PhD Comprehensive Evaluation Process

This three-part process is intended to provide evidence that the student has attained a level of preparedness appropriate for matriculation to Ph.D. candidate. The Comprehensive Evaluation Process may be initiated after a minimum of 24 credits of didactic courses have been completed. Candidacy status is the result of a successful Evaluation, and should be conferred at least twelve months prior to the expected date of Electronic Thesis/Dissertation deposition. The three components of the comprehensive evaluation process include:

  1. Comprehensive Examination – This is a written examination designed to test the student's scientific approach to problem solving in their area of specialization. The specific format of the examination is at discretion of the faculty within the student’s discipline. Application to complete this examination is permitted after the student has completed at least 24 credits of didactic course work. Please review the GSPS Canvas site for each discipline's requirements.
  2. Research Proposal – The student will develop a complete research proposal (Original Research Proposal, ORP, or Project Research Proposal, PRP) according to guidelines provided by the student’s discipline. The written research proposal shall be submitted to the faculty of the specific area of study for evaluation. The student will be required to defend the proposal to faculty of the specific discipline; in special circumstances, dissertation committee members may be invited to evaluate this defense.. The results of the faculty evaluations of the student's submitted proposal and oral defense will be forwarded to the ADRGP. The Research Proposal step should be completed within one year of the Comprehensive Examination and at least one year prior to scheduling a dissertation defense. Please review the GSPS Canvas site for each discipline's requirements.
  3. Discipline General Evaluation – The candidate's performance in areas such as seminar presentations, coursework, progress in research, contributions to the academic atmosphere, general attitude, potential for future growth, and other matters will be reviewed by the faculty of the student’s specific discipline. The evaluation is subjective and attempts to assess skills other than formal examinations, and determine a student’s readiness to matriculate to Ph.D. Candidate.

Assistantships

Teaching and Research Assistantships, which may include full remission of tuition and fees, are available to qualified Ph.D. and M.S. applicants. Assistantships are normally awarded twice per year for six-month contract periods.

Eligibility for Assistantships is based on academic records, qualifications and financial need. These Assistantships are granted on a semester-by-semester basis in return for specified duties to be determined in consultation with the student’s primary advisor and the ADRGP. To be eligible for consideration for an Assistantship, the student must complete the appropriate section on the official application.

International students seeking a Teaching Assistantship are advised that Duquesne University institutional policy and Pennsylvania state law requires that all instructional teaching assistants, for whom English is a second language, be certified by the University as meeting acceptable standards of English language fluency. Candidates for Teaching Assistantships are required to submit TSE (Test of Spoken English) scores to the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Additionally, candidates must successfully complete on-campus language tests conducted for such certification.

If the results of the on-campus language testing for such certification indicate that the candidate requires additional growth in language proficiency to meet acceptable standards for certification, that candidate will be responsible for the cost of skills remediation, which can include tuition for English language courses. Additionally, language testing results may inform the nature and/or limits of the candidate's assistantship and instructional duties.

Program Learning Outcomes

The competencies to be assessed in the completion of GSPS didactic courses are:

  • D1. Scientific Knowledge: Demonstrate a satisfactory level of knowledge in the relevant specialty areas of pharmaceutical sciences. 
  • D2. Interpretative: Identify and describe issues, problems, and opportunities in the pharmaceutical sciences. 
  • D3. Communication: Communicate ideas, data, and information in pharmaceutical sciences.
  • D4. Integrity: Adhere to codes of conduct and professional ethical principles, including (i) defining, (ii) describing the consequences of, and (iii) not committing the following infractions: data falsification, plagiarism, and confidentiality violation.

The competencies to be assessed in the completion of GSPS research are:

  • R1. Research planning: Conceptualize scientific ideas into research projects.
  • R2. Initiative: Act to accomplish research objectives.
  • R3. Innovation: Generate innovative ideas in pharmaceutical sciences.
  • R4. Communication: Discuss information, data, and ideas in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and/or pharmaceutics.
  • R5. Contribution: Add to the scientific community through the publication and/or presentation of research. 
  • R6. Scientific Knowledge: Demonstrate an advanced level of knowledge in the relevant specialty areas of pharmaceutical sciences.