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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM IN BIOBEHAVIORAL HEALTH
GRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK
Revised May 2014
PENN STATE IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY UNIVERSITY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES
College Objectives
Program Objectives
BBH PROGRAM DESIGN AND CONTENT
Core Biobehavioral Health Seminars
(BBH 501) Theories of BBH Devel. & Functioning
(BBH/PSYCH 502) Health: Biobehavioral Perspectives
(BBH 503) BBH Factors in Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention
(BBH 504) Biobehavioral Health Intervention Strategies
(BBH 505) Biobehavioral Health Research Strategies
Exemption from Core and Research Methods Requirements
Research Methods Electives
Supplemental Instruction
Basic Knowledge Electives
BioBehavioral Health Seminars
Sub-Specialty Emphases
ADMISSIONS
Guiding Goals
Admissions Criteria
Admissions Procedures
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR PURSUIT OF THE PhD
First Year
Initial Faculty Advisor and Advising
First Year Review
Teaching Assistant Requirement
Doctoral Candidacy Evaluation
Purpose
Timing
Candidacy Committee Structure and Process
Doctoral Committee Composition and Procedure
Requirements for the Ph.D. in BBH
The Comprehensive Examination
The Doctoral Thesis and Final Oral Examination
Time Limitations and Residency Requirements
OTHER ISSUES
Financial Assistance
Methods for Evaluating English Competence
Collaboration and Coauthorship
Participation in College and University Life
Graduation
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A HANDBOOK FOR GRADUATE STUDY IN BIOBEHAVIORAL HEALTH
The College of Health and Human Development
The Pennsylvania State University
INTRODUCTION
This handbook is designed to help students admitted to or applying to the graduate
Program in BioBehavioral Health (BBH) to understand the purpose, nature, organization, and
operation of that graduate program. The BBH program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
degree. Students should be aware that there are two levels of requirements they must know and
meet: Graduate School requirements and BioBehavioral Health requirements. Each student is
personally responsible for being aware of and meeting both sets of requirements. This manual
summarizes the approach of BBH to meeting graduate school requirements and requirements
established by the program. Requirements established by the Graduate School are published in
The Pennsylvania State University Bulletin: Graduate Degree Programs (often called the
graduate catalogue), and in the Thesis Information Bulletin published by the Graduate School. In
addition, there are periodic printed notices, announcements, new policies, and policy revisions
emanating from the graduate school and the BBH program. There are countless major and minor
items that relate to orderly and legal progress through a quality graduate program. Be alert to
these. The graduate school typically issues a calendar of deadline dates each semester, which is
available in Kern Graduate Center. The student is encouraged to watch bulletin boards and
notices distributed in student mail boxes. It is a professional responsibility of each student to
know and to follow through on all requirements, policies, procedures, and timetables! The
information summarized in this manual is intended to provide one tool for accomplishing that
responsibility.
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Academic and Professional Objectives
College Objectives
The mission of the College of Health and Human Development is to conduct basic and
applied research, provide professional and scientifically oriented academic programs, and offer
training and consultative expertise in the broad area of health and human development.
Research in the College is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating
the perspectives of several different fields. Investigations focus on several levels of analysis,
from the cellular to the person and families to complex organizations and systems. The College's
focus on the interface between health and development provides a highly supportive context for
innovative research that addresses healthy development through the lifespan, the nature of
illness, ways to promote health and prevent illness, and services and programs needed to enhance
health and development. Educational programs in the College are designed to respond to the
needs of society for health and human service delivery, education, and research.
Faculty and graduate students in the Biobehavioral Health Program are expected to
function as members of a community of scholars within the University and College, and to
participate in and contribute to the academic and scholarly life of the College and University.
Program Objectives
The Biobehavioral Health Program is designed to serve the growing public, professional,
and scientific recognition that the human conditions called health and illness are products of
complex interactions among biological characteristics, psychological/behavioral functioning, and
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the ways people shape and use their environments. More people die of consequences resulting
from environmental and behavioral hazards that are potentially controllable than die of all
infectious diseases combined. It follows that the cultivation of a healthy population and the
control of the health care availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and
appropriateness requires an integrated approach with major emphasis on biopsychosocial,
biobehavioral and environmental factors.
Therefore, the Biobehavioral Health Program is an interdisciplinary graduate program
that focuses on the interaction of biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental
processes in promoting healthy human development and in the causes of, prevention of, and
rehabilitation from health problems. It is designed to produce scholarly and professional leaders
with competence to expand the relevant knowledge base through basic and applied research, to
develop and evaluate biobehavioral health intervention strategies involving combinations of
biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental approaches, and to prepare future
generations of leaders for the Biobehavioral Health movement through their teaching and
training roles. Graduates are expected to apply an integrated perspective in professional roles in
a variety of settings such as the health care fields, universities, government agencies, medical
schools, research oriented hospitals, and research laboratories.
Specifically, students are expected to accomplish the following:
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of humans as integrated living systems, of the
ways in which person-environment interactions influence health and
development, and of health or illness as states that result from interactions among
multiple variables;
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2.
Demonstrate specific knowledge about the component biological, psychological,
and behavioral processes that compose a person, and the ways their interactions
influence health and illness;
3.
Appreciate the ways in which the roles of biological, psychological, behavioral,
and environmental factors differ in their influence on health and illness during
developmental phases across the life span, and how their interactions contribute to
morbidity and mortality and underlie and explain disease risk at different life
stages;
4.
Demonstrate skill in designing and conducting research in biobehavioral health;
5.
Demonstrate skill in synthesizing and communicating information in order to
disseminate new knowledge through written and oral presentation to the scientific
community;
6.
Demonstrate commitment to and competence in professional and
scientific ethics.
7.
Develop effective biobehavioral health teaching skills.
8.
Demonstrate organizational and management skills in order to effectively
provide leadership in future professional roles.
Students are expected to assume the responsibility for pursuing and accomplishing these
objectives through selective use of courses, seminars, graduate assistantships, practica,
internships, and independent study at Penn State and elsewhere. Since students' backgrounds
and personal goals will differ, it is expected that they will follow somewhat different pathways
through the program and will demonstrate differing degrees of competence with regard to the
program's objectives. However, each student is expected to demonstrate at least a moderate
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degree of competence with regard to all objectives. The faculty will assist students in
constructing personalized approaches to accomplishing the program's general objectives.
BBH Program Design and Content
The program design assumes that students entering the program will come from diverse
backgrounds, and will vary in the depth of their previous preparation in relevant disciplines.
Therefore, the program is designed around five core seminars representing five broad knowledge
domains that provide a foundation of preparation for work in biobehavioral health that all
students in the program must share. Around that core, each student constructs his/her program of
study drawing upon opportunities and resources within the program, the college, and the
university.
A summary of the design of the doctoral program in Biobehavioral Health:
Fifteen credits of core BBH seminars are required of all students, as are twelve credits of
research methods electives in addition to the core. Combinations of experiences are selected
from the other domains to complete the student's program as planned and approved by the
student and her/his doctoral committee. In addition, as part of a curriculum requirement, all
graduate students (regardless of financial support) are required to fulfill three semesters of TA
duties. For those appointed as (RA’s) research assistants, the requirement will be at 10 hours per
semesters. For all others the requirement will be at 20 hours per semester. If possible, first
assignments will be scheduled with the immediate advisor. In order to provide more feedback at
the time of the first year review and/or candidacy, the additional two semester assignments will
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be with other BB H faculty. If appointed as an RA, graduate students should expect to begin
their first TA requirement assignment in their second year of study. Beyond this, assignments
made will be based on departmental need. As official record, all students must register for BB H
602 (for at least 1.0 credit) for each of the three semester requirement. Unless the student
registers for BB H 602, no TA effort, no matter how laudatory, will count.
The Graduate School has no minimum or maximum credit requirements for completion
of the PhD. The amount and quality of work a student must complete to qualify for the degree is
determined by the student's doctoral committee within the guidelines for the program as
approved by the graduate faculty and the graduate school. A brief summary of each component
in Figure 1 will help guide students' planning.
Core BioBehavioral Health Seminars
Five basic seminars for 3 credits each for a total of 15 credits are required of all students.
They are:
(BBH 501) Theories of Biobehavioral Development and Functioning. People may be understood
as complex systems whose development and behavior are a function of their continual
transaction with their natural, designed, interpersonal, and sociocultural environments. This
seminar considers how subsystems of a person (e.g., neurology, immunology, endocrinology,
behavioral genetics, physiology, cognition, emotion, communication, and action) must be
interrelated to understand the person as a dynamic, structural-functional system and to
understand the nature of both health and
illness.
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(BBH/PSYCH 502) Health: Biobehavioral Perspectives. Health and different kinds of illnesses
or disabilities result from the interaction of biological, psychological, behavioral, and
environmental factors. This seminar draws upon knowledge from behavioral medicine, health
psychology, and other fields to understand such multivariate interactions in the etiology of health
and illness and illustrates those processes with different kinds of health issues.
(BBH 503) Biobehavioral Factors in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Biological and
behavioral processes influence one another and understanding of the nature of those processes
and their interactions underlies a biobehavioral approach to health. This seminar reviews the
nature of some of those processes and examines research issues concerning the exploration of
gaps in our knowledge in domains such as behavioral genetics, neuroendocrinology,
psychoimmunology, exercise physiology, and nutrition and eating behavior.
(BBH 504) Biobehavioral Health Intervention Strategies. Effective biobehavioral intervention
strategies to promote healthy development, prevent illness, and facilitate recovery or
rehabilitation from illness requires a multimethod approach targeted towards the interaction of
biological, behavioral, and environmental variables. This seminar reviews the characteristics of
such an approach and examines the nature of and evidence about the effectiveness of specific
methods in current use.
(BBH 505) Biobehavioral Health Research Strategies. To advance the knowledge base
underlying a biobehavioral approach requires an interaction of theory development and
empirically based research strategies and methods to the relevant issues. This seminar examines
the philosophy of science and the array of research strategies and methods relevant to the study
of biobehavioral health issues.
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Exemption from Core and Research Methods Requirements
Any student who believes that his/her previous training and experience has already
produced the competencies covered in any core seminar may ask his/her advisor to request of the
Professor-in-Charge an exemption from that core seminar. Approval of an exemption will
require demonstration by the student of the relevant competencies in a form specified by the
Professor-in-Charge. A written exam, prepared for that purpose and/or good grades in relevant
Penn State courses are two possibilities. If courses taken elsewhere are offered as evidence,
course outlines demonstrating the relevance to the exemption request may be required along with
some evidence of current competence.
The research method requirement of twelve elective credits may be met in a variety of
ways. The way each student meets that requirement will be approved by the student's candidacy
and doctoral committees. The objective is to ensure a high level of sophistication in research
methods relevant to the student's career plans.
Research Methods Electives
In addition to BBH 505, all students must complete a minimum of 12 additional credits of
courses/seminars covering research methods relevant to their interests. Courses may be selected
from offerings in other programs in the University including, but not restricted to, Human
Development and Family Studies, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics, as well as from
seminars offered by BBH.
In addition to formal instruction in research methods, students are expected to elaborate
their research competence through participation in research activities with faculty members
through research assistantships or voluntary participation, and through attendance at research
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colloquia within the program and college that display different research methods.
Supplemental Instruction
Students are expected to enter the program with a basic level of knowledge and skill with
regard to human biology, social and behavioral sciences, research design, introductory statistics,
and computer usage typical of basic level instruction at the undergraduate level. If a student is
admitted whose background is weak in any of these domains as evaluated by the admissions
committee, he/she will be expected to complete supplementary instruction to overcome the
weakness. Such students will be urged to do this before they begin the first semester in the
program (e.g., during the summer before they begin their first fall semester). If that is not
possible, they will be expected to pursue supplemental instruction during their first year in the
program. Delay in overcoming background deficiencies can delay progress through the program
and could affect availability of financial assistance. Once a student begins the program. The
student's advisor and candidacy/doctoral committee is responsible for guiding and evaluating
their progress.
Basic Knowledge Electives
Entering students will differ in the depth of background they have in foundation
disciplines for BBH, including human biology and behavioral sociology sciences. It may be
necessary for some students to strengthen their background in some foundation discipline, or to
develop a greater depth of knowledge in a specific domain to serve the student's special research
and professional interests. This can be done by taking the appropriate courses recommended by
the student's candidacy and doctoral committees.
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Biobehavioral Health Seminars
In addition to the core BBH seminars, BBH faculty will offer more specialized seminars
to provide greater depth in specific topics within the general domains represented by the BBH
core. It is expected that students will use these more specialized seminars to develop greater
competence and depth in specific areas. The BBH Program Development Committee will create
opportunities for students to obtain teaching experience.
Sub-Specialty Emphases
Students may have specific interests in domains represented by other graduate programs
in the university. If so, they may relate that interest to their primary focus on biobehavioral
health issues by taking courses, seminars, and practice in other programs. For example, students
may have an interest in nutrition, exercise, family life, child rearing, or aging as they relate to
biobehavioral health. Students with an intervention interest may be interested in opportunities in
the programs in clinical health psychology or counseling psychology. Students with a strong
interest in some sub-specialty domain may wish to construct a formal minor in that domain. A
formal minor requires a minimum of 15 credits. It must be approved by the student's Doctoral
Committee and the Department or committee responsible for the minor. Requirements for a
formal minor are specified by each program. Declaring a formal minor--one that will appear on
one's transcript--is particularly important for students 'who seek some forms of professional
certification or licensure. States vary in their requirements for professional licensure. Students
seeking licensure must consider these requirements in planning their graduate work.
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Admissions
Guiding Goals
The admissions criteria and procedures are designed to serve the following goals.
1.
The first goal is to select students who will help create and maintain a
distinguished graduate program considered one of the best of its kind; a program that will
produce leaders for the field. Such a reputation will also serve the personal and
professional interests of faculty and graduate students by: (a) attracting the most
competent scholars and students to be colleagues in the program; (b) helping obtain
resources to fund graduate study and research; and (c) giving graduates a competitive
advantage in the job market.
2.
A second goal is to admit students whose personal, professional, and career
commitments match the mission and multidisciplinary-multiprofessional nature of
the program. For example, students must be interested in and prepared to engage
in intellectual interaction among people of different disciplinary and professional
backgrounds essential for this type of program. To nourish this intellectual
climate, the program seeks a student population with diverse disciplinary,
professional, and personal backgrounds.
3.
The third goal is to admit students of superior potential whose personal standard
of performance is to achieve excellence, not just adequacy, and who will strive to
construct effective professional work styles that support self-disciplined, creative,
and productive work.
4.
Finally, because of the emphasis on the fit between the student and program, we
seek to provide students with the kind of information that serves their self-
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selection activities in deciding whether to seek or accept admission into the
program.
Admissions Criteria
Initially, students are admitted to graduate study in the program. After this first level of
admission they must demonstrate their capabilities during their first year of study after which
they are considered for the second level of admission which is candidacy for the degree. This
section describes the first level criteria. The candidacy requirements are described in a later
section. An offer of admission to graduate study to a student is based on the qualitative
judgement of the graduate faculty that the student displays the potential and past academic,
personal, and professional performance to meet the standards of the program and the field.
Offers are also limited by the number of graduate student openings available each year. The
following criteria and information are important in the admissions process.
1.
Applicants must demonstrate a high level of potential for handling abstract
academic learning of both quantitative and verbal materials. The Graduate
Record Exam is used as a key source of evidence in this regard. GRE scores are
used to decide whether an applicant displays some minimum level of potential
appropriate for this program. No one is eliminated from consideration solely on
the basis of GRE scores.
2.
Evidence of excellence in previous academic work is expected. Academic
transcripts and evaluations by previous mentors and supervisors typically provide
this kind of evidence. Samples of their written work and/or of previous research
may also be considered. Demonstrated competence in understanding material in
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the disciplines providing the foundation for this program will be particularly
relevant. The most recent performance evidence will carry the most weight. For
people who have been out of school for some time, recent excellence of
performance in professional roles will be considered important.
3.
Pursuit of a Ph.D. is a very demanding life. A superior graduate program requires
students that are both capable and ready to make graduate study a full-time
commitment. Relevant evidence is looked for in the applicant's personal
biographical sketch of his/her interests, goals, accomplishments, and rationale for
their future work. Observations provided by other qualified teachers, scholars,
and professionals will also be considered.
4.
Graduate study requires the self-discipline and skills required to work
independently, to organize ones work effectively, to meet schedules of
performance to take initiative and responsibility for ones own work and
education, to complete tasks at a high (as contrasted to adequate) level of
performance, and to conduct oneself according to ethical standards. Relevant
evidence comes from previous school and work performance, performance in
leadership roles, and reputation with those with whom the student has learned and
worked.
5.
Clarity of thought and communication are important skills for graduate study.
Relevant evidence typically comes from written materials provided by the
applicant and appraisals of other teachers and professionals with whom the
applicant has worked.
6.
Some graduate faculty in the program must express a willingness to serve as a
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mentor to a student if admission is offered and accepted.
7.
A multidisciplinary graduate program like BBH requires the presence of a
graduate student population with diverse backgrounds. Therefore, students are
offered admission to provide diversity both in terms of disciplinary, professional,
and personal backgrounds and in terms of their future academic and professional
goals.
Admissions Procedures
Applications are solicited through the distribution of written announcements about the
program, through personal contact with other scholars and professionals who may know of
qualified and potentially interested candidates, and through conversations with potentially
interested persons. Applications may be submitted at any time, but students are admitted only
once a year to begin in the fall semester (exceptions may be made in very unusual
circumstances). All applicants will be strongly encouraged to visit to obtain first hand
knowledge of the program from faculty and graduate students. It is considered important that
both the faculty and the applicant be confident that he or she is making the right choice.
A committee of BBH graduate faculty, appointed by the Program Head, will have the
primary responsibility for selecting applicants to be offered admission. Each year the Program
Head will inform the Committee of the number of students who may be admitted that year.
Review of applications will begin at the beginning of the spring semester each year. All
graduate faculty will be invited to evaluate applicants. The admissions committee will consider
those evaluations and the students' credentials and recommend to the Program Head a list of
students to whom admission should be offered. The Committee will also recommend a ranked
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list of qualified alternates who may be offered admission if an applicant on the recommended list
withdraws from consideration. The Program Head authorizes admission. An informal national
agreement is that students should decide no later than April 15 which of their offers they will
accept. Therefore, BBH offers should be extended no later than April 1. Exceptions may be
made when special circumstances apply.
Those students being offered admission will be notified by telephone as soon as possible
by the Professor-in-Charge of the graduate program, or a designated faculty member. A formal
letter of offer is then prepared and mailed to the applicant with a deadline for reply. The letter
will specify the nature of financial aid, if any, that accompanies the offer. Once an offer has
been made, other faculty and/or graduate students may be asked to call applicants to answer
questions to encourage them to accept.
Once an applicant is admitted, the Professor-in-Charge (PIC) provides the student with
relevant information to help the student plan for beginning their program in the fall. Help from
advanced graduate students will also be offered. The PIC will inform the student of any
background weaknesses identified by the admissions committee and will recommend that the
student complete some form of supplementary instruction to be sure their skills are at a minimum
level for beginning the program.
Policies and Procedures for Pursuit of the PhD
First Year
The first year of graduate study in BioBehavioral Health is a time of becoming familiar
with the program, the university and procedures of beginning to formulate a personal program of
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study and scholarship, and of building a performance record in preparation for review for
admission to candidacy for the Ph.D.
Initial Faculty Advisor and Advising
The BBH Program Head assigns each new student an initial faculty advisor who will
guide the student through the first year and through the candidacy process. Students may
actively seek the views of faculty members and graduate students as to what features they should
include in their graduate program. However, the initial faculty advisor and student share the
primary responsibility for working out the best possible individualized program within the
program requirements and available resources, and work together in planning each semester's
registration until candidacy. The advisor also has the primary responsibility for monitoring the
student's performance and for providing the student feedback as to the suitability of that
performance.
This initial advisor is considered temporary until the student comes to know the faculty
and program sufficiently well to have a basis for cooperating in the selection of their primary
mentor for pursuit of the degree. The initial advisor often becomes the primary mentor, but the
student and/or advisor may request a change. Changes are made by the BBH Program Head
based on recommendations by the Professor-in-Charge of the graduate program. If changes are
made they usually occur at the time the student's doctoral committee is appointed, but may occur
before or after that.
First Year Review
It is helpful to students to get early feedback about how they are progressing in the
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program. It is also helpful to have the entire graduate faculty become familiar with the work and
program of each student before being asked to act upon the candidacy report. Therefore, a
review of student progress is conducted by the graduate faculty at the end of the second semester
of the student's graduate study. The goal is to give positive feedback to students who are
performing in an exemplary fashion and to provide counsel to students who may not be
progressing as well.
The student's faculty advisor will be responsible for preparing a report for the graduate
faculty of the student's accomplishments and performance during the year. Included should be:
1. A summary of work completed and grades earned.
2. If appropriate, evaluations of faculty both inside and outside the program who have
taught the student and evaluations of faculty who have worked with the student in other
roles.
3. Completion of the annual review. This is an annual graduate program requirement that
should be conducted for all first year students prior to the yearly deadline date of June
30th required for all current graduate students. A copy of the document, which can be
obtained from the graduate program staff assistant (including all signatures) will be
attached to the first year review materials for discussion and review by the graduate
faculty.
The entire graduate faculty will convene (normally at the last faculty meeting of the spring
semester) for the purpose of hearing and discussing these first year evaluations. The student's
advisor will present the report and then the faculty will discuss it and report any additional
information or evaluations not included in the report. Following the discussion, the graduate
faculty will by vote, evaluate the student's performance as "satisfactory", "probation" or
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"inadequate-terminate".
For "satisfactory" evaluations the student's faculty advisor will meet with the student and
provide feedback from the faculty discussion. For "probation" evaluations, the faculty advisor
and Professor-in-Charge will jointly meet with the student. The student will be provided a letter
reporting the "probation" evaluation and why it was made. The Professor-in-Charge and the
student's advisor will help the student develop a written plan to overcome the deficiencies that
led to the "probation" evaluation.
If a "termination" decision is made, the Program Head, Professor-in-Charge and the
student's advisor will meet with the student, provide him or her with a letter reporting the
decision and reasons for it, and help him or her make plans for leaving the program and pursuing
other career or educational alternatives. If that group becomes unanimously convinced that the
decision should be reviewed, they may request reconsideration at the next BBH graduate faculty
meeting. The decision in that meeting will be final.
Teaching Assistant (TA) Requirement
As part of the curriculum requirement and thus part of the student’s formation, all
graduate students will be required to fulfill two semesters of TA duties. If appointed as a
research assistant, the student will be required to fulfill two semesters of TA duties at 10 hours
per semester. Students should expect that only their first assignment (at least 10 hours) will be
with their mentor, if possible. The additional assignment will be with other faculty. The purpose
of this is to provide students with more depth and will allow other faculty to provide critical
feedback at the time of the first year review and/or candidacy exam. The student must register
for BB H 602 for each of the two semesters and the teaching assignment will be made based on
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the needs of the Department. Unless the student registers for BB H 602, no TA effort, no matter
how laudatory, will count.
Doctoral Candidacy Evaluation (revised May 2014)
The information presented below can be used as a guideline for preparing summary
documentation regarding a student’s evaluation for advancement to candidacy for the doctoral
degree. The information should be distributed to faculty at least two weeks in advance of the
departmental meeting where the vote on advancement to candidacy is taken.
___________________________________________________________________
1)
Brief summary of Committee’s findings and recommendations



2)
Written Examination in one of the following formats


3)



Education
Professional experience, including TA and other teaching experience, RA and other
research experience, technician experience
Publications (published, in press, under review, in preparation)
Presentations at professional associations
Other relevant training (e.g., workshops, summer institutes, internships)
Coursework



5)
Empirical paper prepared as if for submission to a peer-reviewed journal
Literature review prepared as if for submission to a peer-reviewed journal
Curriculum Vitae


4)
Recommendation regarding advancement
Appraisal of strengths and weaknesses in the candidate’s preparation
Comments on any additional data used to evaluate the candidate
Completed (Course/Semester/Grade)
Planned (Course/Semester)
Progress in completing the departmental requirements of BBH core courses and
research methods courses
Abstracted Statement of Research Interests

1-2 paragraphs regarding current research focus/activities


5)
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1-2 paragraphs short-term future research plans
dissertation topic, if chosen (not required)
Other relevant data used by the committee in evaluating the candidate
 Professional development
Doctoral Candidacy Examination:
Formal admission to all graduate programs at the Pennsylvania State University is a two-stage
process. In the first phase a student is admitted to graduate study in a specific program. In the
second phase, they are advanced to formal degree candidacy in that program if their initial
performance in, and fit with, the program is satisfactory. The following material explains how
that second phase is accomplished in the Biobehavioral Health graduate program.
Purpose: The purpose of the doctoral candidacy evaluation in BB H is to make a determination
of the appropriateness of a given student officially entering the doctoral program in BB H and to
provide an explicit direction to the program of scholarship. The candidacy evaluation attempts to
assess the degree of concordance between the student and the BB H program, including the
extent to which the objectives of the program and the student can be maximized. The candidacy
is a highly important step in the graduate life of students and faculty because it influences how
both will invest their time and energy over the next few years and it represents the shift in
primary responsibility of training/development from the department as a whole to the committee.
The specific purposes are:
1 Determine whether the student has the basic academic capacity and level of academic/scholarly
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performance and professionalism for pursuing the Doctoral degree in BB H;
2. Evaluate the student's strengths and weaknesses relative to the BB H Program goals and to
specific areas of Biobehavioral Health, as well as the fit between the objectives of the student
and of the BB H Program.
3. Make recommendations concerning advancement to candidacy in the program, of courses to
take to remedy any deficiencies, and courses to fulfill the requirements of the program and the
student's objectives;
4. Discuss and make recommendations concerning formation of the student's Doctoral
Committee and potential topics for the student's research and dissertation.
5. Evaluate potential topics for the student's dissertation research.
In addition, the Candidacy Committee is responsible for assessing English competency for Ph.D.
candidates, and recommending supplementary training in English if necessary. A candidate for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is required by the Graduate School to demonstrate high-level
competence in the use of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking.
Programs are expected to establish mechanisms for assessing and improving competence of both
domestic and international students (see Other Issues section for a description of BB H
mechanisms and procedures). Competence must be formally assessed by the student's doctoral
committee before the doctoral comprehensive examination will be scheduled (International
students should note that passage of the minimal TOEFL requirement does not demonstrate the
level of English competence expected of a Ph.D. from Penn State.)
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The emphasis for the candidacy evaluation is on the student's competence and potential for the
BB H program as a whole, not just for some specialty area within the Program. Hence, candidacy
is a matter of concern to the entire BB H faculty and program.
Timing: For the Ph.D. student, the examination may be given after at least 18 credits have been
earned in graduate courses beyond the baccalaureate. The examination must be taken within
three semesters (summer sessions do not count) of entry into the doctoral program.
Candidacy Examination Committee Structure & Process: Advancement to candidacy by the
Graduate School is based on the recommendation of the graduate faculty of the BB H program.
Favorable action by majority vote of the BB H faculty places the student and faculty in an
official position of responsible collaborative work. The sequence of specific procedures shall be:
1. An ad hoc candidacy committee will meet with the student one or more times at the discretion
of the committee. The evaluation and reports its findings and recommendations in writing to the
Professor-in-Charge of Graduate Studies in BB H.
2. The chair of the committee presents the candidacy committee's report and recommendations to
the BB H graduate faculty and by formal vote that faculty recommends the action to be taken to
the Professor-in-Charge.
3. The Professor -in-Charge reports the faculty recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate
School and reports the results in writing to the student.
25
The ad hoc candidacy committee shall consist of a minimum of three members of the
BB H faculty, representing the BB H faculty as a whole, with consideration of the student's
special interest area(s) within BB H. The committee members are appointed during the student’s
first year of study in the program. An initial meeting of this committee shall take place within the
first year, prior to the first year review. Candidacy committee members are appointed based
upon the recommendation of the adviser in consultation with the student. The official candidacy
committee must be approved by the Professor-in-Charge and Department Head prior to the
candidacy examination.
The ad hoc candidacy committee may convene prior to the actual evaluation to determine its
procedure, or the determination may be made by the chair person in consultation with the
committee members. The information compiled by the committee typically will include:
1. Information on the student's educational and professional background, including grades
earned and faculty evaluations from instructors inside and outside the Department as well as
from faculty with whom the student has worked during the graduate program to date;
2. Information on the student's future plans in the form of a current resume and a detailed
written statement by the student of professional and educational goals and plans, competencies to
be attained, planned courses, research experiences and other means for attaining the desired
competencies.
3. Indices of potential for successfully completing the PhD program. Evidence may include
examples of empirical research, faculty assessment of research skills or professional oral
presentations; examples of published or unpublished scholarly papers; Performance in
26
professional practice. Other evidence may be submitted that the student and faculty consider
appropriate.
The committee shall require a written examination in the following format: a short, empirical
paper developed in consultation with the student’s advisor and approved by the candidacy
committee. The paper will be based on original data from the advisor’s research (or from
another source if more appropriate) and prepared as if for submission to a peer-review journal.
A second option is to include a review of the literature in an area related to the advisor’s research
(also prepared as if for submission to a peer-review journal). The student will then meet with the
candidacy committee to discuss the paper and answer questions. The aim of this requirement is
to have the student assimilate early on into the culture of writing research and to demonstrate that
the student has the necessary analytical and writing skills to develop into a research scientist.
The committee should make a recommendation either to "approve"
or "disapprove" advancement to candidacy of the student. Under atypical
circumstances, the committee may recommend "deferral" of the decision, with
re-evaluation to take place within one semester. In the case where a deferral is a possibility, it is
the responsibility of the committee to inform and involve the Professor-in-Charge in this
decision prior to the meeting in which the candidacy examination is presented to, and voted on,
by the BB H faculty.
If the recommendation is to defer the candidacy examination by one semester, for any reason,
the Professor-in-Charge will automatically become an ex officio member of the candidacy
27
committee.
The candidacy committee chairperson will be responsible for preparing a written report of the
committee's evaluations and recommendations, to be transmitted to the Professor-in-Charge of
Graduate Studies in BB H. The report should include a statement concerning the data on which
the judgments are made and appraisals of strengths and weaknesses in the candidate's
preparation. If the recommendation is for advancement to candidacy, the report should
incorporate suggestions for the student's program faculty who might serve as members of the
doctoral committee, including a proposed chair.
The candidacy committee chair shall present the committee report to the BB H graduate faculty
as soon as possible after the candidacy evaluation is completed The student shall be informed in
writing to the faculty's action as soon as possible thereafter by the Professor-in-Charge.
Candidacy Examination for Dual-Title Ph.D. Degree Programs:
As of December 2013, students who wish to apply to a dual-title Ph.D. degree program must
formalize their candidacy committee prior to applying to the dual-title program. The decision
that the student apply to the dual-title program must be approved by the candidacy committee,
not just the advisor. Upon unanimous approval of the committee, the student may apply to the
dual-title degree program.
Candidacy guidelines for candidates accepted in to dual-title degree program:
If accepted in to a dual-title degree program, the candidacy examination is automatically delayed
28
for one semester and therefore will take place at the end of the fourth semester of study in BB H.
In such cases, the rules for delayed candidacy apply in that the Graduate Professor-in-Charge
automatically becomes an ex-officio member of the candidacy committee. As part of the official
record, the student must obtain the signature of the Graduate Professor-in-Charge on the
candidacy committee approval form.
Candidacy Committee Structure for dual-title degree programs:
Dual-title degree in Bioethics: In consultation with the Graduate Professor-in-Charge the
candidacy committee shall consist of a minimum of four faculty members. Three of these
members must be BB H faculty members, one of whom must be an advanced associate professor
or a full professor. The fourth committee member must be a faculty member in Bioethics. For
this dual-title degree program the Bioethics member cannot be a member of the Biobehavioral
Health faculty.
Dual-title degree in Translational Sciences: In consultation with the Graduate Professor-inCharge the candidacy committee shall consist of a minimum of three BB H faculty members, one
of whom must be an advanced associate professor or a full professor. As a dual-title degree
candidate, at least one member of the committee must be a faculty member from the dual-title
degree program. For this dual-title degree program if one of the three BB H faculty members is
also a member of the dual-degree title program they would satisfy this requirement. If this is not
the case, a fourth faculty member from the Translational Sciences Program must be added to the
committee.
29
According to Graduate School policy a member of the graduate faculty from the dual-title degree
unit must serve as an active member of the candidacy committee. This individual is required to
sign off on the "Report on Doctoral Candidacy" form, which is sent to the Graduate School
following the candidacy examination. This document serves as the official record of the dual
title degree. It is through the candidacy examination process that the dual title degree
becomes an official part of the student's academic record with the Graduate School.
Faculty Input on Candidacy Paper:
To repeat, the goal of the candidacy paper is to demonstrate that the student has the
necessary analytical and writing skills to develop into a research scientist. Although it will
occasionally happen that a student will have these skills in the first year and a half of graduate
school, it will be much more common that the student will still be developing these skills. Thus,
it is entirely appropriate and desirable for the faculty advisor to have input during the student's
analysis and writing of the candidacy paper. The student may also seek minimal input from nonfaculty, post-docs, peers, etc. However, this input should be limited.
During analysis, the advisor should discuss with the student what analyses would be
appropriate for testing the research question the student is posing. During this phase, the advisor
should allow the student to take the lead as much as possible. The advisor should not perform
analyses for the student.
During the writing phase, the advisor should again let the student take the lead as much
as possible. When reading drafts, the advisor should limit input to comments, either oral or
30
written (e.g., using the comment feature in Word), rather than rewriting sentences. The advisor
should not write sections of the paper for the student.
Faculty Input Scenarios
Scenario 1a (too much input). Dr. Xavier has a student, Sam, who is working on the candidacy
paper. A good analysis for the paper is Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). Because Sam is not yet
conversant with this analysis, Dr. Xavier goes ahead and performs the analyses which will form
the basis of Sam's paper.
Comment: If the analysis procedure was too advanced for Sam's abilities, Dr. Xavier
should have steered Sam toward a simpler analysis that would have accomplished nearly
the same thing; Dr. Xavier could also have steered Sam toward hypotheses that were
more in line with Sam's analytical skills.
Scenario 1b (too much input). Sam's first draft of the method section was a disaster. So Dr.
Xavier rewrote much of the method section using track changes so Sam could see what the
section should look like.
Comment: Dr. Xavier should not have written actually sentences. With only a few
exceptions, advisors should give more general feedback, either in writing or orally, but
should generally not specify exact sentences that should be used. One exception would
be with a student who is not a native English speaker. In that instance, certain minor
corrections relating to English usage, e.g., using the track changes feature, would be
appropriate.
31
Scenario 2a (appropriate input). Dr. Xerxes has a student, Les, who is working on the
candidacy paper. Dr. Xerxes meets several times with Les, helping Les to articulate clear
hypotheses for the analyses, and helping Les choose the appropriate analysis. Dr. Xerxes
reviews the syntax Les used for the analysis to be sure it was correct, and gave Les the
opportunity to state the results orally before beginning to write the paper.
Comment: Dr. Xerxes made appropriate use of the "Socratic method" (letting Les
discover the right path) in determining the correct analysis. Dr. Xerxes appropriately let
Les perform the analyses.
Scenario 2b (appropriate input). Les' first draft of the method section was a disaster. However,
rather than writing sentences, Dr. Xerxes met with Les, and gave comments orally. Dr. Xerxes
also encouraged Les to outline each section of the paper. Dr. Xerxes reviewed two separate
attempts at the outline, each time suggesting orally that Les change certain parts. As the draft
began to take shape, Dr. Xerxes used the Comment feature in MS Word Comment to make
suggestions as to how sections might be improved.
Comment: Dr. Xerxes appropriately gave only general feedback. By giving the feedback
orally, Dr. Xerxes avoided going too far with the comments. However, it also would
have been reasonable to give appropriate feedback in written form (e.g., by making more
use of the comment feature in MS Word).
Note. Once Les had been advanced to candidacy, Dr. Xerxes began to take a more active
role in helping Les to rewrite the manuscript in preparation for submission to a journal
32
for publication. That is, after the "test" portion of the work was complete, Dr. Xerxes did
rewrite sentences as coauthors often do in writing projects.
Doctoral Committee Composition and Procedures
When the student is advanced to doctoral candidacy, he or she consults with the
Professor-in-Charge of Graduate Studies about the composition of his or her doctoral committee.
This step should follow immediately after the student is advanced to candidacy. In consultation
with the student and faculty, a faculty member will be identified who is willing to serve as the
student's primary mentor. Then, in consultation with that faculty member, the student, and the
Program Head, potential committee members are selected and their agreement to serve obtained.
The Professor-in-Charge then transmits those recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate
School, who makes the final decision concerning appointments.
The doctoral committee consists of four or more active members of the Graduate
Faculty, which normally includes at least three faculty in the major field. At least one member
of the doctoral committee must be from outside the candidate's major program. If the candidate
has a minor, that field must be represented on the committee. The Chair of the committee and at
least one other committee member must be senior members of the graduate faculty. A person
not affiliated with Penn State who has particular expertise in the candidate's research area may be
added as a special member, upon recommendation by the Professor-in-Charge and approval of
the graduate Dean. The supervisor of the candidate's thesis will usually, but not necessarily, be
designated as chair. An associate member of the Graduate Faculty may supervise the research of
a doctoral candidate and serve as a co-chair of the committee. The committee should be formed
and convened for program planning no later than one semester following advancement to
33
candidacy.
Once a student is advanced to candidacy, the doctoral committee becomes fully
responsible for the student, within guidelines established by the Program and the Graduate
School, and is the final authority within the Program for deciding when the student has met all
the requirements for the degree and for so informing the Dean of the Graduate School.
Requirements for the Ph.D. in BBH
No specified number of courses or credits are required by the graduate school for
attainment of the PhD. The general requirements are based upon:
1.
a period of residence; within some twelve-month period during the interval
between admission to candidacy and completion of the Ph.D. The candidate must
spend at least two semesters (which may include the semester in which the
candidacy examination is taken) as a registered full-time student engaged in
academic work on the University Park campus (half-time graduate assistants
taking 8-11 credits are considered full-time students). Full-time employees must
be certified by the BBH program as devoting half-time or more to graduate
studies and/or thesis research to meet the degree requirements.
2.
demonstrated competence with regard to all program objectives (see pages 4 & 5),
and maintenance of a least a 3.00 grade point average;
3.
demonstrated competence in the English language (including reading, writing,
speaking and listening).
4.
demonstrated competence in professional communication skills in one of the
following areas - (a) a foreign language, (b) computer science, (c) college
34
teaching, or (d) logic or philosophy of science;
5.
demonstrated commitment to and competence in professional and scientific ethics
including: (a) professional standards of professional conduct, (b) integrity in
research, (c) protection of human subjects and animals in research, and (d)
responsibilities of scientists to the larger society.
6.
the passing of the comprehensive examination designed by the doctoral
committee (written and oral);
7.
the writing of a satisfactory thesis (an independent, competent research and
scholarship activity that makes a significant contribution); and
8.
satisfactory passing of the final oral examination (thesis or dissertation defense).
Specifically, the committee is charged by the graduate school to:
1.
establish the broad outline of the candidate's program and conduct
reviews thereof;
2.
prepare, give and evaluate the candidate's comprehensive and oral
examinations;
3.
supervise/approve the student's doctoral thesis;
The Comprehensive Examination
PROCEDURES FOR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
Revised by: Byron C. Jones, Graduate Program Chair
Effective: August 21, 2009
The Comprehensive Examination can be taken at any time between the end of the second
35
semester of the second year and the end of the first semester of the fourth year. If the student
wishes to take the comprehensive examination before or after this time, she/he must consult with
the PIC and your committee. If the student does not pass the exam the first time, he/she must
consult with the PIC and the doctoral committee. Together, they will make a recommendation for
a second exam or dismissal from the Program to be approved by the Department Head. If the
decision is to offer a second exam, the advisor and committee will make written
recommendations about what is needed for the student as far as further reading or research. If the
student fails the second time she/he will be dismissed from the Program.
The examination procedure is as follows:
1.
The student will prepare a written document, either a review article or grant application
as described below:
a. Review Article. This document could serve as the first chapter of your dissertation or
a review paper of publishable quality. Discuss the topic with committee and/or advisor. It
should be noted that this paper can be started at any time prior to the beginning of the
comprehensive examination time period.
b. Grant application. For US citizens, this can take the form of the NRSA predoctoral
fellowship application. For non-citizens, the format can follow the R21 format from NIH.
Alternately, NSF or private foundation formats or may be followed where appropriate. The
student will meet with the Ph.D. committee to present specific aims. Once the aims are
approved, the student then prepares a full proposal, independently.
2. Written Examination. This exam will be conducted after the student has completed the
36
document and will consist of five to ten questions developed by the committee. In support, the
student will be given a reading list created by the committee. The student will have 72 hours to
complete this part of the comprehensive exam. It is a take home exam and scheduled over a
weekend that coincides with normal library operating hours. The committee members will read
all answers but each member will grade only the one in response to his/her question. They will
provide back-up commentary on other questions. Within two weeks following turning in of the
answers, the student and committee will schedule an oral examination that covers both the
review/grant application and the answers to the questions for the written exam. It is anticipated
that the oral examination will take 2-3 hours.
The intent of this process is to have the student demonstrate to the committee and
Department that she/he possesses the skills necessary to complete and defend the dissertation. If
the student has already submitted a review article or grant application as above prior to
scheduling the comprehensive examination, the committee may then choose to accept either as
satisfying the first requirement.
The Graduate School requires a minimum of two weeks’ notice before the oral
examination is taken. Scheduling is the responsibility of the student and must be coordinated
through the graduate program office staff assistant.
The committee must report the results of each examination to the Professor-in-Charge,
who will report the results to the graduate school. A favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the
members of the committee is required for the student to pass the comprehensive exam. The
committee may recommend to the Graduate School Dean one of the following actions:
1.
Pass with no reservation, or with additional specified conditions to be
37
fulfilled.
2.
Reexamine the candidate at a later date.
3.
Unconditionally disapprove for the degree and terminate from the
Program.
The Doctoral Thesis and Final Oral Examination
Both the thesis director and the student are responsible for assuring the completion of a
draft of the thesis and for adequate consultation with members of the thesis committee well in
advance of the oral examination. Major revisions to the thesis should be completed before this
examination. The dissertation should be in its final draft in a form and style that meets Graduate
School and BBH Program requirements. With appropriate notes, bibliography, tables, etc., at the
time of the oral examination; both the content and style should be correct and polished by the
time that this final draft of the thesis is in the hands of the committee. Again, there should be an
adequate period of time (at least two weeks) between the delivery of the final draft of the thesis
to committee members and the scheduled oral examination and thesis defense. When the doctoral
candidate has satisfied all requirements for the degree and has submitted an acceptable thesis to
the Doctoral committee, the BBH Professor-in-Charge will recommend to the Dean of the
Graduate School that the final oral be scheduled. The examination is oral, open to the public,
and related in a large part to the thesis; but it may cover the whole field of study of the candidate
without regard to courses that may have been taken at Penn State or elsewhere. The final
examination must be scheduled with the Graduate School at least three weeks before the
examination is to be held. A favorable vote of two-thirds of the members of the committee is
required for passing. If the candidate fails, it is the responsibility of the Doctoral Committee to
38
determine whether another examination may be taken. The results of the examination are
reported to the Dean of the Graduate School through the BBH Professor-in-Charge and will be
entered upon the candidates official record.
The student is responsible for knowing and meeting all requirements of the Graduate
School and of the BBH graduate program. Such matters as full-time versus part-time status,
residency, load, continuity of registration are examples of countless items that relate to orderly,
legal and quality graduate programs. The Graduate School typically issues a calendar of
deadline dates each semester, which is available on their web site at
http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/. The student is also encouraged to watch bulletin boards and
notices distributed to student mail boxes.
Time Limitations and Residency Requirements. The Graduate School has specified
limitations of eight years for completion of a doctorate. However, the BBH program expects
students to complete the program in four to six years, depending on their background when they
enter the Program, unless the student experiences unusual circumstances or opportunities. As
established by the Graduate School, the student has a period of six years from the date in which
they successfully passed their comprehensive examination and the successful completion of the
final oral defense exam to finish. If the period of time goes beyond six years, the student is
required to take a second comprehensive exam before their final oral defense exam. All PhD
students are required by the Graduate School to enroll as full-time students for two consecutive
semesters at the University Park Campus. Enrollment in the summer session is optional and
failure to enroll in the summer does not disrupt the residency. Residency credit commences with
the semester in which candidacy is granted. After the residency requirement is met, no further
39
registration for credit is required by the graduate school. However, status as a student must be
maintained by continued registration for two semesters of each calendar year until the
dissertation is accepted by the doctoral committee. Registration may be for noncredit courses
and for thesis research. Doctoral students are allowed to enroll for only 12 graded credits of
BBH 600. Additional BBH 600 credits must be taken for an "R" grade.
Other Issues
Financial Assistance
Financial resources are, of course, necessary to pursue a graduate program. The graduate
faculty of the BBH program has adopted the objective of trying to provide financial assistance to
all of its graduate students each academic year as long as they are making satisfactory progress
through the program. Of course, the provision of such assistance cannot be guaranteed; it
depends on resource availability. Excellence of student's performance in their responsibilities
contributes to resource availability by helping faculty obtain and implement research funding.
Students from abroad must establish financial responsibility before admission. (Details
on these matters may be obtained from the Office of international Student Services
http://www.international.psu.edu/ea/ , 410 Boucke Building.) Graduate teaching assistantships
are available through the department to selected students for work and study in the program.
Such assistantships are typically half-time and pay a stipend plus full tuition. A total of nine (9)
to twelve (12) credits of academic work must be scheduled during both semesters. Tuition (but
no stipend) may also paid for the summer session on departmental funds, if available. Students
may register for a full schedule during the summer if they wish and have no other work
40
responsibilities. An average of twenty (20) hours of work per week for each of the eighteenweek semesters is required on half time assistantships. Assistantships begin one week before
classes begin and end one week after classes end. Student stipends are paid in ten installments
from August through May; summer session is for June and July and is usually covered by wages
from the advisor. Graduate Assistants' pay dates are the last workday of each month during the
assistantship. The faculty supervisor will assign the assistantship duties. Graduate assistantships
not only provide financial support, but are considered an important part of a student's graduate
training by providing "apprenticeship" opportunities with experienced faculty members.
Therefore, assistantships should not be considered jobs but as a part of the student's graduate
educational program. When students accept a graduate assistantship they make a commitment to
fulfill the duties associated with it as they would any other professional responsibility. Learning
to function responsibility in such roles is part of a student's professional socialization.
Various traineeships, fellowships and scholarships become available from time to time
from state, federal and private funds. Each provides for special opportunities, requirements and
restrictions but, like assistantships, all are designed to help provide relevant educational
experiences. The faculty member responsible for the funds or the student's advisor will establish
the nature of the student's responsibilities in their special category of funding support.
The Graduate School administers certain programs assisting students financially,
including a tuition "grant-in-aid" program. Obtaining such applications generally requires the
approval of the Professor-in-Charge of Graduate Studies and follow certain deadline dates. The
Fellowship Office in Kern Graduate Building has such information available. There are many
other sources of Fellowships and other kinds of financial assistance available outside the
university and students are encouraged to consult with their advisor about the desirability of
41
applying to such sources.
In addition to academic year support, the BBH program tries to help students find
opportunities for summer income. It is important to emphasize, however, that the BBH program
cannot guarantee continued support during the summer, because support is always conditional
upon the resources available to the program.
It is the policy of the BBH program that if it has resources to extend a student's financial
support into the summer, the objective will be to try to help the student maintain approximately
the same level of monthly income during June and July that they have been receiving during the
rest of the academic year. This means a maximum of eight (8) weeks of support for a maximum
of half time. It is assumed that such students will use the remainder of their time to continue to
pursue their graduate program objectives. A temporary exception to this policy may be made by
the Program Head if an unusual specific need of the program requires more than half-time
involvement of a student.
If a graduate student obtains resources from outside the University some of which might
be used to support their work during the summer, they may use it to support themselves for more
than half-time with the concurrence of their advisor and if the award they have received permits
them to do so.
Graduate assistants are eligible along with other University staff members to become
members of the Penn State Federal Credit Union, which is a possible source of loans as well as a
means of savings.
Whenever possible the Department provides office or other work space for graduate
students, especially graduate assistants. Access to use of space and equipment is considered a
privilege rather than a right and carries with it responsibilities and considerations as professional
42
persons.
"Income" from graduate assistantships and certain traineeships and scholarships are
considered as educational benefits and not remuneration for work done in the usual sense. The
Professor-in-Charge of Graduate Studies will furnish a statement to this effect upon request.
Methods for Evaluating English Competence
The BBH program relies on the collective judgment of the BBH graduate faculty to
evaluate student's competence in the use of English. Competence will be evaluated by the
faculty at the following four points in the student's progress through the program by as described
below. Students must demonstrate progress.
1.
During the first semester, each student's temporary advisor will evaluate English
competence and make remedial recommendations as necessary.
2.
At the first year review, the BBH graduate faculty will collectively evaluate the
student's English competence and make remedial recommendations as
appropriate.
3.
During candidacy evaluation, each student's candidacy committee will evaluate
the student's English competence and make remedial recommendations as
appropriate.
4.
The student's doctoral committee will make a final evaluation of the Student's
English competence. When it is unfavorable, remedial steps will be
recommended and the student will be given a deadline by which he or she must
achieve an acceptable level of competence or withdraw from the program.
43
English competence evaluation will be based on both about oral and written
communication. Oral competence will be demonstrated in class discussions, professional
presentations, and personal conversation. Written English competence will be demonstrated
papers written for courses or publication, research proposals, and as written personal statements
submitted to candidacy and doctoral committees. Committees may ask the student to take
special tests or make presentations specifically designed to obtain samples of English
competence.
When supplementary training in English is recommended, the student will be provided by
the advisor or the Professor-in-Charge with a description of possibilities for such help available
at Penn State and whom to contact for such help. However, the student is fully responsible for
arranging and pursuing any supplementary training and for achieving the level of English
competence required by Graduate School policies and by the student's committee.
Collaboration and Coauthorship
Collaboration among faculty and graduate students in scholarly work is commonplace in
the BBH program. One issue that arises as a result of this is who should be listed as an author on
research presentations and publications. It is generally desirable to discuss this issue in a
collegial fashion early in a collaboration to help avoid any misunderstandings. In general,
individuals should only receive authorship if they have made some substantive contribution to
the work, and the order of authorship should be determined by the relative scope and importance
of each person's contributions. The following guidelines concerning coauthorship were
developed several years ago by the American Psychological Association. You may find them
useful in discussing coauthorship issues.
44
1.
Only second authorship is acceptable for the faculty member(s) supervising a
dissertation.
2.
Second authorship may be considered obligatory if the supervisor designates the
primary variables or makes major interpretive contributions or provides the data
base.
3.
Second authorship is a courtesy if the supervisor designates the general area of
concern or is substantially involved in the development of the design and
measurement procedures, or substantially contributes to the write-up of the
published report.
4.
Second authorship is not acceptable if the supervisor only provides
encouragement, physical facilities, financial support, critiques, or editorial
contributions.
5.
In all instances, agreement should be reviewed before the writing for publication
is undertaken and at the time of the submission. If disagreements arise, they
should be resolved by a third party using these guidelines.
Participation in College and University Life
Graduate study consists of far more than merely passing courses or meeting formal
requirements. The University scholarly community provides opportunity for development of
intellectual, cultural, recreational and social interests in and beyond the student's specialty.
Many opportunities are provided within and without the program for student participation in
faculty research, colloquia, informal seminars, organizations, and discussion groups as an
integral part of the graduate program of the University. Doctoral students are encouraged to
45
participate and to take leadership in such program in harmony with their own interests. Graduate
students can learn much from one another, and friendship and collegial relationships established
among students during their graduate student years often are of enduring value throughout one's
career. The Graduate Student Association will also welcome you.
Graduation
It is the responsibility of the student to inform the graduate recorder of intention to
graduate and by filing your intent to graduate via e-lion and to pay the thesis fee at the beginning
of the semester in which an advanced degree is expected to be received. If the student does not
graduate, the diploma card must be reactivated during the actual semester of graduation.
Deadlines are given in the calendar found on The Graduate School web site at
http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/calendar/ .
A preliminary graduation list is prepared by the graduate recorder soon after the deadline
for each semester. Transcripts are prepared and checked in the offices of the Graduate School
and the recorder. The records of candidates who appear to have met requirements are forwarded
to major and minor department heads or program chairpersons for review and recommendation.
The final list of approved candidates appears in the commencement program.
Attendance at commencement exercises is expected, but forms for permission to receive
the degree in absentia are available in the Office of Graduate Student Programs in 114 Kern
Graduate Building and in the Office of Graduate Records in 112 Shields Building. The forms
must be completed and filed with the graduate recorder by the date specified in the graduate
calendar.
All degrees conferred are tentative until final grade reports have been received and all
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requirements fulfilled, even though the student's name may have appeared in the commencement
program. A student's transcript or diploma, or both, may be withheld until any outstanding
financial obligations to the University have been paid.