Thesis Advisory Committee

The Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) oversees your research, thesis progress and final oral exam, also called your thesis defense.

TAC composition

When developing your TAC, adhere to the following.

  • Your TAC will consist of four voting members, including:
    • Your mentor is one of the voting members and serves as committee chair.
    • One faculty member with expertise in statistics, epidemiology or study design.
    • Two faculty members from different disciplines.
  • It is important to note that two different disciplines — not including your statistician or epidemiologist — must be represented among the four voting members of your TAC. It is also desirable to have a member with basic science or translational laboratory expertise related to your project.
  • Optionally, you may have up to two additional nonvoting ex-officio members serve on your TAC.
  • Current CCaTS master's or certificate scholars may not serve on another scholar's committee.
  • Only the statistician or epidemiologist and your mentor may be a co-investigator or co-author for your research; no other voting TAC members may be a co-investigator or co-author for your research.
  • Ex-officio members are nonvoting members, therefore, may be a co-investigator or co-author for your research.
  • All members, including ex-officio members, must have, or be eligible for, graduate faculty privileges in Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
    • On the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences General Forms/Resources page, see "MCGSBS Faculty Privileges" (must be logged in to the Mayo network) for an updated list of faculty with privileges. CCaTS will assist in nominating qualified members for faculty privileges if needed.
    • The chair of the committee and at least one other voting member must have, or be eligible for, a minimum of master's-level graduate faculty privileges in Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
    • No more than two voting members may have Temporary or Teaching/Examining-level graduate faculty privileges in Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

TAC responsibilities

To review your research progress, you are expected to meet with your TAC three months after your proposal is approved and every six months thereafter, or more often as needed or requested by the CCaTS Master's and Certificate Programs Executive Committee. Submit a detailed TAC progress report to the education coordinator or specialist within one week following each meeting. This report summarizes the progress made to date and outlines the projected timeline and expectations for the next meeting.

Chair (your research mentor)

  • Meets regularly with you — weekly meetings are strongly recommended.
  • Guides you as you develop your proposal.
  • Critically reviews your proposal.
  • Chairs TAC progress meetings every six months — these meetings include all committee members, with the first meeting scheduled three months after your proposal is approved by the CCaTS Master's and Certificate Programs Committee.
  • Reviews and approves TAC progress report after each TAC meeting.
  • Guides you with your thesis development.
  • Critically reviews your final thesis draft.
  • Prepares questions for your Final Oral Examination, per the section below.

Members

  • Critically review your proposal using the proposal review criteria as a resource.
  • Attend all TAC progress meetings.
  • Sign progress meeting report forms.
  • Critically review your final thesis draft.
  • Assist the TAC chair in preparing oral examination questions for your Final Oral Examination, per the section below.

Note: Failure to attend progress meetings may result in loss of Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences faculty privileges in clinical and translational science.

Scholar (you)

  • Anticipates and meets all due dates and deadlines.
  • Schedules TAC progress meetings three months after the approval of your proposal and every six months thereafter or as requested by the CCaTS Master's and Certificate Programs Executive Committee.
  • Submits detailed TAC progress report within one week of every meeting.
  • Submits your thesis draft to your TAC a minimum of eight weeks before your Final Oral Examination, allowing sufficient time for reviewing as well as time for any recommended revisions or additions, allowing sufficient time for reviewing as well as time for any recommended revisions or additions.
  • Submits your final thesis draft to CCaTS at least four weeks before your scheduled thesis defense date.

TAC progress meetings

Progress meetings enable you and your TAC to collectively monitor your research project, as well as informally evaluate your progress toward achieving the program's core competencies.

Schedule your first TAC meeting three months after your proposal is approved by the CCaTS Postdoctoral Programs Committee. Follow-up meetings are scheduled every six months — or as requested by the CCaTS Master's and Certificate Programs Executive Committee — until completion of a successful Final Oral Examination. Have each member in attendance sign the progress report and update members who are not present.

Following each meeting, submit a progress meeting report form within one week of the meeting. The form can be signed via Adobe Sign if needed for those members not in attendance. Throughout the form, in every section, report your progress by aim. For example, in the Data Collection Status section, report your subjects and charts proposed and studied to date by aim. Even if you have not made any progress to date with one or more of the aims, you still must report on the current status of each aim.

Note: Failure to hold progress meetings and submit progress reports may result in your being placed on academic probation or recommended for dismissal.

Final Oral Examination (thesis defense)

  • Assesses the scholar's understanding of the science and the methodological issues involved in the research.
  • May include questions on:
    • Study design methodology.
    • Statistical methodology.
    • Implications of the results on clinical practice.
    • Future studies that could be designed.
    • Impact that this study has on the scholar's future research career.

Read more about the thesis defense.