Qualifying Exams

The Qualifying Exams (QE) are taken at the end of the first year in the program, usually in mid-May. These exams are oral and last approximately 90 minutes. The exams are administered by a QE committee, consisting of 3 faculty members. The QE committees are assigned by the Graduate Committee during Spring semester. The faculty advisors of the students are invited to attend as observers, but do not participate in the exam evaluations.

To facilitate appropriate assignment of faculty membership on the QE committees, students must submit the Academic Profile and Honor Code. Both documents must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator in the BME Academic Office by April 1.

Program of Study

The Program of Study form is due prior to the beginning of the second year in the program. Students should complete the form, which includes listing proposed courses for electives and the minor, in consultation with their faculty advisor. The Graduate Office will notify students when the form is due and send instructions regarding course selections. The Program of Study will be reviewed by the Graduate Committee. Students will receive notice of approval or required changes via email.

Thesis Committee Approval

Each dissertation committee must consist of 5 members (the student's advisor plus 4 more); it is acceptable to have more than 5 if the student and advisor feel that is appropriate. A minimum of three of the committee members must be part of the Biomedical Engineering program faculty; and at least one member must be from outside the program. Students must complete the Thesis Approval form and submit it to Graduate Office with the following documentation:

- A brief explanation of why each member has been chosen
- A biosketch for any members who are not part of Georgia Tech Students will be notified via email once their committee has been approved.

Proposal Presentation

Students may schedule their Thesis Proposal Presentation after their Thesis Committee has been formally approved. Contact the Graduate Office for assistance reserving rooms at Tech. The presentation should be announced a minimum of two weeks (10 business days) prior to the date. To make the announcement, students must send the following information to the Graduate Office:

- Name, date, time, and location
- List of Chair(s) and committee members
- Title and abstract

Admission to Candidacy

Once a student has passed the Proposal Presentation, he/she is ready to be admitted to candidacy. This is the process by which the Graduate School officially approves the student's committee and topic. This Admission to Candidacy form is available in PDF writable format at http://www.grad.gatech.edu/thesis/Forms/Doctoral/PhDTopicForm.pdf. Students are encouraged to take the prepared form to their Presentations so that all committee members can sign the form. The Graduate School will not accept faxed signatures, so students must mail the form to any committee members who are away from campus. The Graduate Office will complete the information on the qualifying exams, obtain the Department Chair's signature, and be responsible for submitting the form to the Graduate School for approval.

Approval of Minor

All students in the Biomedical Engineering program automatically complete an approved minor by taking the required BMED 6031 & 6032. Students may complete another official minor if they wish, provided it includes at least 9 hours of related coursework and is approved by the Graduate Committee. All students must submit the Minor form (http://www.grad.gatech.edu/thesis/Forms/Doctoral/Minor_form.pdf) to the Graduate Office which will then be responsible for submitting it to the Graduate School. The Minor form may be submitted with or after the Admission to Candidacy form, but must be submitted prior to petitioning for graduation.

Degree Petition (Petition for Graduation)

Students in the BMED program must petition to graduate at both Tech and Emory. Theses are separate forms due at different times. Georgia Tech's petition is due the semester before anticipated graduation (for example, petitions for spring graduation are due in the fall). For a list of deadlines, check the Graduate School's Theses and Dissertations information (http://www.grad.gatech.edu/thesis/thesisdeadlines.html). The form is available as a writable PDF on the Registrar's web site (http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/docs/pdf/GRAD_PETITION_FOR_DEGREE.pdf)

The Emory petition ("Application for Graduation" link to http://www.registrar.emory.edu/pdf/Da.Degree%20Application%201.pdf ) is due the same semester that the student graduates. This form must be completed and submitted to the Emory Graduate School. Students will receive a reminder from the Emory staff via email.

Dissertation Defense

Students must send their dissertation defense announcement to the Graduate Office no later than 2 weeks prior to the defense date. Follow the same format as for the Proposal Presentation announcement (see above).

Degree Completion Steps and Final Paperwork

The deadline for depositing the dissertation is several weeks prior to graduation. Graduate Studies publishes the deadlines (http://www.grad.gatech.edu/thesis/thesisdeadlines.html) on its website. Graduate Studies also offers workshops on formatting theses/dissertations a couple of times a year, and students are encouraged to attend these.

The Theses and Dissertations (http://www.grad.gatech.edu/thesis/forms.html) web page has a link for the Certificate of Thesis Approval form. This is the form that each member of the committee signs to verify that the dissertation is satisfactory. Students must submit this form by the deadline for thesis submission.

Graduate Studies also has a checklist (http://www.grad.gatech.edu/thesis/Forms/ChecklistofDocuments.pdf) for students to help them complete all paperwork and to instruct them on planning to attend the graduation ceremony.

Students in the BMED program must also submit their dissertation and some final paperwork to Emory's Graduate School. BMED students do not have to pay binding fees or submit the Emory Admission to Candidacy form, but they do need to submit the Report of Completion of Requirements for Doctoral Degree (http://www.emory.edu/GSOAS/PDF/GS%20DoctComplForm.pdf) form with their dissertation. Ms. Queen Watson in Emory's Graduate School is the contact for questions concerning depositing dissertations at Emory. Her contact information is available on Emory's Degree Completion (http://www.emory.edu/GSOAS/current/degree_completion/#deadlines) web page.

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