Master of Laboratory Investigation
The Academic Program and Regulations
The Master’s of Laboratory Investigation strives to foster the personal growth and intellectual investment of Vanderbilt research assistants who will continue to work in an academic research environment.
Program Curriculum
To complete the Master of Laboratory Investigation (MLI) degree, candidates must have satisfactorily completed all degree requirements, committee obligations, and be free of indebtedness to the University at the time of graduation.
The MLI degree program requires students to complete thirty-six semester hours of credit. Specifically, no more than twelve hours can be taken in an academic years, unless approved by the program director.
To complete thirty-six hours of credit, a student will choose between three program tracks with the MLI degree.
1) Research with Thesis Track: For those interested in developing a research project under the direction of a mentor. Students who choose this track will register for twelve semester hours of research. To complete this track, one must write a thesis and present it to one’s committee for approval. Note: Only research conducted outside of one’s job requirement can be considered for thesis research credit.
2) Note: Only research conducted outside of one’s job requirement can be considered for thesis research credit.
1) Modified Research Track: For those interested in developing a research project for a formal presentation. Students who pursue this track are not required to write a thesis, but are expected to present their research to a formal audience, which may include a conference gathering or poster presentation around the University. This track requires six semester hours of research and at least six hours of technique training modules. Note: Only research conducted outside of one’s job requirement can be considered for research credit. Note: Only research conducted outside of one’s job requirement can be considered for research credit.
2)
3) Techniques Track: For individuals who have a strong academic/research background, but are interested in strengthening their laboratory techniques. This track requires twelve semester hours of advanced technique modules.
Committee
To help guide students through the degree program, each student is required to assemble a committee of faculty members who will direct one’s research and selection of course work and technique modules throughout one’s course of study in the degree program. A committee includes a minimum of three faculty members, one of which will be the student’s mentor.
Each semester, students are responsible for coordinating a committee gathering. During this meeting, a student will present the progress of one’s research and coursework. The committee should advise the student in potential avenues for research and in selecting coursework for the upcoming semester. Students will submit a form to the program coordinator each semester documenting that one has satisfied their committee’s progress expectations.
Required Courses
Entering students are required to attend the Responsible Conduct of Research course. The course is taught prior to the beginning of each fall semester. Students who complete the course will receive one semester hour of credit.
Courses that have already received an MLI course number are eligible for graduate degree credit. Courses that reside in the Graduate School, the School of Medicine, and the College of Arts & Science, but are not assigned an MLI number, may be eligible for graduate credit. In order to receive credit for these courses, students must obtain permission from the instructor, their mentor, and the program director. After approval of the course, an MLI course number will be assigned to the class by the registrar of the School of Medicine at the recommendation of the MLI program administrators.
To further satisfy the requirements of the MLI program, students who choose to take an upper-level undergraduate course will need to have their committee’s approval and will be required to meet additional course requirements. A student and professor should agree upon these requirements within the first ten days of the academic year. To satisfy the MLI program requirements, please seek the appropriate form from the program coordinator to articulate these extra requirements. Students will not be allowed to take more than four hours of credit from undergraduate course.
Students are limited to receiving 6 semester credit hours of bioregulation modules from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program’s curriculum.
Registration
MLI students are limited to registering for twelve semester hours each year. To register for courses, students must complete official registration at the appropriate time using OASIS (Online Access to Student Information Systems, https://oasis.vanderbilt.edu/ssh3.html) as specified by the program.
Changes in registration may be made by the student through OASIS during the change period (the first ten class days of the semester) with consent of the MLI program administrators. To receive consent, please contact the program coordinator. After the change period, students may not add additional credit hours. In order to drop a course after the change period, students must complete the necessary paperwork, which requires the permission of the program director and a student’s mentor. After eight weeks into a fall or spring semester, a student may not drop a course. Students who would like to withdraw from a class after the eight-week period, will receive a W on their transcript. Students who do not properly drop or withdraw by notifying the program director, coordinators, and registrar will receive an F.
For fall 2005, Friday, October 21 is the last day to withdraw from a course without academic penalty. In the spring 2006, Friday, March 17th is the last day to withdraw from a course without academic penalty.
Academic Calendar
FALL SEMESTER 2005
Classes begin / Wednesday 24 August
Last day to submit Intent to Graduate forms for December graduation / Friday 23 September
Homecoming / Friday 14 October–Saturday 15 October (classes in session)
Last day to withdraw from courses without academic penalty / Friday 21 October
Fall break / Monday 24 October–Tuesday 25 October (no classes)
Thanksgiving holidays / Saturday 19 November–Sunday 27 November (no classes)
Final day for presentation of theses and dissertations for graduation in December /
Friday 2 December
Reading days and examinations / Friday 9 December–Saturday 17 December
Fall semester ends / Saturday 17 December
SPRING SEMESTER 2006
Classes begin / Wednesday 11 January
Last day to submit Intent to Graduate forms for May graduation / Monday 6 February
Spring holidays / Saturday 4 March–Sunday 12 March (no classes)
Founder’s Day / Friday 17 March (classes in session)
Last day to withdraw from courses without academic penalty / Friday 17 March
Final day for presentation of theses and dissertations for graduation in May /
Monday 3 April
Reading days and examinations / Wednesday 26 April–Thursday 4 May
Commencement / Friday 12 May
Tuition
The program will extend tuition benefits to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) employees for up to thirty-six semester hours of credit. Once admitted into the program, the program will cover a majority of tuition charges and fees. Each student will be responsible for contributing $375 per semester towards the fees of the graduate degree program. A student mentor’s lab will be responsible for contributing to $750 per year.
For students who cease to be VUMC employees, several tuition arrangements may arise. The program will continue to pay the majority of the tuition expenses for students who have lost their positions, due to circumstances out of their control (e.g. loss of funding through grant support). Students in such situations will be responsible for paying $1500 per year to continue in the program. The $1500 will include the $750 per year contribution formerly provided by a student’s lab.
Students who have lost their positions due to professional negligence, will be responsible for covering full tuition of future semesters. Tuition fees for 2005/2006 will be $940 per semester hour.
Grading System
The grading system in the MLI program will follow the grading scale of the Graduate School, which includes the letter grades A, B, C, D, and F. A student will not be granted graduate credit for any course in which a grade of less than C is received. The letter I may be used at the discretion of the instructor in those cases in which the student is not able to complete work during the normal time allotted for the course. The notation W is entered onto the transcript when a student withdraws from a course. A grade point average of 3.0 is required for graduation.
Letter grades are assigned grade point values as follows:
A+ = 4.0
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.2
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
D = 1.0
D- = 0.7
F = 0.0
Students receive grades in all courses except for those approved for credit/non-credit, audits, and some seminars. An I that is not replaced by a letter grade within one year may be changed to the grade F at the discretion of the instructor; otherwise, the I automatically becomes permanent and remains on the transcript as such. Certain courses approved by the graduate faculty for credit/non-credit or Pass/Fail count toward total hours. Courses that are strictly no-credit, however, do not count toward total hours or in calculating grade point average, although grades for such courses are entered on the student’s record. With the instructor’s permission, students are permitted to audit certain courses. Students who audit are expected to attend the course regularly. Students must be registered for regular courses in order to audit. Audits are listed on the student’s transcript.
Courses in which a student has earned a grade lower than a B– may be repeated with the consent of the adviser. Although both grades will be recorded on the transcript, the second grade earned will be the one used in computing the student’s grade average.
Seminar courses or independent study courses will be eligible for pass/fail credit status. All other courses taken for the MLI program will be graded using the above scale. Those approved courses that are taken on credit/non-credit or pass/fail basis will count toward one’s total hours.
The program will be responsible for paying the tuition for thirty-six semester hours of credit. Students who receive a W, F, I, or grades below a C, marks that are not credit earning, will be responsible for paying for any tuition credit hours needed to complete the degree.
Academic Probation
A grade point average of 3.0 is necessary for graduation. Students who fall below an average of 3.0 are placed on probation for one semester and will be required to meet with the program director prior to the beginning of the next academic semester. If the student’s performance does not improve during that semester, the program director will decide whether to dismiss the student or to allow the continuation of probation. If at the end of the second semester the grade point average is still below 3.0, the student may be advised to withdraw or face dismissal. Students who earn a grade point average of 2.0 or less during their first semester of residence are subject to dismissal at the end of that semester.
Incomplete
Students who are unable for good cause to complete course requirements by the end of the semester may apply for the grade I (incomplete). Students must submit a request for an incomplete to the program coordinator, Lindsay Meyers, by the last day of classes. Requests submitted after this date will not be granted. Students must finish the academic requirements for incomplete courses in a timely manner. If an incomplete is granted, the program director will set a deadline for the work to be completed and the grade to be submitted to the program coordinator. Failure to meet the deadlines will result in the incomplete being converted to a permanent incomplete. Although permanent incompletes do appear on the student’s transcript, they carry neither quality points nor earned hours. Students are responsible for the full tuition of any course that results in a permanent incomplete. Students with more than two unresolved incompletes (i.e., not permanent incompletes) on their record will be placed on Academic Probation (see details in Academic Probation section, above).
Withdrawal
The symbol W (withdrawal) is assigned in lieu of a grade when a student doing satisfactory work formally withdraws from a class before the end of the semester. A student interested in withdrawing from a course needs to submit his or her request to do so to the program coordinator prior to the end of semester classes. The grade W is not included in the calculation of the grade point average, but the course is included in attempted hours. MLI students will be required to pay full tuition costs to complete 36 hours of credit, the required amount for the MLI degree.
Student Grievances and Appeals
Students who believe their academic performance has not been judged reasonably or fairly should discuss their concerns with the program director. If the student’s concerns cannot be resolved at the program level, the student may then request a further review of the issues in question by the senior associate dean for biomedical research education and training. The student may appeal the outcome of the school-level review to the School of Medicine.