Students are required to pass a combination of written and oral comprehensive examinations toward the end of the second year and after completion of the required coursework. Students failing the comprehensive examinations, are given a second chance six months later. A second failure results in termination. Throughout the first two years of required coursework, students whose grade point average falls below a "B" (3.0) will be placed on academic probation. If they fail to remedy their average, they will be asked to withdraw from the program. A student who completes the comprehensive examinations successfully is admitted to candidacy and qualifies for the doctoral dissertation proposal defense. Students choose a preceptor to supervise their research during the first year of residence. The preceptor and the student gather an advisory committee that is chaired by a core faculty member of the program, and includes the preceptor and four other members, two from within the program, one from another division within the institution, and one neuroscientist from another institution. The thesis proposal should be in the format of an NIH grant application and will be defended before the advisory committee. The rest of the student's time in residence is spent on the doctoral dissertation research. Each student dissertation is evaluated by a neuroscientist from another institution who is an expert in the specific area of research.

Graduate College/Rush University Academic Policies
Academic policies specific to The Graduate College are located at http://www.rushu.rush.edu/catalog/acadprograms/gc/gcacadpolicies.html. In addition, the Academic Resources and Policies section of this catalog contains Rush University academic policies.