Graduate Handbook: MS Thesis Program

Index

Overview

Students must complete a total of 48 credit hours to fulfill the requirements for the MS. Required courses for all MS students are listed below. Students who have had prior course work or extensive experience in a given area may be exempted from the required course at the discretion of the faculty. The remaining credit requirements are completed through elective courses and thesis research. The specific plan of study is developed by the student and their faculty advisor and committee. Courses should be selected to assure an adequate breadth of knowledge as well as depth in the student’s focus area.

The MS program requires a minimum of 48 credits. For all graduate programs at the University of Pittsburgh the minimum acceptable GPA is 3.0. No student may graduate with a GPA less than 3.0. Most students complete the MS degree in two years. The statute of limitations for completing the MS degree is four consecutive calendar years from the first term of registration. (See Statute of Limitation/Leaves of Absence in the University bulletin for more information.)

Selection of Major Advisor

It is highly recommended that at the start of their program each student identifies a major advisor who agrees to supervise his/her work and is responsible for overseeing the development of the student’s program of study. Each student must complete the selection of a major advisor form and send it to/or drop it off to the Graduate Program Coordinator (Lori Altenbaugh) and the Director of the Graduate Programs (Bailey Tobias). If a student has not identified an advisor upon entering the program, the Director of Graduate Programs will serve as the interim advisor for a MAXIMUM of the first two semesters.  At the conclusion of the first two semesters, a major advisor MUST be selected and the selection of a major advisor form must be submitted.  To serve as an advisor for a PhD student the faculty member must have graduate faculty status.  That status can be determined here: Graduate Faculty Dashboard. If a student identifies an advisor that does not yet have graduate faculty status, that advisor may serve as a co-advisor and directly mentor the student alongside a faculty member with graduate faculty status, who would serve as the Major Advisor. 

Monitoring Student Progress & Progression

Each student will follow a program of study developed in conjunction with the major advisor with input from the student’s masters committee. The program of study must contain all the program core courses as well as elective courses specific to the student’s study track. All required courses should be completed within two years. Each student’s progress will be reviewed annually by their advisor and The Director of Graduate Programs. When a student fails to make satisfactory progress in the program, the Director of the Graduate Program will be informed and the Committee will request the student’s advisor to develop, and submit for Committee approval, a plan of remedial action. When approved, the student will be bound by the conditions set forth in the plan. Failure to meet these conditions will result in dismissal of the student from the Graduate Program. Please see Milestones.

Master Committee

A student’s master committee should be appointed by the end of the first year of graduate study. The master committee has the responsibility to advise the student during the progress of master research and has the obligation to require high-quality research. In addition, the committee conducts the final oral examination and defense of the doctoral dissertation and determines whether the dissertation meets acceptable standards. The master committee has the authority to require the student to rewrite any portion, or all, of the dissertation.

Members of the master committee are proposed by the student and their advisor for the approval of the Director of Graduate Programs and the Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs. The committee must consist of at least three faculty members in the School of Pharmacy (at least two of whom must be members of the student’s focus area). The student’s major advisor usually serves as the Chair of the MS committee. When the committee has been selected, the student will complete and submit to the graduate program liaison, and the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Academic Affairs Committee “Approval of Master Committee Form.” When the form has been received and approved, the event will be entered into the student’s permanent graduate academic record as a “Milestone.”

A faculty member from another department or school of the University who does not have a secondary or joint appointment in the candidate’s department may serve as a committee member of an MS committee.

When a committee member leaves the University, they are generally replaced unless the thesis is almost complete or the member plays an essential role on the committee. In the latter case, the Dean’s approval should be obtained. When the chair of a committee leaves, and cannot be conveniently replaced, a co-chair must be appointed from within the department, and the restructured committee requires approval of the chair of the Director of Graduate Programs and the Dean. If the defense takes place within a few months of the chair’s departure, the requirement of a co-chair is waived.

A retired faculty member may remain as a member or chair of a committee if they are spending considerable time in Pittsburgh or its vicinity and are still professionally active. Retired faculty who meet these criteria may also be appointed as a member or as co-chair (but not chair) of a newly formed committee. Retired faculty who leave the Pittsburgh area and/or do not remain professionally active should be replaced on committees and the revised committee approved by the chair of the Director of Graduate Programs and the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs.

 

MS Thesis Defense

The thesis for the MS must represent an original research project or a comprehensive and
detailed survey of some topic of current interest in the pharmaceutical sciences. It must be
defended in an oral examination.

Submit thesis document to committee members at least three weeks prior to your scheduled defense.