CURRENT STUDENTS

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

The Student Services Office at the College of Veterinary Medicine serves as the administrative center for the Physiology Graduate Program. The CVM Student Services is responsible for student-related administrative tasks of the Physiology Graduate Program. Each semester PIN numbers for registration can be obtained from the Graduate Student Services Assistant.  All forms, such as Plan of Work, change of grade forms, Requests for Preliminary Oral Exam, etc are processed through this office.  All forms can be accessed online at the Graduate School Forms Page. Please contact the current Graduate Student Services Assistant at:

Office of Student Services
College of Veterinary Medicine
NC State University
4700 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC 27606
Phone: (919) 513-6448
Email: ncsucvmgrad@ncsu.edu

POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PHYSIOLOGY GRADUATE DEGREES

A comprehensive listing of Graduate School policies and requirements for graduate degrees can be found at the Graduate School Web Site. Current students should become familiar with the information provided by the Graduate School.  The Graduate Administrative Handbook  also provides details regarding timelines, theses, and processing forms. Faculty and students are encouraged to consult this material in developing their programs of study.

All Physiology graduate students, including non-thesis Master's candidates, will be required to complete one or more orientation workshops at the commencement of the first year of their graduate program.  These workshops will be offered through the Graduate School and the College of Veterinary Medicine orientation programs at the beginning of the fall semester.

DEFINITION OF FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME ENROLLMENT

REQUIREMENTS FOR A MASTER OF PHYSIOLOGY, NON-THESIS (OPTION B) DEGREE

Degree Objective

To provide non-thesis Master's degree program for preprofessional students desiring to improve their academic credentials and for individuals desiring to improve their knowledge of modern physiology, without a requirement to perform research or prepare a formal presentation on their own research project.

Program outline

The non-thesis Master's degree will require a total of 36 credits to be distributed as follows:

1. PHY503* (3 cr.), PHY504* (3 cr.), and BCH553* (3 cr.) required of all students.
2. At least 21 of the remaining 27 credits must be selected from the Physiology course list given below.
3. Up to 6 of the 27 credits may be selected from the Supplementary course list provided that the courses chosen are more advanced than those previously completed.

The non-thesis Master's degree will require an approved Physiology faculty sponsor (Advisor) and submission of a Plan of Work, but will not require a formal committee or final oral exam, unless a library or laboratory research project is part of the Plan of Work.

The non-thesis Master's degree will not require enrollment in the PHY601 Physiology Graduate seminar. .

On the transcript, this degree will be called Master of Physiology, non-thesis.

MASTER OF PHYSIOLOGY COURSE LIST

MASTER OF PHYSIOLOGY SUPPLEMENTAL COURSE LIST

REQUIREMENTS FOR A GRADUATE MINOR IN PHYSIOLOGY, MASTER OF SCIENCE, AND DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREES

Degree Objective

The Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy are primarily research degree programs designed for individuals to increase their training in physiology in preparation for a research career in animal physiology.

Advisory Committee

For both research degree tracks, an advisory committee will be developed by his or her major professor and approved by the Coordinator of the Physiology Program. Committees of master's students majoring in Physiology will consist of three members of the Graduate Faculty and committees of doctoral students will consist of four members. The committees for both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees will include the chairman (major professor) who normally should be from the same department as the student and be a member of the Physiology Faculty. In addition to the chairman, at least one other member of the committee should be a member of the Physiology Faculty and be from a department other than that of the student and major professor. Committees of students (master's and doctoral) minoring in Physiology must include one member of the Physiology Faculty to represent the Physiology minor.

The chairman of committees for the Ph.D. degree must be a full member of the Graduate Faculty. However, associate members of the Graduate Faculty may serve as co-chairman of the advisory committee if a full member of the Graduate Faculty, who is also a member of the Physiology Faculty, agrees to serve as co-chairman.

The candidate's program and Plan of Work must be approved and signed by the Coordinator of the Physiology Program before submission to the Graduate School.

Language Requirement

Proficiency in a foreign language will be at the discretion of the student's graduate advisory committee.

Required Core Courses for Ph.D. Major, Graduate Minor, and MS Majors

*For Ph.D. ‚ BCH 553 and one BCH 700-800 level course are required.

In addition to the above required core courses for an M.S. the following is required:

1. A minimum of one full academic year or its equivalent in residence as a graduate student at the University.
2. Full Time Status Requires: Registration for nine (9) or more credit hours per Fall or Spring semester or a minimum of three (3) hours during the semester in which the student is completing the last course(s) required to complete the degree. If the student has completed all 30 hour requirements, but has not finished the Master's Thesis, full time registration can be obtained by enrolling for three (3) credits of PHY 699 (Master's Thesis Preparation) per semester. NOTE: PHY 699 can only be taken after completing the 30 hour requirement for the degree.  Credits for PHY 699 do not count toward the 30 hour requirement and should not be included in a Plan of Work.
3. Continuous registration, i.e. Fall and Spring Semesters.
4. A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work in the degree program including a minimum of 20 hours of 500-800 level course work
5. No more than six (6) hours of Thesis Research (PHY 695) in a minimum 30-hour program
6. No more than three (3) hours of Master's Supervised Teaching (PHY 685) in a minimum 30-hour program
7. No more than 10 hours of 400 level courses and they may not come from the major field.
8. No more than 2 hours of Departmental or Physiology Graduate Seminar (PHY 601)
9. At least 18 hours of the minimum 30 hours required for the Master's degree must be graduate credits earned while the student is enrolled in a graduate classification at NC State.
10. A thesis.
11. A comprehensive oral examination.

In addition to the above required core courses for a Ph. D. the following is required:

1. At least two residence credit points secured in continuous semesters' residence as a graduate student at the University.
2. Full-Time Status: Registration for nine (9) or more credit hours per Fall or Spring semester until the student completes all credit hour requirements for the degree, including research credits, and the oral preliminary examination, or three (3) hours per semester of PHY 899 (Doctoral Dissertation Preparation) for students who have completed all requirements for their degree (including research credits and the oral preliminary examination) except for completing and defending the dissertation.
   NOTE: Do not include PHY 899 in the Plan of Work.
3. Continuous registration, i.e. Fall and Spring Semesters.
4. Doctoral degrees at North Carolina State University require a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree. If a student completes a master's degree at NC State and continues for a doctoral degree without a break in time, up to 36 credit hours of course work taken while in master's status may be used toward the requirements for the doctoral degree. For a student who has a master's degree from another institution, a maximum of 18 hours of relevant graduate credit from the master's degree may be applied toward this minimum, upon the recommendation of the student's Graduate Advisory Committee.
5. A preliminary comprehensive examination (written and oral components)
6. A dissertation
7. A final comprehensive oral examination

A Comprehensive listing of Graduate School policies and requirements are provided in the Graduate Administrative Handbook.
Please see: http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/handbook/ for complete details and processing forms.

RECOMMENDED COURSES NORMALLY INCLUDED IN PHYSIOLOGY PROGRAMS OF STUDY FOR M.S. and PH.D. DEGREES

In addition to the required courses, committees in the past have formulated programs of study by selecting from the following list. Although courses not included on this list may be more appropriate for certain students, the following courses are recommended as components of programs of study for physiology graduate students.

COURSES NORMALLY INCLUDED IN A PHYSIOLOGY PROGRAM OF STUDY

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GRADUATE MINORS

All Physiology Ph.D. students are required to select a minor.  Minors are chosen from another graduate program of interest.  Minors can also be obtained for a M.S. degree.  Some of the common minors for physiology students are listed below.

NC State Biotechnology Program
Genomics Sciences
Nutrition
Immunology
Genetics

NCSU Physiology Graduate Program
c/o Graduate Student Services
College of Veterinary Medicine
NC State University
4700 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC 27606
Phone: (919) 513-6448
Email: cvm_grad@ncsu.edu