Ph.D. Degree Timeline

Below you’ll see the usual timeline for a PhD student to complete the BE doctoral program.  It will give you a sense of the order and timing of the program’s components. Most students will complete the program in 5 or 6 years.  Note that there is a 10-year time limit.  Please see the Bioengineering Ph.D. handbook for details.

Year 1

New students will receive an email in July with information about registration and when the system will be open for new students to register.

Students who are doing rotations will receive the order of their rotations in August but are welcome to reach out to their research mentors at any time over the summer to begin to plan for their arrival to campus in the fall.

Most students will complete the required lab rotations and choose an advisor by spring of their first year.

First year students complete the Qualifications Evaluation over the summer of their first year and no later than November of the fall semester of the second year. The Qualifying exam committee chairs will hold an informational meeting regarding the qualifying exam in the spring semester to prepare all students for what to expect during the qual period. Students will work with their advisor to find a good time (three week time period) to focus on the qualifying exam and complete the oral component during the summer months.

First year students who wish to be involved in PhD recruitment will be notified in October of their first year to begin planning for the upcoming recruitment season in the spring semester.  Most recruitment days are in mid/late February and early March.

Year 2
Students form a thesis committee together with their advisor.

Year 3
Students complete the proposal defense and advance to candidacy.

Tips on how to assemble your thesis committee [modified from https://www.servicescape.com/blog/how-to-assemble-your-dissertation-committee]:

What does a dissertation committee do?

You will meet with your dissertation committee annually [more often for CD students and perhaps more often as you get closer to finishing]. The committee. The dissertation committee is a carefully selected group of people who will provide feedback, mentoring, and guidance as you research and compose your dissertation. It is important to pick a balanced group of people for your committee because these people will help shape your research.

1. BE GG committee requirements

The committee shall typically be composed of 3-4 faculty members (in addition to the advisor), recommended by the advisor, and approved by the Bioengineering Graduate Group Chair. In special circumstances, an additional member may be added, subject to the approval of the Graduate Group Chair. Appointment of committee members who are not part of Penn faculty requires details of their full title, affiliation and a short biographical sketch.

The dissertation advisor is an ex officio member of the committee.

Three committee members must have full-time Standing or Research faculty appointments at Penn.

Two committee members must be members of the Bioengineering Graduate Group.

One committee member must hold a doctorate in an Engineering discipline or a highly quantitative subject (e.g. math, physics), OR is a Primary Faculty member in a School of Engineering and Applied Science Department.
One member (who meets the criteria listed below) is recommended as Chair by the advisor, and must be approved by the Bioengineering Graduate Group Chair

The dissertation advisor is an ex officio member of the committee.

Three committee members must have full-time Standing or Research faculty appointments at Penn.

Two committee members must be members of the Bioengineering Graduate Group.

One committee member must hold a doctorate in an Engineering discipline or a highly quantitative subject (e.g. math, physics), OR is a Primary Faculty member in a School of Engineering and Applied Science Department.
One member (who meets the criteria listed below) is recommended as Chair by the advisor, and must be approved by the Bioengineering Graduate Group Chair

2. Ask for recommendations

• Ask your advisor if they have any recommendations that you should consider for your committee. Your advisor is most likely already invested in you and your research topic, and aside from you, probably has the best understanding of your dissertation topic and your ultimate goals. Your advisor will hopefully have established strong relationships with other faculty members in your department, so he or she should have valuable suggestions for you to consider. It will be worthwhile to consider people that you know will work well with your advisor. But, it is your committee, not your advisor’s.
• Ask your fellow graduate students if they can recommend any potential candidates for your dissertation committee. If you have friends who have already selected their dissertation committee, try to learn from their experiences. Ask how they selected their committee members and if they encountered anyone that might be a good fit for you. Friends can also give you tips if a favorite faculty member is going on sabbatical soon or is too busy to serve on any additional committees.

3. Make a list of your ideal committee members

• Professors that you respect and value
• Faculty members who have shaped your understanding of your subject matter
• People who will broaden your networking circles: If you plan to seek a career in industry after earning your PhD, try to select at least one committee member with extensive contacts in your preferred industry (if your department’s guidelines allow external members on your committee). Additionally, if you choose well-connected committee members, they might be able to introduce you to future collaborators or suggest research areas you have not yet considered.
• People with strong communication skills
• People who will challenge and inspire you

4. Present your list to your advisor and ask for feedback

As you research and write your dissertation, you will seek feedback from your advisor frequently, and you will get some good old-fashioned practice at this during the committee selection process. In Step 2, your advisor recommended a handful of candidates for your committee. Since then, you have added more names to your list, so ask your advisor for feedback on your complete choices. Here are some questions you might want to consider asking:

• Is there anyone on the list who is difficult to work with and might impede your dissertation progress?
• Does your list include someone who is already serving on multiple committees and won’t be able to give you the time and attention you deserve?
• Are there any knowledge gaps in your list? In other words, have you included two or three people from the same specialty, which means you probably overlooked including a candidate from another important sector?
• Does your advisor possess personal or professional information that might lead you to exclude any candidates? Don’t be nosy here—you don’t need to know the reason, just trust your advisor if he or she tells you that someone you should probably remove someone from your list.

5. Ask your candidates for a meeting

Email your preferred candidates a brief summary of your research topic and ask if you can schedule an appointment to discuss the possibility of them serving on your dissertation committee. If candidates don’t reply to your email within a reasonable time frame, assume that they are too busy to serve on a dissertation committee and remove them from your candidate list. Similarly, if a candidate does not have any availability to meet with you during your selected time frame, that candidate is likely overbooked. You might want to take this as a sign and scratch this person off your list.

6. Ask candidates to join your committee

Send a separate email to each potential member and highlight a few reasons that you think he or she will be an ideal choice for your dissertation committee. Explain that you are currently in the process of gathering your dissertation committee and ask candidates to give you an answer by a (reasonable) deadline.

If you decided after a meeting that a candidate was not a good fit for your committee, send a follow up email and thank the person for meeting with you. After expressing your appreciation, state that you have filled all positions on your dissertation committee at this time. If applicable, you might consider asking if you can consult him or her if you have questions while working on your dissertation.

 Upon advancement to candidacy:
Each student has a Dissertation Committee. The committee should meet every year and the student must prepare an Annual Dissertation Progress Report to be approved by the supervisor and submitted to the Graduate Group Chair to be documented for the student’s academic record