BME PHD STUDENT HANDBOOK

The Doctoral Dissertation

Planning the dissertation

Although it may sound obvious, it is a good idea, when conducting one's research, to keep in mind that a dissertation must eventually be written. The dissertation will need to include enough application of engineering or mathematical concepts that it qualifies as a Biomedical Engineering dissertation. The need for engineering or mathematical content may not necessarily be obvious to either students or faculty when one is conducting research in a department not typically associated with Biomedical Engineering (such as Cell Biology and Anatomy or Biochemistry). A student conducting research in such departments is assigned an "in-house" advisor who is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Faculty or of the Committee on Biomedical Engineering. Students should consult the section of this handbook on the Senior Progress Committee for more information on checkpoints in conducting and completing dissertation research.

Writing the dissertation

It is essential for a student to come to an agreement with his/her thesis committee before terminating the research and beginning to write a dissertation. Experimental setups, once torn down, can rarely be reestablished without considerable pain and expense.

Most recent students have written dissertations that consist of chapters, each of which will form the bulk of a published manuscript. In addition, the dissertation must contain a general introduction and a general discussion that pull together the results from individual studies. Exact Hopkins requirements regarding the doctoral dissertation (size, margins, paper type, etc.) can be obtained from Ms. McCann.

The Committee will not accept as a dissertation a series of self-contained manuscripts. There are several reasons for this restriction. First, dissertation research often generates results which, while important to the specialist, may be difficult to publish in their current form. These results may only see the light of day in the dissertation. Second, The Committee envisions the dissertation as a contribution to a relatively wide field, and the relationship of individual experiments to this wide field can only be properly expressed in a general introduction and discussion.

Approval of the dissertation

Johns Hopkins requires that a doctoral dissertation be read by two "primary" readers. One of these readers is the dissertation advisor, and the second should be someone with a thorough knowledge of the student's field of research. These readers must write a letter to the University's Graduate Board stating that the dissertation describes original and publishable research. Sample letters may be obtained from the program office. The original copy of this letter should be given to Ms. McCann.

The dissertation defense

In addition to the University's requirement, the Program requires that a student defend his/her dissertation before a defense committee. A defense committee consists of the thesis advisor and four other faculty members. The members of this committee should be discussed with the program director, and they must be approved by the Biomedical Engineering Committee. However, they need not be members of the Biomedical Engineering faculty or even of the Johns Hopkins Faculty. Indeed, at least one member of the committee must have a primary appointment outside of Biomedical Engineering.

When it is financially⁽¹⁾ and logistically feasible, it is often valuable to invite a member of another institution to serve on an examination committee. Not only does this broaden the viewpoint of the defense committee, but it serves to acquaint other institutions with our students.

Upon the successful defense of the dissertation, the defense committee must submit a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Committee on Biomedical Engineering stating that the dissertation has been defended. This letter must include the name of the candidate, the date of the defense and the dissertation title. The letter must also be signed by all members of the defense committee.

Additional information concerning the meeting of degree requirements

The Committee on Biomedical Engineering requires one bound copy of the dissertation for placing in the Talbot Library.

Students completing their Ph.D. requirements are also required to complete the on-line form located at: http://bme-admin1.bme.jhu.edu/CFDOCS/Alumni_Form.CFM

The following is a list of items required by the Committee on Biomedical Engineering before the submission of the dissertation to the Binding Office. These items should be submitted directly to Ms. McCann:

1. Curriculum Vitae of candidate
2. Abstract and title page of dissertation
3. Original letter of dissertation approval from the referees to the Graduate Board
4. Original letter of successful defense of thesis from the thesis defense committee to the Chairman of the Committee on Biomedical Engineering
5. A statement concerning the postgraduate plans of the candidate
6. A Graduation Clearance Form
7. NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates
8. Receipt certifying that the dissertation has been delivered to the Eisenhower Library for binding.

 ¹ The cost of bringing in an outside examiner cannot be borne by the Program.