Calendar 2005/2006

Location

Health Sciences Centre, Room G321

Faculty number

(403) 220-6852

Fax

(403) 210-8109

E-mail address

medgrad@ucalgary.ca

Web page URL

http://www.med.ucalgary.ca/education/gse/medsciegradprg.htm

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Master of Science (MSc)

Students in the MSc and PhD degree programs normally specialize in an area covered by one of the Faculty Research Groups (http://www.med.ucalgary.ca/research/rgroups.htm). Cancer Biology, Immunology, Joint Injury and Arthritis, and Medical Education now have their own programs within the Medical Science Graduate Program. In addition to these areas students may also specialize in Biomechanics and Biomedical Ethics. Students may select additional areas of specialization with the approval of the MDSC Graduate Education Committee.

In co-operation with the Department of Surgery, a Master of Science program with a specialization in surgery is offered.

Combined MD/Master's and MD/PhD programs are offered under the title "Leaders in Medicine."

The Universities of Calgary and Alberta offer a joint Biomedical Engineering Program. Further information can be obtained at the website http://www.eng.ucalgary.ca/Biomedical/.

In addition to Faculty requirements, the Department requires:

(a)A minimum admission grade point average of 3.20 on a four point scale, or equivalent

(b)For applicants required to provide proof of proficiency in English, a minimum TOEFL score of 580 (written test) or 237 (computer-based test); specializations may have additional requirements

(c)For admission to the Master of Science program with specialization in surgery, prior admission to the surgery residency program. Students will normally apply to the Master of Science program in the third year of the surgery residency program. At the time of admission applicants must have a supervisor, a supervisory committee composed of the supervisor plus two other faculty members, and a written research proposal, which has been approved by all members of the supervisory committee.

Students in thesis programs may be admitted for September, January, or May. Contact the Medical Science Graduate Program office for general application deadlines.

Students applying to the MD/Master's or MD/PhD program must apply individually to each program and complete a supplementary application for the Leaders in Medicine Program.

Advanced credit is not normally given in a thesis-based program.

In addition to Faculty requirements, the Department requires:

Master of Science

(a)A minimum of two half-courses

(b)Regular attendance and presentation at a seminar at least once a year in the appropriate research group

Doctor of Philosophy

(a)A minimum of three half-courses

(b)Regular attendance and presentation at a seminar at least once a year in the appropriate research group

Specific research programs (e.g., Cancer Biology, Immunology, Medical Education) have specific course requirements. Details may be obtained from the specific research group or program.

None

Graduate credit may be given for 500-level courses. However, no more than one half-course of credit will be allowed in a two half-course program (e.g., if a 500-level full-course is taken, only one half-course credit is allowed toward the completion of program course requirements.)

Average completion time for students in the Master of Science program is 2.5 years, 4.5 years in the doctoral program. Maximum completion time is four years in the Master's program and six years in the doctoral program.

Leaders in Medicine- Expected completion time is four to five years in the MD/Master's program, six to seven years in the MD/PhD program. Maximum completion time is six years for the MD/Master's program and eight years for the MD/PhD program.

Students in thesis-based programs normally have identified a supervisor at the time of admission. Both Master of Science and doctoral students, in consultation with their supervisors, must select a supervisory committee consisting of their supervisor plus two other faculty members within three months of initial registration. The Graduate Coordinator must approve the composition of the supervisory committee. Specializations may have additional requirements.

Master of Science students in the Leaders in Medicine program must have a supervisory committee constituted according to the regulations of the graduate program. Both Master of Science and doctoral students will also be evaluated and advised by a Joint Liaison Committee composed of the Associate Dean (Graduate Sciences Education), Associate Dean (Undergraduate Medical Education), and the Director of Admissions and Student Affairs of the Faculty of Medicine.

The doctoral candidacy examination has a written and an oral component. The written component must be completed before the oral component. Both the written and oral components must be found acceptable to the candidacy committee in order to receive a passing grade. The student will be given three to five questions four weeks before the oral examination. The student must prepare written papers for the questions and submit a copy of each of the papers to each examiner one week before the oral exam. Each paper should not exceed 20 double-spaced pages. Some variability may exist between research programs and groups. The supervisor is a non-voting observer at the doctoral candidacy oral examination.

Final thesis oral examinations are closed. Some research groups require a public presentation prior to the closed examination.

The student must present a written research proposal to the supervisory committee no later than twelve months after initial registration. The proposal, with an approval form signed by all members of the supervisory committee, must be sent to the Medical Science office to be placed on the student's file.

None

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this calendar.

Financial assistance is not normally available to course-based students.

Information and deadlines for Medical Science Faculty of Graduate Studies' award competitions will be provided throughout the year.

None

Information about research groups in the Faculty of Medicine can be found at http://www.med.ucalgary.ca/research/rgroups.htm.