

Meetings

The Chair and/or the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies shall call meetings as required to complete the duties of the committee in a timely and efficient manner.