During their first year in the program, students will take a defined group of graduate level courses within the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy.   At the completion of each major course, a written evaluation of the student's accomplishments is forwarded to the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy.

The Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy has been designed as a flexible program, which, while requiring  mastery of basic course work in gross anatomy, cell biology and microanatomy, developmental anatomy, and neuroanatomy, encourages students to identify an area of research  interest and enter into a laboratory setting as soon as possible. However, the need for adequate formal training in the basic disciplines is essential. The following course work requirements address that need:

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN CLINICAL ANATOMY

The Graduate School requires a minimum of 60 credit hours  for the Ph.D:

COURSE WORK IN CELL BIOLOGY AND ANATOMY FOR THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN CLINICAL ANATOMY

A minimum of forty-eight (48) hours must be in courses within the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy.  Fifteen (15) of these hours may be dissertation research (ANAT 400). Four (4) may be seminar (ANAT 290), and six (6) may be in Special Topics (ANAT 280).  Twenty-four (24) hours selected from a core group of Cell Biology and Anatomy courses have been designated as required.  With approval, additional courses may be selected from the core group of Cell Biology and Anatomy courses, including, but not restricted to:

Those courses designated by an asterisk (*) are required.

NOTES ON COURSE WORK1A maximum of four (4) hours of Seminar (ANAT 290) can be used toward fulfilling the sixty (60) required hours. However, seminar attendance is required each semester a student is in residence. Attendance at Grand Rounds in Clinical Departments may be substituted for Seminar.The Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy must approve graduate level courses taken outside the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. These courses may be taken in other departments at LSUHSC, or at other schools (e.g., Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Xavier University). New students entering the program will be advised regarding their course work by the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy. After a Research Advisor has been selected, additional electives will be selected based on consultation between the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy and the Research Advisor. 2(ANAT 400) Dissertation Research: In conjunction with research leading to the completion of research project, students will receive credit for no more than fifteen (15) credit hours of dissertation research (ANAT 400) towards the Ph.D. degree.

At the end of each semester reports of each student's progress in major courses will be written by the course directors and sent to the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy.

COURSE WORK OUTSIDE OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN CLINICAL ANATOMY  (minimum 12 hours)

In order to insure an adequate background in related disciplines, the Graduate School requires that students take at least twelve (12) credit hours outside of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. The student will choose the courses in consultation with his/her Research Advisor and committee and the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy . One of these courses may be taken for a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) grade with this choice being designated at the time of registration. Courses offered for fulfillment of the requirement include:

Those courses designated by an asterisk (*) are required.

MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN CLINICAL ANATOMY

The Graduate School requires a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours for the M.S.

COURSE WORK IN CELL BIOLOGY AND ANATOMY FOR MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN CLINICAL ANATOMY - The uniqueness of the M.S. Degree Program in Clinical Anatomy, as designed, far surpasses the minimum course work hours as required by the Graduate School.

A minimum of twenty-four (24) hours must be in courses in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy.  Six (6) of these hours may be thesis research (ANAT 300) and two (2) may be seminar (ANAT 290)   The remaining hours have been selected from a core group of Cell Biology and Anatomy courses,  knowledge of which will enable the student to teach gross anatomy to undergraduate  or health sciences students.  With the approval of the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy additional courses may be selected from, but not restricted to the following:

Those courses designated by an asterisk (*) are required.

NOTES ON COURSE WORK

1A maximum of two (2) hours of Seminar (ANAT 290) can be used toward fulfilling the thirty (30) hours required by the Graduate School. However, seminar attendance is required each semester a student is in residence. Attendance at Grand Rounds in Clinical Departments may be substituted for Seminar.

The Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy must approve graduate level courses taken outside the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. These courses may be taken in other departments at LSUHSC, or at other schools (e.g., Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Xavier University).

New students entering the program will be advised regarding their course work by the  Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy.  After a research advisor has been selected, additional electives will be selected based on consultation between the  Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy and the research advisor.

2(ANAT 300) Thesis Research: In conjunction with research leading to the completion of a research project, students will received credit for no more than six (6) credit hours of thesis research (ANAT 300) towards the M.S. degree.

At the end of each semester, reports of each student's progress in major courses will be written by the course directors and sent to the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy.

COURSE WORK OUTSIDE OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE.  As designed the required course in physiology (minimum 6 hours) fulfills this requirement.

In order to insure an adequate background in related disciplines, the Graduate School requires that students take at least six (6) credit hours outside of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. The student may choose additional courses in consultation with his/her research advisor and committee and the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy . One of these courses may be taken for a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) grade with this choice being designated at the time of registration. Courses offered for fulfillment of the requirement include:

Those courses designated by an asterisk (*) are required.

TRANSFER OF CREDIT

Transfer students will have their record reviewed on an individual basis. Students may be excused from repeating required courses in which they have had previous graduate level experience and have obtained a grade of B or better. While the Department may accept transfer credits for courses taken elsewhere, it will not assign or accept grades for courses not actually taken while the student is enrolled at LSUHSC.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

No foreign languages are required by the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

A minimum overall average of "B" is required by the GraduateSchool for all course work, and no grade less than "C" will be accepted toward the degree. If a student is issued a grade of "C", the faculty will review the student's record and decide if remedial work is required. Should a student's cumulative average fall below a "B", the faculty will review the student's record and determine whether to place the student on probation for one semester or to drop the student from the program. Should a student on probation fail to raise his cumulative average to a "B" during the probationary period, the faculty must decide whether to extend the probationary period for an additional semester or to drop the student from the program. No student will be permitted to remain in the graduate program on probationary status for more than two consecutive semesters. Students who exhibit marked deficiencies in any or all aspects of their performance may be dismissed from the program by consensus of the Research Advisor, the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy and Head of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy.

QUALIFYING COMMITTEE

At the end of the summer of the student's first year in the MS or PhD program, the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy will chair the Qualifying Committee .  This committee, comprised of the members of the Graduate Studies Subcommittee on Clinical Anatomy, will conduct a Qualifying Examination (written and oral) covering the basic course work in gross anatomy, developmental anatomy, and neuroscience.  The student must pass the Qualifying Examination prior to teaching in the Medical Gross Anatomy course in the fall semester of the student's second year in either the MS or PhD program. 

If the student fails to satisfactorily complete the Qualifying Examination, the teaching in Medical Gross Anatomy may be postponed and additional remedial work covering the student's deficiencies may be recommended by the Qualifying Committee. Students engaged in remedial work will receive a written report concerning their progress in the program at the end of each semester from those faculty involved. The student will be given an opportunity to retake the Qualifying Examination following the completion of the remedial work.  It is expected that the Qualifying Process will be completed by the end of the student's second year of study. Failure to pass the Qualifying Examination on the second attempt will result in automatic dismissal from the MS or PhD program.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE

If the student enrolled in either the MS or PhD program has not already done so,upon completion of the Qualifying Process, he/she will choose a faculty member to serve as Research Advisor / Major Professor. The student and his/her Research Advisor / Major Professor, with the approval of the Department Head, will recommend faculty members to serve on a Research Committee and will submit this committee to the Graduate School for the Graduate School Dean's approval.

The Research Committee for the PhD degree will consist of at least five (5) members    (the student's Research Advisor / Major Professor and four (4) other members of the Graduate Faculty) with at least three (3) members being from the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and at least one member from another Department. One member can be from outside the Health Sciences Center. One of the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy will serve as an adjunct member of the Research Committee.  If the Committee is composed of more than five (5) members, the majority will be from the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Within the constraints of the Graduate School rules, the Committee members shall be selected for expertise in the research area chosen by the student. The Research Advisor / Major Professor will serve as the chairman of the Research Committee.

The Research Committee for the MS degree will consist of not less than four (4) Graduate Faculty members ( the student's Research Advisor / Major Professor and three (3) other members of the Graduate Faculty) with one member from a Department other than the student's department.  One of the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy will serve as an adjunct member of the Research Committee. 

It is the responsibility of the Research Committee to recommend and/or approve a program of study encompassing both the major and minor fields of interest to the student, to conduct the Preliminary Exam, to help direct the thesis / dissertation research, and to conduct the thesis / dissertation defense.

Candidacy -

A MS degree student becomes a candidate if the student has completed 12 semester hours of work with a B average and has received Departmental approval.

A)         All PhD and MS students will normally assist in  Medical Gross Anatomy in the fall semester of their second year in the program.  The student will be required to assist in the laboratory and give at least one lecture.

In addition, students will have an annual teaching commitment in one of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy courses  beginning in their third year and each subsequent year until completion of the program.  These courses are Medical Gross Anatomy, Cell Biology and Microanatomy, Dental Gross Anatomy, and Allied Health Gross Anatomy.  Course assignments will be decided by the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy.  After a Research Advisor has been selected, the annual teaching commitment will be determined by the Directors of the Graduate Program in Clinical Anatomy in consultation with the Research Advisor.   Consideration will be given to the optimum time for the teaching commitment that will minimize conflict with the student's and the Research Advisor's research programs and the career goals of the student.   The student will be evaluated by the course director and staff.

B)         Each student is required to present a seminar to the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in his/her second and fourth years as part of the regular departmental seminar program. The subject of these presentations will be assigned by the student's dissertation advisor, and may be about his/her research or any related field of interest.

Teaching Options:

When the PhD student is sufficiently prepared as determined by the Research Committee, the Preliminary Examination will be scheduled. This examination must be completed at least one academic year prior to graduation. The Preliminary Exam will not be a retest of previous course work unless that course work pertains directly to the area of research. Performance on the Preliminary Examination will be decided by vote of the Research Committee. Satisfactory completion of this examination requires that the student receive no more than 1 negative vote. Successful completion of this examination admits the student to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

The format of the Preliminary Exam will be determined by the student's major professor, based on two options:

a) Oral defense of a NIH-format research proposal prepared by the student

Preparation of such a proposal should help the student to develop writing skills, discover library resources and, in particular, to become acquainted with the large body of primary research literature pertinent to his/her field. It is expected that this proposal will have relevance to the dissertation research. The defense will be conducted by the Research Committee and will be open to the faculty. The defense may include questions related in any way to the proposal, including relative basic science questions, theoretical questions about proposed techniques, questions on rationale for techniques, questions about the literature cited, etc.

b) Combined written and oral examination

The student will be required to answer written questions in a format determined by the Committee. The oral examination tofollow may key on the answers to the written portion, or be unrelated.

Research in preparation of a doctoral dissertation will normally occupy the majority of the student's time during the final stage of his/her training. Each doctoral student will undertake a research project that will form the basis of a dissertation to be submitted to the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and the School of Graduate Studies. The standards and procedures for completing the dissertation are described below. The dissertation should be of a quality acceptable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Students will provide manuscript drafts of the dissertation to the members of the Research Committee for their critique prior to scheduling the defense.

The final oral examination (Defense of  Dissertation) will be scheduled and taken only after all other departmental requirements have been satisfied and the dissertation has been approved in its final form. Students must submit a final draft of the dissertation to their committee at least 2 weeks before the defense.

The student will present his/her research in a departmental seminar (usually 45 to 60 minutes), immediately preceding the defense of dissertation. The public is invited to attend and ask questions. The Research Committee will have the last opportunity to question the student on the dissertation work. After questioning has been completed, the Research Committee will adjourn to deliberate on the defense.

Following successful completion of the defense, it will be the student's responsibility to comply with all the regulations of the GraduateSchool in regard to turning in the final version of the dissertation.