PhD Degree—Second Year
By the start of the second year, most PhD students have begun work on the research project that will lead to their dissertation. During this year, students take Responsible Conduct of Scientific Research, which examines the moral and philosophical issues confronting scientists, and continue to take electives based on their research interests as well as courses required by their program.
In Grant Writing, a popular elective, students learn to write grant applications under the supervision of a professor. Then, the entire class acts as a peer-review panel, as funding agencies do, in critiquing all the grant proposals.
Students must pass a qualifying exam to become candidates for the doctoral degree. This exam must be scheduled by the end of the second year.
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Cherry Mae Ignacio appreciated SUNY Upstate's first-year curriculum, which builds in a variety of research work. She experienced three different departments before deciding on her program and advisor.
"I liked the lab rotations," Ignacio said. "I am interested in a lot of things and got to see a broader view of scientific research."
Ignacio is now working with Dr. Barry Knox, studying how light-sensitive proteins in cells of the retina are activated in response to light.
As good as her first year was, Ignacio's second year started off even better—she spent a week at a structural biology conference in England, where she presented a poster of her research project.
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