Writing the dissertation usually requires four to six months. The student presents and defends the dissertation and interpretations of the research in a seminar format. If the supervisory committee approves the dissertation, the Ph.D. degree is awarded. In addition to course work, students receive teaching experience. Because one of a physiologist's roles may be to teach others, supervised teaching experience is an important part of our program.
Students lecture for a portion of a physiology course during their second and third years.
Constructive feedback and assistance are provided to the student lecturer through informal discussions both before and after lectures. Some lectures are videotaped to facilitate these discussions. Among the topics covered in discussions are establishing rapport with the group, adapting content to the capabilities of the class, ways of presenting concepts, and examination philosophy, construction and evaluation. Students find this to be a valuable experience. Introduction to the computer in a research environment.