1. Biomechanics & Movement Science (BIOMS)
New Student - Faculty Orientation, Fall 2014

2. BIOMS Structure Administration Faculty
Primary Appointments in “home units”
Secondary Appointment in BIOMS
Crosses 3 Colleges
Administration
BIOMS manages academic aspects of students’ studies
Direct questions about plans of study, forms for course registration, deadlines for transition to candidacy or application for advanced degree to BIOMS
Home Units manage financial aspects of the students’ studies
Direct questions about your student contract, pay checks, bills, fees to “Home Unit”.
CHS – College of Health Science
COE – College of Engineering
CAS – College of Arts & Sciences

3. BIOMS Executive Committee
College of Health Science
Sam Lee, PhD
Physical Therapy
Represents Students/Faculty in each College
Main Duties:
Advise students
Admission to Program
Approve Plans of Study
Other Duties
Choose finalists for competitive fellowships
Others as needed
Lucas Lu, PhD
College of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
College of Arts & Sciences
Catherine Kirn-Safran, PhD
Biological Sciences
At-Large Member
Jim Richards,PhD
Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education

4. BIOMS Staff Assistant Darlene Carlton Duties phone 302-831-1543
Assist in all operations of the BIOMS Program
Answer questions (students/faculty
administrative procedures related to admissions
course registration for courses with number BMSC ###
Otherwise contact the home unit that offers the course
academic deadlines
Drop/Add
Admission to candidacy
Application for Advanced Degree
Web site
Darlene Carlton
Beth Breylinger
phone
fax

5. BIOMS Administrative Structure - Courses
Physical Therapy
PHYT ###
Biological Sciences
BISC ####
Kinesiology & Applied Physiology
KAAP ####
Mechanical Engineering
MEEG ###
Electrical & Computer Engineering
ELEG ###
CLEG ###
Behavioral Health and Nutrition
School of Nursing
Are offered by Home Units
Behavioral Health & Nutrition
Biological Sciences
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Kinesiology & Applied Physiology
Mechanical Engineering
Physical Therapy
School of Nursing
Other UD Departments
Any department that offers a course that fits your area of study
Thomas Jefferson University
UD/TJU Graduate Student Learning Partnership
UD graduate students can register for TJU graduate courses at no extra charge
BMSC ###

6. BIOMS Academics – Highly Flexible
Student Backgrounds – Highly Varied
Exercise Science / Athletic Training
Engineering
Physical/Occupational Therapy
Neuroscience
MS or PhD in BIOMS
5 Areas of study
Applied Anatomy & Biomechanics
Applied Physiology
Motor Control & Behavior
Tissue and Molecular Biomechanics
Rehabilitation Engineering

7. BIOMS Curriculum – Highly Individual
MS or PhD in BIOMS
Plan of Study
List of courses that the student plans to take
Must satisfy several requirements
1 course in Instrumentation or Computer applications
1 course in Research Design or Statistics
3 semesters of BIOMS Seminar for PhD (2 for MS)
A well formed Plan of Study is Key
Can be revised

8. BIOMS Curriculum = “Plan of Study”
Formed by Student and Advisor
Approved by the BIOMS Executive Committee
* by end of first semester of study *
Must be submitted on the POS Template
Courses that other students have taken can be found at:
Samples and instructions on BIOMS web site

10. PhD - 33 credits of graduate-level coursework plus 9 credits of dissertation. 
3 credits of Experimental Design or Statistics.
3 credits of Instrumentation, Computing, or Engineering applications
6 credits (2 courses) in one of the BIOMS areas of study other than your primary Area of Study
If your area is Applied Anatomy & Biomechanics an outside course might be BMSC630 Motor Control
Enroll in 3 semesters of BIOMS seminar (BMSC 865)
Attendance is expected during all semesters
Up to 4 Independent Study courses
no more than 12 credits of Independent Study and Research combined
if students take research and independent study courses, no more than 6 research credits may count toward the degree total
*Can Transfer up to 3 graduate level courses (9 credits) from another institution as long as they were not used to full fill the requirements of another degree.
Masters - 24 credits of graduate-level coursework plus 6 credits of thesis. 
3 credits of Experimental Design or Statistics.
3 credits of Instrumentation, Computing, or Engineering applications
6 credits (2 courses) in one of the BIOMS areas of study other than your primary Area of Study
If your area is Applied Anatomy & Biomechanics an outside course might be BMSC630 Motor Control
Enroll in 2 semesters of BIOMS seminar (BMSC 865)
Attendance is expected during all semesters
Up to 2 Independent Study courses
*Can Transfer up to 3 graduate level courses (9 credits) from another institution as long as they were not used to fulfill the requirements of another degree.

11. Plan of Study Requirements
Independent Study - is supervised by a faculty member
Can take up to 12 credits of Independent Study (6 for MS)
Independent Study Contract (ISC)
outlines what the student will do, and how s/he will be evaluated
Plans to include Independent Study Courses, then ISC must be submitted with the POS
Research Credits
up to 6 credits of “Research” during their studies, no formal contract
You may take as many Research credits as you want, but no more than 6 Research credits can count toward the total credits for the degree
No more than 12 credits of independent study or Independent study and research credits may count toward the degree
So, for PhD students the options are:
12 credits of Independent Study and 0 credits Research
9 credits Independent Study plus 3 credits Research
6 credits Independent Study plus 6 credits of Research

12. BIOMS Web Site – look here first
Academics
BIOMS Program Policy Statement
Plans of Study
Formulating and submitting
Revisions
Independent Study and "Experimental" Courses
Seminar Requirements –
Attendance is expected for all BIOMS students in residence
Required attendance
2 semesters for MS students
3 semesters for PhD Students
75% attendance is required to “pass”

13. Course information Graduate Courses are numbered 600-899
Students may petition to take 500-level courses (which are normally considered upper level undergraduate courses) with approval of the Executive Committee.
Courses ending in 67 (667 or 867) are “experimental” courses
If these are included in the BIOMS POS, the course syllabus must also be submitted.
Graduate students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better

14. Thesis and dissertation committees
Created by student and Advisor
At the time when student begins to develop the thesis proposal
Shall include 3 UD Faculty within BIOMS (no more than six members)
At least one of the BIOMS committee members must be from an area of focus in biomechanics and movement science other than that of the student or Advisor. For PhD committees, 1 faculty member should be outside of BIOMS.
Theses and Dissertations: written in the form of an R03 grant application from NIH and can be defended ONLY after all course work is completed
After a successful PhD proposal defense, enter candidacy status, then earn 9 credits of Dissertation.
A Master student is not considered a candidate after the thesis Defense

15. "Qualifying Exams"
These are exams that ensure that a PhD Student is qualified to study in the proposed area because they have adequate breadth and depth of knowledge in Biomechanics and Movement Science.
Because of the highly diverse nature of the student body in BIOMS it is difficult to create qualifying exams that evaluate the student’s knowledge, therefore, at the Proposal Defense students may be asked questions about the general topic of Biomechanics and Movement Science.
PhD student transition to candidacy

16. Other BIOMS resources
BIOMS lists – maintained by BIOMS administrators
Used to send messages about upcoming seminars, events etc.
BIOMS Student Senator
Represents BIOMS Students at BIOMS Faculty meetings and University Graduate Student Senate
Federico Pozzi
BIOMS United group
To facilitate inter-departmental interaction
Monthly Meetings
Liz Rapp
BIOMS on Facebook – For current students and Alumni

17. Other Items of Interest
Grad Student Annual Report Form
A form used by some Advisors/students to review progress and make annual goals
Center for Teaching and Learning
Academic Career Preparation Summer Institute
Higher Education Teaching Certification Program
Office of Graduate and Professional Education
Dissertation Boot camps
Graduate Fellowships <
Graduate Scholars
Graduate Fellowship
Dissertation Fellowships
Office of the Provost
Graduate Student Professional Development Awards
for travel to professional conferences at which you are presenting
apply ~ a month prior to your travel
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