NOTE: The requirements to fast-track have been updated and the changes went into effect for students who started their M.Sc. degree in Fall 2022 or later. Students who were registered in the program prior to Fall 2022, please see:听Fast Tracking Procedures for students enrolled PRIOR to Fall 2022.
Students who are registered in the M.Sc. program in Experimental Medicine in Fall 2022 or after have the option to fast-track to the Ph.D. program only upon receiving a score of 鈥減ass鈥� of the new format of the oral comprehensive exam. Students who have shown superior research progress and who meet the following requirements may take the oral comprehensive exam in order to determine eligibility to fast-track:
- The student has completed or is in the process of completing the 9 course credits required and has a cGPA of not less than 3.5 in their M.Sc. studies to date (Note that if the student is still in the process of completing the required course credits, the file will be judged on the student's record to date (both undergraduate and graduate) and the plausibility of the student meeting the cGPA requirement for fast-tracking.
- The student has had their first annual Thesis Committee meeting and has obtained a favorable assessment from the committee. The student MUST have informed the committee of their interest to fast-track to the Ph.D. program IN ADVANCE (i.e. at the time when the notice of the meeting is sent to all committee members).
Upon approval by the committee, the student will be allowed to proceed to the oral comprehensive exam, which will take place in 12 months. In addition to the regular thesis committee members, the student and supervisor should identify an additional committee member who MUST be from outside the Department of Medicine of 海角社区 who will participate in the oral comprehensive exam. Subsequently, the academic advisor will ask each committee member to give the student topics/questions/keywords that they will be expected to know at the oral comprehensive exam. Detailed guidelines for the updated oral comprehensive exam can be found here.
For additional information on the fast-track option for students first enrolled in Fall 2022 or later, please refer to the timeline for the updated Fast-Track option, from admission to the oral comprehensive examination 
Fast-Track Timeline Updated 2022 Please note that only M.Sc. students who PASS the oral comprehensive exam at the first attempt will be allowed to fast-track to become Ph.D. candidates. For students who do not pass the oral comprehensive exam, a follow-up thesis committee meeting should be scheduled no sooner than 4 months and no later than 6 months to assess the student鈥檚 progress and suitability to start writing their MSc thesis. An M.Sc. student who does not pass the oral comprehensive exam and who is not allowed to fast-track still has the option to re-apply to enter as a PhD student, after final submission of the M.Sc. thesis.
For students that fast-track to PhD, in addition to submitting a Fast-Track application in Slate, the following documents must be sent to the Division prior to transfer to PhD2 status: 1) Confirmation of Supervision Form (PDF) signed by the student and supervisor, 2) Research Project Proposal Form, and 3) an updated Letter of Understanding. These forms can be found on our Forms webpage.
For additional information, please refer to the timeline for the Fast-Track option, from admission to the oral comprehensive examination: Fast-Track Timeline Updated 2022
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