Requirements for admission:

1) A thesis-based Master’s degree (of at least 2 years in duration), or equivalent, in biochemistry, genetics, or a closely related field, from a Canadian  university is required for direct admission to the Ph.D. program. In addition, a cumulative GPA of 3.5 (4.5 scale), or equivalent, in the courses taken during the Master’s program is required.

Generally, there is no direct entry into the Ph.D. program for students with Master’s degrees from non-Canadian universities. Applications will be assessed by the admissions committee on an individual basis; in most cases students with Master’s degrees from international universities are admitted into the Master’s program in this department. They may subsequently request for a transfer into the Ph.D. program, if eligible, based on the procedures outlined in Section 59.

2) Admission will also depend upon the availability and willingness of a Faculty Member to supervise the student and resources to support the student's research.

Direct Admission from the Bachelor's Honours or equivalent: Direct entry from the Bachelor’s degree to the Ph.D. degree in this department would only occur in exceptional circumstances. Prospective students would be expected to have extensive research experience, in addition to an outstanding academic background, to be considered for this route. Once admitted, these students must complete at least 18 credit hours of course work in addition to their thesis research.

Student's Advisor: Every Ph.D. student must have a thesis advisor prior to admission to the department. The advisor will ensure that the student receives a stipend of no less than the value of a University of Manitoba graduate fellowship for the first year of his/her program, whether from a studentship, research grants, teaching assistantships, or a combination of the above. It is expected that the student, with the assistance of their advisor, will apply to all appropriate granting agencies that they are eligible for and competitive in for continued support.

Advisory Committee: Within one month of beginning the Ph.D. program, each student, in consultation with his/her advisor, will select an advisory committee and submit their names to the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee for approval. This committee will consist of a minimum of four members, including the advisor. One member must be from outside the major department. The student's advisor is Chair of the advisory committee. Students who have transferred from the Master’s program may keep their previous committee members and add one additional member. The advisory committee has the responsibility to: i) monitor the student's program of study and thesis research; ii) provide advice to students on research or other matters connected with their programs of study; iii) conduct a formal Annual Review of the student's progress, in time to file a report to the Faculty of Graduate Studies by June 15th of each calendar year; iv) conduct a formal Departmental Review of the student's progress, in time to file a report to the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee by December 1^st of each calendar year; v) make recommendations regarding thesis examiners to the Faculty of Graduate Studies; vi) ensure fulfillment of other University requirements regarding the minimum number of courses, time, residence, academic standing, final examination, thesis requirements, and significance of the research in its field.

Advisory committees are encouraged to meet at other times during the year, in addition to the two annual reviews, especially if the student or advisor is encountering any difficulties. It is customary for the student to have the approval of the advisory committee before beginning to write his/her thesis.

Program Requirements: A thesis, plus a minimum of 6 credit hours at the 7000 level or higher is required. In addition, students must enroll in the ‘Research Seminar’ course for Ph.D. students every year they are registered in the program (until their thesis is submitted). There are no other required courses, but students should consult with their advisor when selecting courses. Additional credit hours may be stipulated by the advisory committee, depending upon the student’s background prior to entering the program and his/her performance in the required 6 credit hours.

Students must attend at least 80% of the seminars in the Research Seminar course unless they have the written consent of the course coordinator (consent only given in exceptional cases; for example, student is out of town; student has started a new program or job and is only awaiting completion of their thesis). The course coordinator will monitor attendance and give the student (and their advisor) a single warning if they are missing too many seminars. Students who do not have 80% attendance at the end of that year’s seminar program will receive a ‘fail’ grade in the course and will be asked to withdraw from the program.

Students must provide the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee, or designate, with the written approval of their advisory committee in order to withdraw from a course.

There is no language reading requirement in this department.

Program requirements not related to coursework: Students are required to attend and participate in seminars, group meetings, retreats, journal clubs, clinical case rounds, or academic sessions that are relevant to their particular areas of research (as determined by their advisor).

Students may also be invited to present their research findings in local, national, and international scientific meetings.

Graduate students and WHMIS: Graduate Students working in a laboratory are workers as defined in the WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) legislation. All students will be trained in the WHMIS requirements and must follow the practices outlined in these policies.

Annual Review: For Ph. D. students who have not completed their candidacy exams, the Annual Progress Report meeting should be held after the winter academic term and prior to the June departmental deadline and will involve the student and his/her advisory committee. IThe student must submit a typewritten, double-spaced progress report of 2-5 pages (plus references and figures), to each committee member at least seven days prior to the anticipated date of the annual review meeting. Post-candidacy Ph.D. students may schedule their annual advisory committee meeting in conjunction with their annual research seminar.

It is the advisor’s responsibility to ensure that the annual review is completed prior to the departmental deadline in early June. Students are expected to schedule the review meeting at a time when all committee members are able to attend.  The ‘Faculty of Graduate Studies Annual Progress Report’ form must be signed by the advisory committee members and  by the Head of the department, or his/her designate, and submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies prior to their June 15^th deadline. Failure to complete and submit the annual report by the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ deadline may result in the student being unable to re-register in the fall.

Departmental Fall Review:  Students will undergo a departmental review in the fall of each year. The purpose of these reviews is to provide the student an opportunity to be examined in a format similar to that of an oral comprehensive exam in their area of expertise. The review committee will consist of the student’s advisory committee plus the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee, or his/her designate, acting as Chair. If possible, the same person will act as Chair on all Master’s or Ph. D. departmental reviews in that particular session. The examination session will not be more than one hour in length.

The student is not expected to make a formal presentation as this review will simply follow an oral questions and answers format. Students should be prepared to start the session with an ~five minute description of their research project. No computers or overhead projectors will be allowed, although a blackboard or erasable whiteboard will be made available. The questions will relate to what the student is learning with respect to his/her research project and course work. The student will be expected to answer questions related to the rationale, background literature, experimental approaches, technical hurdles, and significance of their research project. Areas of general background related to the project and notable recent advancements in their field are also examinable. Each examiner will complete an evaluation form, assessing the student’s knowledge, verbal skills, ability to use and organize facts, ‘think on their feet,’ and answer questions directly. Areas of perceived strengths and weaknesses, as well as recommendations for improvement will also be noted. These reports will be given to the student and the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee.

The Fall Departmental Reviews will be scheduled during an ~two week interval during the month of November and must be completed prior to December 1^st of each year a student is enrolled in the program. Master’s students who have submitted their thesis for distribution and examination by November 1 will not need to be evaluated that year. Ph.D. students who have completed their candidacy exams are no longer required to do an annual fall review, though they may still do so if they, or their advisory committee, feels it would be worthwhile.

Thesis Proposal: The purpose of the thesis proposal is to examine the student's understanding of their research area and to demonstrate competence in formulating and communicating a proposal for the research that is planned for their thesis. The proposal will be examined during the student's second annual Fall Departmental Review (or first Fall Review for students starting in January or May). The written proposal may be prepared in consultation with the advisor and will provide a statement of the problem, the background and rationale for the study, and the experimental approach. There must be enough detail (4-5 pgs plus references) so that the committee can provide the student and the advisor with an assessment of the approach, feasibility, and significance of the proposal. The proposal should be distributed to the committee members one week prior to the meeting. It will be discussed during the meeting, with the student expected to answer questions related to the written document. If the committee unanimously agrees that the thesis proposal is acceptable as written, they will indicate their approval (with or without reservations) by signing the ‘Ph.D. Thesis Proposal’ form, If the committee members do not approve the proposal they will provide the student with feedback regarding improvements. The student will revise the proposal and arrange a second meeting with the committee to discuss and defend the document, to be held within two months of the first meeting. If the proposal does not receive unanimous approval at this second meeting, the student will be asked to withdraw from the program.

Candidacy Exam: The Candidacy Examination is designed to provide uniform criteria for the assessment of knowledge of biochemistry and/or genetics required for consideration of the student as a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. It will consist of an oral defense of a written research proposal (grant) in the student's research area. One of the objectives of the written component of the candidacy examination is to give the student experience in grant writing. The oral component, which is the principal part of the examination, will test the student's knowledge of basic biochemistry and/or genetics related to his/her project. In addition, it will also test the student's ability to  (i) critically review the literature relevant to his/her research program, (ii) abstract from the literature pertinent information which can form the basis for further investigation, (iii) formulate testable hypotheses, and (iv) think scientifically and logically and apply the scientific method. It is also expected that the student be familiar with the methodology to be used in the proposed project, including the rationale for choosing a particular approach to solving the problems at hand and an understanding of principles underlying the methods and techniques to be used. Students are also expected to display a wide breadth of knowledge of their research field.

Scheduling: Students must take their candidacy examination within the first 24 months of being enrolled in the Ph.D. program.

Composition of the Candidacy Examination Committee: There will be an examination committee consisting of four faculty members and a Chair for each student. All committee members must be members or adjunct members of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The Chair of the examination committee will be a faculty member serving on the Graduate Student Affairs Committee and will be chosen by that committee; this individual will serve as Chair for all examination committees held that session. To further ensure consistency between committees, two of the members of each examination committee will be appointed by the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee, in consultation with the Head of the department; these individuals will be from the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics and will serve on all candidacy examinations for that session. The Graduate Student Affairs Committee will appoint the remaining two members of each examination committee. At least one member of the examination committee will be from the student's advisory committee. The student's advisor shall not be a member of the committee.

Procedure:

a) Written proposal: The written research proposal will be in the form of an operating grant application prepared according to Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) guidelines. It will be in the student’s research area and must be related to the student’s proposed Ph.D. thesis work. As it is a standard practice for a graduate student to receive a copy of his/her advisor's operating grant that is relevant to his/her research project, it is requested that all Ph.D. candidates have access to their advisors' operating grants. It will be the responsibility of the student's advisor to check for plagiarism which, for this purpose, is defined as copying text from the supervisor's grant without appropriate quotation marks and acknowledgement. Students are reminded that plagiarism is a serious offense that may result in their dismissal from the University. A meeting on how to write a grant proposal will be organized by one or more of the members of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee. From the time of that meeting, students will be allowed five weeks to prepare the written proposal for submission. The student may approach members of his/her examination committee for advice and/or clarification in the writing of the proposal. The student's advisor may give advice on style and format, but not on content. After the proposal has been submitted, the advisor should read the proposal, checking for plagiarism, and inform the examination committee, in writing, of their findings. Examination committee members meet with the student two weeks* following submission and provide written and oral feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal. The student is then given two additional weeks* to prepare a revised proposal, taking into account the reviewers comments. It is this revised document that the student will present and defend during the oral examination.

b) Oral exam: This is the major component of the candidacy examination. A pass in this exam will mean that the student has passed the candidacy examination and will be considered a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. The student will give a 15-30 minute presentation describing the proposal and will then be examined on the subject material of the proposal, including knowledge of any relevant background and the principles underlying the methodology to be used. Students are also expected to display a wide breadth of knowledge of their research field. The total length of the oral examination will not exceed two hours.

The committee members must be unanimous in their decision that the student has passed the oral examination. This decision will be reported to the Head of the department and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies by having the committee members sign the ‘Report on Ph.D. Candidacy Examination’ form.

In the event that the student fails the oral examination, the Chair of the examination committee will inform, in writing, the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee that the student has failed the first attempt at the candidacy examination (note that this may be the same person that is Chairing the examination committee). The student will also be informed in writing. The Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee will notify the Head of the department and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies that the student has failed the first attempt at the candidacy exam by submitting the ‘Report on Ph.D. Candidacy Examination’ form. The second attempt (to be arranged by the Chair of the examination committee) will be held no longer than one month later* and will have the same format as the first examination. If the student fails the examination on the second attempt, then the Chair of the Graduate Student Affairs Committee will notify the Head of the department and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (by submitting the ‘Report on Ph.D. Candidacy Examination’ form) that the student has failed the second attempt at the candidacy examination; the Head of the department will notify the student in writing. The student's registration in the Ph.D. program will then be terminated.

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* Although it is recommended that the proposed time frames be closely followed, it is acknowledged that these time periods may have to be adjusted to accommodate other commitments of the student and members of the examination committee.  The date of the proposal review or the oral examination will be set at the mutual convenience of the examination committee and the student.

Thesis Preparation and Defense: Students should provide a copy of their thesis to their advisor and allow them up to 6 weeks to suggest modifications before it is submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for distribution.

The public oral defense of the thesis is arranged by the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and conducted according to their regulations (see details in the Biochemistry and Medical Genetics Supplemental Regulations document).

In addition to the copies of the thesis required by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics requires a bound or electronic copy of the final version of all Ph.D. theses (submitted to the departmental office).

Statement regarding Authorship and Publication of Results: During the period that a student is in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics Graduate Program, it is expected that his/her research will result in one or more publications (e.g., papers/meeting abstracts). It is recognized that these publications are an essential part of a student's career development (with regard to applying for scholarships or future positions). These publications are also important to the advisor as they demonstrate the progress that has been made on research financially supported by external agencies or by the University. To avoid any disputes between the student and the student's advisor regarding authorship of these publications, the Biochemistry and Medical Genetics Graduate Program has established the following guidelines.

1. Since the advisor is usually responsible for conception and overall design of the research plan and normally provides the student with the finances to do the research, guides the research and contributes to the writing of any publications, the advisor has the right to authorship on all of the students publications that have benefited from these finances and/or guidance.

2. In accordance with the University of Manitoba ROASS Document (March 6, 1985) section IV A 7.10, the advisor must "explicitly acknowledge in written or oral presentations any indebtedness to student research or assistance."

3. The student should only expect to be an author on a publication if he/she has contributed in some scholarly way to the work. Guidelines for authorship on articles in medical journals are described in the document “uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals” and can be obtained at: www.cma.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/8451/la_id/1.htm

4. Coauthors are encouraged to decide the order of authorship jointly. Students are referred to “uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals”, as mentioned in “3” above.

5. The student or advisor shall not unreasonably delay preparation of a student's research for publication.

6. All authors share the responsibility for the publication and should have the opportunity to review all procedures and results used in preparing the manuscript. Each author should know that a paper is being prepared, should have access to the manuscript before it is submitted for publication, and should agree to being listed as a co-author.

7. In the event that a dispute regarding authorship or publication of results arises between a student and his/her advisor, the student or the advisor should inform the Head of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics who will meet with them to assess the situation and determine an appropriate course of action.

8. In the event that a student is named as an “inventor” for intellectual property (IP) that is being processed for a patent application by his/her advisor, the student will be governed by the University of Manitoba bylaws governing the Faculty member.  

Revised 2009