Appendices

Appendix A: Student Advisor in the Student Services Office

Student Advisor’s Role for PhD students

Student advisors in the Student Services Office take on a supportive role, assisting students with university policies, degree requirements, and tracking academic/graduation progress through the PhD program. They also process required paperwork submitted to the department or university, send announcements, deadlines, and reminders. The student advisors do not advise students in research or the mentoring of students through the PhD program. 

Mandatory Enrollment

Students are required to enroll in 12 units of coursework each fall/spring term (or placeholder courses signifying full time enrollment, such as GRSC 800) until 60 units of coursework have been completed.  It is highly recommended that students enroll in courses before the semester begins to ensure tuition reimbursement is processed correctly. Failure to do this may cause late fees and delays in processing tuition reimbursements and stipends.  Students are required to complete a minimum of 24 academic units (non-research units) of the 60 units required.  Enrollment in the first year of the program is preset. Deviation from the preset first year courses must be approved by the PhD Committee.  Summer enrollment is not required.  Students may enroll for the summer term, and many have for tax purposes.  Because we are unable to provide tax advice, students should speak to a tax professional if there are any questions regarding this. 

Transfer Credit

Students with a master’s degree, or significant prior graduate coursework in biology can petition to apply the credit toward this degree. Petition for credit will be based on the Graduate School’s policies and requirements for “transfer of credit’ and on approval by the PhD advisory committee. Transfer credits toward the PhD requirements will be limited to a maximum of 20 units and must have been taken within 10 years of completing the PhD program. The Biology of Aging PhD Committee will evaluate each request for transfer credit on its own merits, and with particular regard to a student’s preparation for a research career in the geroscience. The PhD Committee will determine how many transfer credits may or may not be used towards the 24 academic units required for graduation in the Biology of Aging PhD program. In most cases, less than the maximum of 20 units will actually be approved for transfer. 

Students must first request for a Transfer Credit Report from the USC Registrar’s Office. See the link for specific details. Choosing from the transferable courses stated in the report, students will submit a Transfer Credit Petition Form (see Student Forms) and syllabus for each course you are petitioning, as well as a copy of the Transfer Credit Report to the student advisor. Students must submit for transfer credit by the end of fall semester of the first year in the program. 

DocuSign

At the beginning of the PhD program, students will be given Send access in DocuSign.  The student will use DocuSign to obtain signatures, including the PhD Executive Committee Chair and Dean, when completing any forms required of the program, these include forms such as the Faculty Advisor Selection form, Qualifying Exam/Dissertation Committee form, and Clearance to Defend Dissertation form. 

Forms and Deadlines

Please contact Student Services for updated forms at this time. The links to digital forms will be published at a later time.

Transfer Credit Petition form

Due by end of fall of the first year in the program 

Graduate Advisor Selection form

Due by end of finals during spring semester of first year in the program.  Students who have not found a faculty mentor by the last day of classes in the spring term must notify the Student Services Office and PhD Executive Committee Chair to arrange a 4–6-week summer host laboratory rotation.  The Graduate Advisor Selection form must be submitted within a week of completing the summer rotation.  Students unable to find a faculty mentor can be dismissed from the program. 

Appointment of Qualifying Exam Committee form

Due by the end of fall of the second year in the program  

Request to Take the PhD Qualifying Exam form

Due by the end of fall of the second year in the program 

Report on Qualifying Exam form

This form is not available to students. Students must notify the Student Advisor in the Student Services Office of when the oral qualifying exam is taking place. This is to ensure the Report on Qualifying Exam form is sent to the student in the morning of the oral exam. Students must return the signed form within a week (or as soon as possible) to the Student Services Office in order to avoid delays in the processing of PhD Candidacy. 

Appointment of Dissertation Committee form

Due within 30 days of passing the qualifying exam 

Annual Dissertation Progress Review form

Due by the end of summer each full year after reaching PhD Candidacy.  The first annual form should be due by the end of the 3rd summer in the program.  Students graduating by the summer term of an academic year are not required to submit the form.  However, should graduation be delayed to the following fall term or later, the form will be due by the end of that summer. 

Clearance to Defend Dissertation form

Due 3 months prior to the scheduled defense.  Students are highly recommended to coordinate with the Graduate School deadlines to ensure they meet the deadlines for the term they intend to graduate.

Appendix B: Sample Individual Development Plan

Please contact Student Services for a sample of the Individual Development Plan (IDP).

Other Examples: https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/pdf/S1097-2765(15)00307-X.pdf 

 (Modeled from Dr. Scott Lanyon, University of Minnesota). 

Appendix C: Guidelines for Successful Mentoring 

A graduate student is encouraged to set clear expectations for academic relationships. Advisees who have a clear idea of how the advisor and other mentors can help them achieve their educational and career goals will get the most out of relationships with mentors and advisors. Create a plan to guide you as you work with mentors to complete your degree. 

Understand your rights and responsibilities. Advisees have a right to be treated with respect; this includes the right to study in a harassment-free environment, have equal access and opportunity in all educational programs without individual or systemic barriers, and seek religious and disability accommodations. Advisees are expected to contact appropriate offices to request accommodation, seek advocates, and mediation. 

Communicate with advisor/mentors regularly. The success of any effective relationship is dependent on communication. Advisees need to make sure they communicate with faculty mentors regularly, not just when facing a crisis. Communication includes sharing successes, asking questions, and seeking feedback in problem solving, which allows an advisor to provide effective, timely support, and to help prevent a crisis. 

Connect with resources to nurture your well-being. Pursuing a graduate or professional degree can be stressful, and it is important for advisees to connect with resources that will nurture their emotional, physical, cultural, and spiritual well-being – whether individuals, student services programs, or interest/affinity groups. Putting personal interests on hold while in school often creates stress, which hinders rather than helps progress to a degree. If your advisor does not appear to have your best interest at heart, you have a right to consult other mentors and to seek a new advisor. 

Establish milestones to reach degree completion. Take time to develop an Individual Development Plan to know, understand, address, and update progress with your specific writing, teaching, research, and professional development goals. Review with peers and mentors. Reflective practice allows you to plan for success. 

 Spend your time wisely. Graduate school success is highly dependent on how well students manage their time and that of their advisor. Learning effective time management skills is a start, using them is a necessity for personal development and for interacting regularly and effectively with advisors. 

See yourself as part of a community. Show up at departmental events and invite faculty to your events, offer to be part of new student recruitment, set up resource sharing for teaching assistants, enroll in professional development programs to improve skills and deepen networks. Engaged students report increased satisfaction and progress. 

A Faculty Mentor is encouraged to support your student’s goals and career plans. 

Advisors who listen to graduate and professional students’ goals, share ideas and additional possibilities, and ask future-looking questions will help their advisees to find and create their own appropriate career paths. Take care to distinguish between your hopes and their hopes.  

Understand your roles and responsibilities. One of the key roles an advisor plays is that of a mentor. As a mentor, the advisor might help the advisee assess their academic strengths and weaknesses, as well as assist in course selection and exploring possible research areas. In addition, an advisor also has a responsibility to treat advisees with respect and to ensure that the advisee is able to pursue their academic work in a harassment-free environment with access to any needed accommodations. 

Communicate timely feedback respectfully and constructively. Direct and honest feedback will help students assess errors and move forward when it is informational, specific, constructive, timely, positive, personal, and differential. Faculty mentors, especially dissertation advisors and workplace supervisors, are expected to refrain from engaging in intimidation and humiliation in the workplace and professional interactions with students whatever the setting or context. 

Create a safe environment for your graduate student. Students will experience highs and lows: exhilaration, fear, possibility, frustration, joy, anger. Ideally, an advisor will hear and talk about these experiences and be equipped to provide appropriate guidance, including referrals. Not “just” students, RAs or TAs, advisees have full, complex lives; therefore, advising includes learning about/ creating an environment free from racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of prejudice, intolerance, or harassment. Because students are also future colleagues, it is critical that advisors understand and respectfully navigate current power dynamics. 

Expect and elicit on-going progress to degree completion. To create effective annual student progress reviews, schedule regular short meetings each term: a first discussion establishes goals with steps/suggestions/resources for meeting them; a mid-term email exchange allows for updates and adjustments; a term-end review provokes mapping out next steps and goal setting. 

Serve as a resource and provide networking support. When a faculty or staff member commits to serving in a mentoring role, that person is an on-going contributor to the success of the student. Talking through ideas, linking students to appropriate resources and suggesting ways to broaden or deepen the student’s network are essential components of this role. 

See yourself as part of a community. Create opportunities for informal socializing within department events and support student groups in their events. Know your local resources for graduate student professional development and bring this information to your department. Talk with peers across institutional types to help students understand multiple career paths. 

Appendix D: Best Practices for Graduate Student Success

Best practice	Student’s & advisor’s responsibility	Advisor’s responsibility	Student’s responsibility
Establish milestones for academic and research  progress	Within 60 days: Discuss and agree on milestones to track student progress.  By 2nd year for PhD students Establish advisory and exam committee(s) and develop a course work plan.  Annually: Document and review student progress.	Communicate expectations with respect to independence and how a student is to function in the fairly unstructured graduate school environment.  Clarify availability of continued funding (e.g., assistantships or fellowships).	Clearly understand your own motivations for going to graduate school.  Seek alternative or supplemental funding, as needed.  Consult the Director of Graduate Studies or Graduate Program Coordinator to ensure that program requirements are met on time.
Maintain open lines of communication and provide timely feedback	Discuss an optimum meeting frequency and meet regularly.  Establish written expectations and schedules; update as necessary as the degree program progresses or with changing circumstances.	Comment on student’s work (reports, draft posters, seminar presentations, manuscripts, etc.) in a timely manner.  Be mindful of students’ time, remember they have academic commitments in addition to laboratory work. Give them enough lead time to complete work.  Communicate developments that may impact time to degree completion.  Understand cultural differences that might affect communication.	Submit progress reports, draft posters or seminar presentations, manuscripts, thesis drafts, and other work in a timely manner.  Be mindful of advisor’s and staff time. They are here to work with you, but remember they have other commitments. Give them enough lead time to help you with questions or issues.  Inform advisor of changes in schedule, including any paid or unpaid leave.  Seek help from advisors or from other sources to resolve difficulties.
Understand the terms and conditions of graduate assistant employment	Ensure that offer letters and terms of employment are understood (These are always made by USC HR or the Graduate School).  Comply with business practices of the department/program.	Understand graduate student rights.  Provide a safe work environment free from intimidation, humiliation, or harassment.	Complete any required training (e.g., safety, responsible conduct of research, ethics) in a timely manner.
Develop research ideas and  career goals	Agree on the scope and sequence of thesis research (thesis proposal) and engage at all stages.  Clarify expectations for multiple tasks (e.g., teaching, work/life balance).  Develop student career goals; revisit and revise periodically.	Give constructive feedback on student’s research ideas.  Mentor students as they apply for jobs and advise on effects to their degree plan.	Keep a journal of research ideas and activities.  Seek professional development opportunities.
Connect with the larger campus and professional  community	Recognize and respect cultural differences.  Seek opportunities for leadership and professional development skills such as: public speaking, research ethics, working across differences, collaboration, conflict resolution, and data management.	Help student network with colleagues at other institutions.  Support student participation in scientific conferences, campus seminars, and on committees within the Geroscience PhD program.	Attend campus seminars and events.  Participate in graduate student orientation and recruitment activities.  Participate in scientific conferences (find external travel funding, as needed).

Appendix E: Standard Forms

Please contact Student Services for forms and samples.

• Document acknowledging receipt and reading of this handbook
• Faculty Mentor Selection Form – view draft
• T32 training grant application
• Sample write up for GERO 614L, 790, 794
• Faculty Evaluation Form for first year Rotation/Lab Experience
• Sample Qualifying Exam Forms
• Sample Committee Review Forms
• 5th year degree completion and mentoring plan – view draft

Appendix F: Geroscience PhD Training Faculty Semester-by-Semester Checklist

Upon acceptance into the lab faculty should review the trainee’s Individual Development Plan (IDP) and assist with refining and continuously updating.   

Deadlines for graduate school dissertation defense and submission:  

Example: To graduate in Spring (May 15th) the student must successfully defend the dissertation and submit an accepted written dissertation before April 1st. 

For all deadlines refer to:  https://graduateschool.usc.edu/current-students/thesis-dissertation-submission/submission-deadlines/ 

Note: For all student deadlines below, “first year” refers to year in the PhD program (typically the year they do rotations). The Fall semester after joining a lab, students are starting their second year in the program.

For all students

1. Confirm that PhD students have enrolled in courses for Fall Semester 
2. Confirm a dissertation committee meeting is scheduled for all students that have advanced to candidacy (passed qualifying exam). 

 2nd year students 

Assemble Qualifying Exam Committee

Submit Aim 1 and Aim 2 of written qualifying exam to committee and the Student Services Office.  

Before December 1st – Geroscience PhD training faculty Inform the Geroscience PhD committee if available to accept rotation students in the following year (this informs the number of applicants invited for interview). Faculty indicating availability to accept rotations students MUST participate in PhD recruitment (screening candidates, interviewing in person visits and zoom, etc.). Only faculty who intend to accept a student into the lab should take rotation students and must be able to demonstrate their financial capability to do so for at least three years beyond year 1 in the program.   

For all students: 

1. Confirm that PhD students have enrolled in courses for Spring Semester 
2. Confirm a dissertation committee meeting is scheduled for all students that have advanced to candidacy (passed qualifying exam). Note: an annual meeting is required each year. 

2nd year students  

Schedule qualifying exam date (ideally by May 15, but under rare exceptions that require approval of the Geroscience PhD Committee by August 15) 

Submit Aim 3 and answers to committee questions 2 weeks before qualifying exam.

Pass the qualifying exam by May 15th. Students that do not schedule and pass the qualifying exam by May 15th can be dismissed from the program. 

4th year and older students 

Enrollment, tuition remission, and continuation in the program beyond the 5th year is not guaranteed. Students entering their 5th year must complete a plan for degree completion that must be submitted to the Senior Student Advisor at USC prior to enrollment in the Fall semester. The Geroscience PhD Committee will further evaluate students entering their 6th year as tuition remission and continuation in the program beyond the 6th year is not guaranteed.  

See Appendix E for forms. 

Participate in PhD student recruitment in January/February 

Summer Semester (May 16th-August 15th)

 For all students: 

1. Develop and revise IDP and dissertation plans with each student (submit to the student advisor for student’s file). 
2. Confirm that all students that have advanced to candidacy (passed qualifying exam) have had a dissertation committee meeting in the past year. 
3. Summer enrollment is not required, but students continue to work in the lab toward their research goals as an RA during the summer semester. Students may enroll for the summer term and failure to enroll can have financial implications. Because we are unable to provide tax advice, students should speak to a tax professional if there are any questions regarding this. 

1st year students (end of 1st year in program)  

Advise and support student’s selection of qualifying exam committee. 

2nd year students (no later than 30 days after successfully passing qualifying examination)  

Advise and support student’s selection of dissertation exam committee.  

Examination Timelines

Qualifying Examination Deadlines
Establish Qualifying Exam Committee	Fall Semester of second year in program
Submit Written Aim 1 and Aim 2 of Qualifying Exam and Program to Committee for review	December 15th of second year in program
Schedule qualifying exam	After approval of written Aim 1 and Aim 2 by committee (first week of February of second year in program)
Submit written qualifying exam Aim 3 and written answers to questions from faculty to committee for review	At least 2 weeks before the scheduled exam date.    (Note that during this 2-week period the committee will review the written document and can request that the exam be postponed if the quality of the written exam is not satisfactory.
Oral Qualifying Exam	Spring semester of the second year in program. Exceptionally, permission to take the exam in the summer of the second year or Fall semester of the third year can be approved. For any date to be scheduled outside of Spring (year 2), students must petition and receive approval from the Geroscience PhD committee before the end of the Spring semester (May 15). The qualifying exam should always be scheduled before the start of the Fall Semester (August 15).

 

Refer to The Graduate School Deadlines for dissertation submission dates to confer degrees each semester, but in general: September for Fall Semester, March for Spring Semester, June for Summer Semester.  

http://graduateschool.usc.edu/current-students/thesis-dissertation-submission/submission-deadlines/ 

PhD Defense Examination Deadlines
Establish Dissertation Advisement Committee	After advancement to candidacy (passed qualifying exam and completion of required coursework). Usually in the Summer semester of the second year, but before the end of the Fall semester of the 3rd year (December 31)
Final committee meeting before the oral defense	Students should schedule a final committee meeting BEFORE the start of the semester that they plan to defend.
Permission to defend	The dissertation committee must complete and sign a form approving unanimously the scheduling of a PhD defense based on the student’s progress through a form, that must be submitted no less than 3 months prior to the scheduled defense (the time limit may be shortened with the approval of the Geroscience PhD committee).
Submit written dissertation	PhD candidates MUST provide their completed written dissertation (although technically still a “draft”) before the oral defense date is scheduled.     Once submitted to the Dissertation Advisement Committee, committee members have two weeks to assess whether the quality of the dissertation meets the standards to proceed to the oral defense. The committee then provides or withholds the authorization to defend depending on the submitted written document.    Once approved, PhD candidates can proceed with scheduling the oral defense date.
Oral PhD Defense	Students MUST defend their dissertation a minimum of 1 week BEFORE the dissertation checklist date (see link above for Graduate School Deadlines).    The oral defense should be scheduled for a minimum of 2 hours. In the 1st hour, students will present a seminar-style presentation of their dissertation work. This presentation is open to the public. Immediately following this presentation, the PhD candidate and committee move to a closed (private) meeting where the committee can ask questions and test the strength of the PhD candidate’s dissertation work. During the closed session the committee can also present changes that are REQUIRED to approve the written defense.  Required changes need to be approved before the committee formally approves/passes the PhD candidate (before the checklist deadline of the semester the candidate intends to graduate)