Graduation Requirements

Graduate Studies Requirements

1. Program of Study

1. • Ensure completion of 36 course credits and 18 research credits, as indicated in the SIS Academic Requirements tab. 

2. Graduation Application and Thesis Submission

   • Follow the School of Graduate Studies procedures for:

     • Applying for graduation.

     • Formatting and submitting the thesis (hard copy and electronic).

     • Completing required forms after the final thesis defense.

   • Refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for detailed guidance on scheduling, paperwork, and deadlines.

   • Plan ahead to meet the deadlines for applying, defending, and submitting materials for the desired graduation semester.

3. Thesis Defense Participation

   • All committee members must participate in the defense, either in person or remotely, for it to be valid. 

BME Department Requirements

1. Guidance Committee

   • Submit a Guidance Committee Form to the department via Canvas.

2. Academic Performance

   • Complete required coursework with: 

     1. A minimum GPA of 3.0 across all courses. 

     2. A minimum grade of B in each BME core course.

3. Ph.D. Candidacy 

   • Complete the Advance to Candidacy Form after: 

     2. 1. Earning a Pass in EBME 570. 

        2. Achieving a grade of A or B in EBME 454. 

   • Once you have received your research advisor's signature, send to the GEC Chair (ajs215@case.edu). He will check the form and send to graduate studies with email approval.

   • Please enter date of the last day of class, for the semester in which you complete all the above requirements, in the qualifying exam line.

4. Qualification Process 

   • Successfully pass all components of the Ph.D. Qualification Process: 

     1. Oral Qualifiying Exam

     2. R21 proposal. 

5. Teaching Assistantships 

   • Complete three TA assignments as required by the program.

6. Residency 

   • Fulfill the BME Ph.D. residency requirement. 

7. Research and Scholarship 

   • Meet the BME publication requirement. 

   • Satisfy the BME presentation requirement. 

8. Graduation Application 

   • Apply for graduation well in advance of the intended defense date. 

   • Complete the BME Graduation Information Form; the BME chair will not sign the final graduation authorization without this form. 

9. Final Dissertation Defense 

   • Successfully defend the dissertation.

   • Obtain all required signatures from committee members after the defense.

• A minimum of 18 credit hours of EBME 701 “Ph.D. Thesis Research” is required to complete the Ph.D. program.  

• After the first registration for EBME 701, continuous registration of at least one credit hour of EBME 701 each FALL and SPRING semester must be maintained until completion of the Ph.D. degree (RSCH 750 - zero credit - may be taken in the SUMMER semesters to maintain full-time enrollment status).

• Once EBME 701 registration begins, Ph.D. students have five consecutive calendar years from the semester of the first credited EBME 701 registration, including leaves of absence, to complete all requirements for the Ph.D.

Written contribution to science requirement

PhD students are expected to make significant and impactful contributions to science before writing their final dissertation.  These contributions must contain breadth, depth, and quality the student’s guidance committee deems appropriate for the PhD degree.

A typical set of written work products that meet these standards are three peer-reviewed journal manuscripts two of which have been accepted for publication at the time of graduation and one of which may be deemed to be publishable in the opinion of the guidance committee. The student is expected to be the first author of at least two manuscripts. 

While the above work products are typical for the majority of students, PhD students can petition to the GEC to adjust this requirement. For instance, the guidance committee and the student may determine that fewer than three peer-reviewed journal manuscripts make significant contributions to science and satisfy this requirement, particularly if the manuscripts have been deemed to be of high impact. The petition should include the rationale for the adjustment and an endorsement from the guidance committee. 

Ph.D. students are required to publish ALL scientific and scholarly results and discoveries resulting from their Ph.D. dissertation research.  The dissertation is one element of this, as are publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals or other milestone written work products as determined by the guidance committee.

Publication requirement

• At minimum, a Ph.D. student must be an author of at least three (3) manuscripts submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.  The student must be primary author on at least two (2) of these manuscripts.  At the time of completion of the Ph.D., at least two (2) manuscripts must be accepted for publication and one must be submitted and, in the opinion of the Guidance Committee, deemed to be publishable.  

• Ph.D. students are required to publish ALL scientific and scholarly results and discoveries resulting from their Ph.D. dissertation research.  The dissertation is one element of this, as are publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.  

• Only manuscripts accepted or submitted while attending Case and based on work completed during this time are acceptable.  

• The application for Ph.D. graduation submitted to the BME chair must have attached a list of manuscripts submitted, accepted, or published in peer-reviewed archival journals, signed by the academic and research advisor(s).  

Presentation requirement

To ensure graduates develop essential presentation skills, the BME department requires Ph.D. trainees to complete one of the following activities before graduation, with proper documentation:

• 1. Oral Presentation at a National or International Meeting

     • This is the preferred option.

     • Note: Poster presentations, while valuable, do not fulfill this requirement.

  2. Alternative Presentation

     • If an oral presentation at a national or international meeting is not possible, the trainee must submit a petition to the GEC at least three months before their dissertation defense. The petition must include:

       • An explanation of why a conference presentation cannot be arranged.

       • Details of an equivalent oral presentation experience, ensuring the audience is not primarily individuals familiar with the trainee’s work.

       • Suggested alternatives (other approaches may also be considered):

         • A presentation in a local forum open to the public, with a similar format and audience to a conference, and including Q&A.

         • A presentation in a local non-public forum, attended by at least two Ph.D. guidance committee members who verify it meets the requirement.

Travel Funding: The BME department may assist with travel expenses as funding allows. Refer to "Funding Opportunities" for more information.

Additional "spirit" of the presentation requirement: The ability to give effective oral presentations that describe research findings and to engage in discussion with research peers and the general public are critical skills for pursuing a successful career as a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.  Technical presentations are different in important ways from other public speaking formats, and these skills often do not come naturally to many students.  As with many of the other aspects of a Ph.D. training program, these skills are best developed through practice.  The BME department thus strongly encourages all Ph.D. students to seek out and take advantage of multiple opportunities for presenting their research in public forums.  BME Ph.D. students typically have many opportunities to present their work in laboratory meetings, in larger meetings associated with broader research groups in the BME department and elsewhere in the Cleveland community, in their guidance committee meetings, and in their Ph.D. dissertation defense.  These are all excellent venues for improving oral presentation skills that prepare our Ph.D. trainees for the ultimate objective of our Ph.D. Presentation Requirement, i.e., giving effective presentations at national and international conferences.

Starting in Spring 2024, the department implemented a new process to ensure that the TA experience 1) meets the learning objectives of our PhD program, and 2) requires a reasonable amount of time. 

Process

• All instructors that request a PhD-TA fill in this form. 

• Instructor shares the form with the TA. The TA should not start TAing until this is completed

• The TA competes the form at the end of semester

• Periodically, GEC will review the instructor/TA responses and will provide feedback to both Faculty and Students

Minimum teaching requirements for a BME Ph.D. student are:

• UNIV 400A Professional Development for Graduate Teaching Assistants (domestic students) or UNIV 400B Professional Development for Graduate Teaching Assistants (international  students)

• Optionally international students will take UNIV 402 A, B, or C to hone language skills

• EBME 400T, 500T and 600T  (enrolled in the section listed under the faculty teaching the course, not the primary research advisor)

Rationale

• The teaching assistant requirement of the Case School of Engineering (CSE) provides Ph.D. students with the opportunity to develop teaching and communication skills that will be useful in a variety of future endeavors.  Each CSE Ph.D. student is required to complete three teaching “experiences,” each involving a commitment of 5-10 hr/week for a semester course. Participants are commonly called “teaching assistants” or TA’s. Students must first register and participate in UNIV 400A, which provides a brief overview of the typical duties and responsibilities for teaching assistants.  International students may be required to also participate in UNIV 400B (Professional Development for International Teaching Assistants) and UNIV 400C (International Teaching Assistant Communication Skills).  Students should register (under the primary faculty's section -- the one who teaches the course, not your research advisor) for EBME 400T, 500T, or 600T (for their first, second, and third teaching experiences, respectively) during the semester that a given teaching experience is scheduled. 

  • Tasks performed by teaching assistants can be quite varied to match the level of experience and knowledge of the student, the student’s future career goals, as well as the needs of the course. Tasks can include grading, constructing homework and exam problems, overseeing laboratories, assisting students during office hours, leading tutorial and review sessions, and even 1-2 lectures. 

  • The assignment of students to specific courses is done by the Faculty TA Organizer (FTO, Professor David Wilson), the Manager of Student Affairs (Ms. Ingrid Burton), and the BME Curriculum Committee (a group of senior BME faculty).  Well before the semester starts, students and faculty will receive emails specifying the matching process.  Students are urged to respond in a timely fashion so as to streamline the match process.  Ph.D. students often TA in two large undergraduate courses.  Students typically do not TA before passing the qualifier.  Students often TA one or two courses per year.  The FTO attempts to honor requests of faculty members for a particular TA.  Hence, students are encouraged to dialog with faculty members responsible for classes that they want to TA.  

• See additional information from the graduate studies website regarding deadlines.  Note the deadline to apply for graduation is MUCH earlier than the deadline to submit all your final materials. Please be cognizant of these deadlines as you approach graduation to avoid uncessary delays.

• https://case.edu/gradstudies/current-students/graduation

• Exit survey and program feedback 

  • We have developed new surveys to collect your feedback about your experience in the BME graduate program and collect your contact information for future alumni programming. Upon the completion of your thesis defense, please click here to access the required exit survey that will take up to 5 minutes to complete: https://forms.gle/nrcBEa7vmYmnQdDN6

  • At the end of the survey, you will be directed to an optional and anonymized survey regarding program feedback. The link to the second survey is also provided here: https://forms.gle/gN1TFB9Ci79qwVGa8

  • The surveys will gather data on 5 main categories: demographics/employment, future alumni involvement, mentorship/PI dynamics, professional development, and general feedback. The first two categories are required to determine our graduating students' demographics and employment plans, while the rest are completely optional and anonymous. We will use this data to improve the program and build a sustainable alumni network for current and future students.