Timeline for the written proposal submission and oral examination:

1. Choose Comprehensive Examination Committee.
2. Select topic for Written Proposal: May 1^st
3. Submission of Written Proposal to the committee members and Graduate Program Director: June 1^st
4. Committee Feedback about written proposal: June 15^th
5. Oral Comprehensive Exam: July 15^th-August 5^th
6. If you do not pass your exam the first time around, the deadline to complete the second exam will be December 1^st

Guidelines for Comprehensive Oral Exam Proposal:

• The topic for your written proposal will be determined by you and your mentor and it will follow the NIH R21 format (7 pages total) consisting of specific aims (1 page) and research strategy (6 pages). Document will be single spaced and Ariel font 11. The topic will be related to your thesis project. You should limit your proposal to two Aims.
• The NIH R21 format consists of the following sections: Background, Significance, Scientific Premise and Rigor, Innovation, Preliminary data, and Approach. References will be on a separate page. Preliminary data is not mandatory for your proposal but if you have data to support your hypothesis, please feel free to include. The deadline for submitting your Proposal to your committee (and the graduate director) is June 15^th.

Comprehensive Oral Examination Format

1. The Comprehensive Examination Committee will comprise of 2 CB primary faculty (excluding mentor) and 3 faculty members from the student’s thesis committee (including 1 outside faculty member). The 2 CB faculty members will be assigned by the Graduate Program Director (Dr. Lewis-Wambi) and will be consistent for all examinations given that year. Please note that your mentor will not be present in the room during the oral examination. Also, the Chair of the Comprehensive Examination committee must be a primary member in the CB department!
2. The duration of the examination will be 3 hours. Each student will have 30 minutes to present their proposal research. The format of the presentation will consist of: Background (5-10 slides), Preliminary data (if any), Hypothesis (1 slide), Aims (1 slide), Experimental design/Approach (10 slides/Aim).
3. Subject material/content for the oral examination will be centered around the written proposal and may also cover broader aspects of cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology (topics covered in the IGPBS courses). For your examination, you will be expected to have an in-depth knowledge/understanding of your proposal- especially the experimental approach/design and rationale for the proposed experiments. Pathophysiology is important; hence, you are expected to have some knowledge of the disease you are studying.  
4. Deliberations: The student/candidate will leave the room when the committee deliberates on the outcome of the exam. The committee will invite the student/candidate back into the room and the chair will convey the decision regarding pass/fail to the student. At this time the mentor will be allowed to join the student and will be informed of the committees’ decision.

Semi-yearly committee meetings (Post-Comps)

• Following completion of the comprehensive exam, a student will have one committee meeting every 6 months. The purpose of these meetings is to provide guidance that should speed progress towards completion of the PhD. A written synopsis of the meeting should be filed with the Director of Graduate Studies immediately after the meeting is held. This report (no more than 1 page) should be written in consultation with the mentor and other committee members and signed by the student and each committee member.

Honors Thesis

The KUMC Department of Cancer Biology has established a thesis honor’s designation for students who demonstrate the excellence of our department. Those wishing to achieve this designation should emphasize their accomplishments above and beyond the minimum PhD requirements in the following areas:

1. Didactic coursework: that reflects high GPA, high dissertation score, and academic awards/honors.
2. Research publications: preferably fully published in high impact (IF 6+) journals, multiple first author publications, mid author publications, review articles, and/or book chapters.
3. National and/or International recognition: in your respective field, represented by poster or oral presentations, invited talks, and/or travel awards.
4. Research awards: local and national awards such as an F30, F31, BRTP, KINBRE, as well as any external or private foundational award that directly supports your research and/or training.
5. Efficiency: Productive students should graduate within 5 years of entering the program, which includes time in IGPBS.

Application for an Honors Thesis:

In order to be considered for thesis honors, students must submit an application to the graduate committee by a minimum of 2 months prior to their scheduled defense date. The Cancer Biology Graduate Committee will review applications to determine if they merit honors designation. 
Submit your Honors Thesis Application