Training program for Doctoral postgraduate students of School of Medicine

[100100] Basic Medical Sciences

[00] Basic Medical Sciences

（For admission in 2021）

1、Applicable disciplines and majors

Basic Medical Sciences (First-level discipline, Department of Medicine, Discipline code: 1001)

Basic medicine, as the basis of modern medicine, is a science that uses natural and life science methods to study the internal laws of human health and disease, as well as to develop disease treatment methods.

2、Training objectives and orientation

We focus on cultivating professional talents who possess an innovative spirit, good scientific and humanistic quality, broad and solid theoretical knowledge, and experimental skills of basic medical science and life science. They should be able to independently engage in basic medical research and should pay attention to the cultivation of scientific research quality and independent workability. We aim at improving the scientific aesthetic and critical thinking ability of doctoral students and cultivate their concentrating, rigorous, realistic, and innovative abilities.

3、Training Methods

1.The supervisor responsibility system is implemented for doctoral training. Doctoral students should study relevant courses, independently consult literature, participate in academic exchanges, determine specific topics, engage in exploratory scientific research and complete dissertations under the guidance of their supervisors. For interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary doctoral students, it is recommended to hire associate or co-supervisors from related disciplines.

2. At the same time, each doctoral student is required to set up a "Thesis Committee"; Including their supervisors, they can invite teachers with doctoral supervisor qualifications from the department or other units and form a group of at least three people. This group shall then guide and examine the progress of doctoral research work periodically every year, and conduct the mid-term assessment and recommend doctoral thesis final academic report.

4、Courses setting

（1）Basic requirements for knowledge structure

Doctoral students are required to have solid and broad basic theoretical knowledge and professional basic knowledge. They should have a deep and extensive understanding of the development and trend of basic medicine and big life science and master the frontier knowledge of this discipline.

（2）Purpose of course setting

Combined with the curriculum of excellent universities at home and abroad, we pay attention to cultivating students' ability of scientific logical thinking, teach students by their aptitude, and arrange new basic medical doctoral courses comprehensively and uniformly. To adapt to the development trend of modern basic medicine and big life science, the content should be scientific, advanced, and cutting-edge, and form an international first-class doctoral training system of basic medicine with the characteristics of this discipline.

（3）Credits requirements

1. General Doctorate student

The total credits of the degree should be no less than 29 credits (excluding self-study and supplementary credits, which are counted separately), including 4 credits of public compulsory courses, no less than 17 credits of disciplinary and professional courses, no less than 1 credit of academic and professional quality courses, and 7 credits of compulsory courses.

2．Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate student

The total credits of the degree should be no less than 30 credits (excluding self-study and supplementary credits, which are counted separately), including 5 credits of public compulsory courses, no less than 17 credits of disciplinary and professional courses, no less than 1 credit of academic and professional quality courses, and 7 credits of compulsory courses.

Note: The requirements for the compulsory courses and professional courses are the same as those for both Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate student and doctorate students, but the requirements for the public compulsory courses are 1 credit less than those for the Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students (Introduction to Dialectics of Nature).

（4）Courses Setting

l courses for doctorate students

1、Degree courses and programs (No less than 29 credits)

（1）public compulsory course (No less than 4 credits)

（2）Major Required Courses (No less than 5 courses)

A、basic medical courses (No less than 4 credits)

B、Basic course of Life medicine (No less than 3 credits and 1 course)

C、Basic medical professional courses (No less than 2 credits and 1 course)

D、Compulsory scientific research quality training course (No less than 2 credits and 1 course)

Improve critical thinking and scientific writing skills

E、Compulsory course in essay writing (No less than 2 credits)

（3）Optical courses for major(no less than 4 credits)

Note: Newly added elective courses are valid for all postgraduate students

（4）Academic and professional literacy programs (No less than 1 credit)

（5）Compulsory Courses (no less than 7 credits)

Note: For international students and PhD students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, social practice credits can be replaced by credits from other graduate degree courses.

6）Optional Courses

（7）Extracurricular course

（1）For interdisciplinary and professional doctoral students, the "Doctoral Dissertation Expert Steering Group" can recommend the required courses (no more than 5 credits) that are not included in the major elective listed above, and include them in the personal training plan. Self-selected courses included in the personal training plan can be counted as required credits for degree courses.

（2）For biology doctoral students who have transferred to Basic Medical Science, the course credits in the biology training program they have completed can be recorded as the required credits of Basic Medical Science degree courses after the consent of the supervisor, the review of "Basic Medical Postgraduate Training Steering Committee" and the approval of degree Sub-committee. Specific procedures: Students fill in the "Application form for Transfer credits of Doctoral students in Basic Medicine", the supervisor signs it, and then submit to the "Steering Committee for Training of Graduate Students in Basic Medicine" for review and approval by the Degree Committee.

2、Remedial courses

For doctoral students who lack professional foundation courses, they can take remedial courses under the approval of their tutors. Remedial courses are counted as credits required by non-degree courses and are not included in the total credits required for degree.

l courses for Bachlor-straight-to-doctorate students

1、Degree courses and programs (No less than 30 credits)

（1）Public Compulsory Course (No less than 5 credits)

（2）Major Required Courses (No less than 5 courses)

A、Basic Medical Courses (No less than 4 credits)

B、Basic course of Life medicine (No less than 3 credits and 1 course)

C、Basic medical professional courses (No less than 2 credits and 1 course)

D、Compulsory scientific research quality training course (No less than 2 credits and 1 course)

Improve critical thinking and scientific writing skills

E、Compulsory course in essay writing (No less than 2 credits)

（3）Optical courses for major(no less than 4 credits)

Note: Newly added elective courses are valid for all postgraduate students

（4）Academic and professional literacy programs (No less than 1 credit)

（5）Compulsory Courses (No less than 7 credits)

Note: For international students and PhD students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, social practice credits can be replaced by credits from other graduate degree courses.

（6）Optional Courses

（7）Extracurricular course

（1）For interdisciplinary and professional doctoral students, the "Doctoral Dissertation Expert Steering Group" can recommend the required courses (no more than 5 credits) that are not included in the major elective listed above, and include them in the personal training plan. Self-selected courses included in the personal training plan can be counted as required credits for degree courses.

（2）For biology doctoral students who have transferred to Basic Medical Science, the course credits in the biology training program they have completed can be recorded as the required credits of Basic Medical Science degree courses after the consent of the supervisor, the review of "Basic Medical Postgraduate Training Steering Committee" and the approval of degree Sub-committee. Specific procedures: Students fill in the "Application form for Transfer credits of Doctoral students in Basic Medicine", the supervisor signs it, and then submit to the "Steering Committee for Training of Graduate Students in Basic Medicine" for review and approval by the Degree Committee.

2、Remedial courses

For doctoral students who lack professional foundation courses, they can take remedial courses under the approval of their tutors. Remedial courses are counted as credits required by non-degree courses and are not included in the total credits required for degree.

5、Schooling length

The length of study should meet the requirements of Tsinghua University Graduate Student Status Management Regulations.

6、Training components and degree requirements

1.Enrollment Education

In the first two weeks of admission, students should take the entrance education and biological laboratory safety course training and pass the test.

2.Set up a doctoral dissertation steering group to develop personal training plans

The rotation starts in the first semester of the doctoral program and rotates once every two months. Each student is required to complete three rotations. The time for students to do their graduation thesis at Tsinghua University during their undergraduate years can be regarded as a rotation. There is a two-way voluntary choice between students and tutors.

In the spring semester of the first academic year, doctoral students shall form a doctoral Thesis Committee composed of no less than 3 doctoral supervisors (i.e. the Thesis Committee, including the supervisors, or teachers with doctoral supervisor qualification from the department or other units) to collectively supervise the work related to the doctoral dissertation. From the first semester of doctoral admission until the end of the academic report, the doctoral thesis guidance team annually guides and controls comprehensive learning and scientific research progress of doctoral students, including Ph.D. courses, professional practice, topic selection, essay writing, research, production, and publication. The group strengthens strict guidance over the students for the whole process of doctoral training, and encourages doctoral students to achieve high-level innovation achievements.

3.Annual progress report of thesis work（Compulsory）

The annual progress report is an important way to check the progress of the paper. From the end of the first year of admission to the final academic defense, doctoral students must submit an annual report written in English (1,500-3,000 words) and an annual oral report to the doctoral thesis steering group each academic year. The report shall then be submitted to the Academic Affairs Office for the record. If the annual progress report fails, the assessment team puts forward the deadline for improvement, and the assessment will be conducted again at the end of the period.

In special circumstances, such as circumstances when the doctoral thesis guidance team member cannot attend on time or other reasons that are not caused by the student himself, he may apply for a delay to the end of August. If the oral report isn’t completed till then, the annual report shall be failed.

If the paper fails to pass the annual progress report twice, or the accumulated two annual progress reports fail once, the student thus fails to meet the requirements of the training program for this compulsory course, and he should plan to drop his doctoral degree. Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students can apply for postgraduate training; for both bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students and doctoral students, if they do not apply for the transfer of master's degree, they will be dismissed by the school if they do not voluntarily apply for withdrawal.

4.Qualification examination and topic selection report（Compulsory）

Doctoral qualification examination is a compulsory part of the university. Doctoral students should develop training requirements and schedule as soon as possible under the guidance of the supervisor. They should also extensively consult literature, conduct in-depth investigation and research, and make clear the topic selection direction during the doctoral qualification examination, and pass the "Doctoral qualification examination".

If the content of the exam is a doctoral thesis topic selection, the students who pass the doctoral qualifying exam shall win the credit for both the “qualification exam” and “literature review and topic selection report” (2 credits in total). If the content of the doctoral qualification examination is not the topic of the thesis, the graduate students who pass the doctoral qualification examination will only get 1 credit of the "qualification examination". He then needs to continue to complete the "literature review and topic selection report" (1 credit). The approval time of the topic selection report should be at least one year before the application for doctoral dissertation defense. Topic selection report should include literature review, selected topic background, and significance, research contents, the expected results, and possible innovation points, etc. The report shall be carried out in the form of academic activities in at least the secondary subject field publicly. The report also needs an inspection team with the guidance group included. Once the report is approved, it should be recorded on paper in the department system.

The qualifying examination should be completed within three years of admission. Those who fail to pass the qualification examination twice, the relevant compulsory course will fail and therefore fail to meet the requirements of the training program, and students should plan to drop their doctoral degree. Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students can apply for postgraduate training; for both bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students and doctoral students, if they do not apply for the transfer of master's degree, they will be dismissed by the school if they do not voluntarily apply for withdrawal.

The qualification examination includes: submitting a 3,000-7500-word research proposal report (also known as the proposal report, written in English), the report should be reviewed by two doctoral supervisors; Candidates can be qualified to participate in the oral defense of the qualification examination only after they modify and pass the evaluation opinions. The tutor should be withdrawn from the student's oral presentation. For detailed rules, please refer to "Doctoral Qualification Examination Plan of Basic Medical Sciences Department of School of Medicine". Those who fail will have to take the qualifying examination again. For those who fail to pass the qualification examination after taking it two times in total, the relevant compulsory course will fail and therefore fail to meet the requirements of the training program, and students should plan to drop their doctoral degree. Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students can apply for postgraduate training; for both bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students and doctoral students, if they do not apply for the transfer of master's degree, they will be dismissed by the school if they do not voluntarily apply for withdrawal.

5.Mid-term review of paper work（Compulsory）

The mid-term examination of thesis work is a compulsory part in the cultivation of doctoral students. If the student fails to pass the mid-term examination, the relevant compulsory course will fail and therefore fail to meet the requirements of the training program, and students should plan to drop their doctoral degree. Doctoral students who meet the application conditions can apply for graduation. Bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students can apply for postgraduate training; for both bachelor-straight-to-doctorate students and doctoral students, if they do not apply for the transfer of master's degree, they will be dismissed by the school if they do not voluntarily apply for withdrawal.

Doctoral students in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences are required to undergo a dissertation mid-term examination during their fourth year of admission, which is organized and completed by the doctoral dissertation steering group. For detailed rules, please refer to "Implementation Plan of Annual Progress Report of Doctoral Dissertation work of Department of Basic Medicine, School of Medicine". The mid-term review of the thesis will include the submission of a progress report of the thesis in 1,500 to 3,000 words (in English) and an oral defense on the project progress. According to the written report and oral report of the doctoral student and their answers to the questions, the doctoral dissertation guidance group conducts a comprehensive assessment on the student. Suggestions are put forward for diverting Ph.D. students who are not suitable for further study.

6.Academic activities and academic reports（Compulsory）

Doctoral students are required to make at least two oral presentations at graduate academic events organized by the department and related departments (including the annual doctoral forum and the open Doctoral Academic Report series). During the study, students should regularly participate in the academic discussions of the research group and academic activities of the first and second-level disciplines. Graduate students are encouraged to attend domestic and international academic conferences in their respective disciplines and give oral presentations or poster presentations related to their academic achievements. Doctoral students who complete the above requirements will receive 2 credits of "Academic Activities and Academic Reports".

7.Final Academic Report（Compulsory）

According to regulations of Tsinghua University on The Cultivation of Doctoral Students, the final academic report should be submitted to the dissertation for approval. After the dissertation is completed and at least 3 months before the formal application for oral presentation, doctoral students should make a summary report of the dissertation work, and invite more than five peer experts to evaluate the main achievements and innovation of the dissertation work. Peer experts should be supervisors of doctoral students in their own or related disciplines or should have doctoral supervisor qualifications.

After completing the dissertation, the doctoral student shall make a final academic report approved by the doctoral dissertation steering group and make a summary report on the research work completed during the study. The assessment committee should be composed of at least five doctoral supervisors in the relevant field (including the doctoral dissertation steering group members and at least two other peer experts invited). The assessment format includes an oral presentation (30-45 minutes) and a Q&A session (no less than 1 hour). The examination committee should evaluate the systematisms and innovation of doctoral research objectively and impartially. The committee adopts a secret ballot to vote on whether to pass the assessment and only with the consent of all members can the student pass. After passing the examination, the thesis should be submitted for examination and oral defense, and other graduation procedures. Those who fail to pass the assessment shall supplement and improve their research work according to the suggestions of the assessment committee. The final academic report can be submitted after one year. If the final academic report fails twice, fails to meet the requirements of the training program, and students should plan to drop their doctoral degree. For specific requirements, please refer to the Implementation Rules of the Final Academic Report of Doctoral Students in Basic Medical Sciences of Tsinghua University (Trial implementation).

8.Social Practice

For the specific requirements of this link, please refer to the Social Practice Management Measures for Required Doctoral Courses of Tsinghua University and relevant measures of Basic Medicine Department of School of Medicine (to be determined).

9.Teaching practice of Doctoral students

This part is elective. Working as a teaching assistant is an important part of doctoral training. Through basic medical and life science teaching training and practice, students can deepen their understanding of professional courses, cultivate their ability to analyze and solve problems, and train their ability to express and communicate. Through course training, students can preliminarily acquire the ability to undertake the teaching and practical activities of relevant courses.

Students should determine the curriculum practice position they wish to apply for according to the dual choice between students and teachers. They should then participate in the basic aspects of undergraduate and graduate teaching under the guidance of the relevant course teachers, namely course preparation, teaching practice, guidance, homework correction, Q&A discussion, and so on. Through on-the-job training, courses, and teaching practices, students shall improve their comprehensive quality.

7、Requirements for innovative achievements in degree application

According to Tsinghua University Standards on Innovative Achievements for Graduate Degree Application (2020), the innovative achievements for a doctoral degree should be completed independently by the graduate students applying for the degree and presented completely in the form of a dissertation. A dissertation is the main basis for degree evaluation. Graduate students can present their innovative achievements in academic journal papers, academic conference papers, monographs, patents, software Copyrights, reports, and other forms (hereinafter referred to as relevant academic achievements). Relevant academic achievements can be used as an important reference to evaluate the level of the dissertation.

The innovative achievements of the Basic Medical Sciences doctoral dissertation should be reflected in: exploring both the nature and basic laws of life, as well as important basic medical problems and frontier research areas. They should be creative about unknown life phenomena and technologies and can represent the research direction of the basic medicine field. They should be able to address social needs related to medicine, hygiene, and health, and are willing to conduct original, high-risk, and disruptive exploratory research, which leads to breakthroughs in a certain research direction, technology, or basic theory. For details, please refer to the requirements for innovation results in the discipline.

8、Dissertation work and requirements

1. The dissertation is the concentrated reflection of the doctoral student's training quality and academic level, which should be completed by the doctoral student independently under the guidance of the supervisor and the collective guidance of the doctoral dissertation guidance group.

2. The doctoral dissertation should be a systematic and complete academic dissertation, which should meet the Basic Requirements for Innovative Achievements for Graduate Applicants of Basic Medical Sciences of Tsinghua University (2020). Innovative academic achievements in science or professional technology are able to reflect the solid basic medical and life science theories and systematic and in-depth professional scientific research field knowledge that the student possesses, and show that the student has the ability to independently engage in teaching and scientific research.

3. After the final academic report is approved, doctoral students should submit their thesis application to the teaching office of the department 6 weeks before the application for defense. Papers that pass the formal examination can be submitted for review.

4. The doctoral dissertation should be evaluated by 3-5 peer experts from the university and from other universities. Only when the doctoral dissertation meets the Basic Requirements of Doctoral Degree Innovation Achievements can the dissertation be applied for oral defense.

5. Requirements for the format of the dissertation：

（1）The dissertation should be systematic and complete, including abstract, preface, result, discussion and prospect, materials and methods, etc.

（2）The doctoral dissertation should not be less than 100 pages (excluding references), the "Results" section of the dissertation should be no less than half of the total length, including figures and annotations, and "Materials and Methods" should not exceed 20 pages.

（3）All drawings in the paper (including those used in the "introduction") should have detailed title and illustrations in Chinese. The source and provenance should be indicated.

（4）References in the paper should be in Cell magazine format. The insertion method in the text should be as follows: when there are less than three authors, it will be displayed as (Zhang and Li, 2014); when there are more than three authors, it will be displayed as (Zhang et al., 2014). The final references should be listed alphabetically by first author and in the same format as Cell journal references.

（5）Other writing requirements are subject to the writing requirements stipulated by the university and must be strictly observed.

Annex 1: The main procedures, shunting nodes and mechanisms of doctoral training for Basic Medical Sciences

First grade: 1. Three rotations for 2-3 months each after enrollment.

2. Supervisor should be determined at the end of spring semester (April) rotation.

3. A "doctoral Dissertation Steering Committee" should be set up. Students are required to submit the "Confirmation form of Members of the Doctoral Dissertation Guidance Group of Basic Medical Sciences" to the Office of Academic Affairs before the end of June.

Sophomore year: during the next semester (spring), students need to finish the doctoral qualification examination (or the topic selection report). The written report should be submitted in the middle of April of each year (8 weeks before the oral defense). The students who pass the written report will complete the oral defense of the doctoral qualification examination no later than the 16th week of the spring semester. Those who fail the first time will have the chance to take the second test the following year.

Third grade:1. By the end of the academic year (week 16 of the spring semester), doctoral students who have passed the doctoral qualification examination are required to complete an annual report (both written and oral) and handed in to the Thesis Committee.

2. Before the end of the academic year (week 16 of the spring semester), candidates who fail to pass the doctoral qualification examination will take the doctoral qualification examination again. If they fail again, they shall need to plan to drop their doctoral degree.

Senior year: Before the end of the year (week 16 of spring semester), the Thesis Committee shall carry out mid-term review of the student’s dissertation work (equivalent to annual report). Students who fail twice will be diverted. For doctoral students who have substantially completed their dissertation work, the Thesis Committee will recommend him for the final academic report.

Fifth grade: Before the end of the year (week 16 of spring semester), the student needs to carry out annual report (both written and oral) to the Thesis Committee. Doctoral students who have basically completed their dissertation work may be recommended by the Thesis Committee for final academic report. After the final academic report is approved, the doctoral student can then enter the process of applying for doctoral degree.

Note：

1. Shunt nodes and mechanisms:

（1）There are two nodes: doctoral qualification examination and mid-term examination;

（2）There are two mechanisms for annual report and final academic report: those who fail twice will be divided.

2. For postponement students, the postponement process should be completed annually to the doctoral dissertation steering group, and submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs for record until the final academic report and oral graduation defense.

3. After completing the annual report and mid-term examination of the dissertation, doctoral students are required to submit the "Annual Examination Record form of Doctoral Dissertation" and "Mid-term Examination Form of Dissertation work" to the Office of Academic Affairs for record.

Annexed table1：

Application form for credits transfer for Ph.D. students in Basic Medical Sciences

Annexed table2：

Confirmation form for members of the Basic Medical Sciences doctoral dissertation Guidance group

YY/MM/DD

Note: This form should be submitted to the graduate student administration department of the relevant department for record.

Annexed table3：Record form of Annual Examination of Basic Medical Science Doctoral Dissertation of (No. )

Department Report Time： YY/MM/DD

Note: This form should be submitted to the graduate student administration department of the relevant department for record.

Annexed table4：Record of mid-term examination of Basic Medical Sciences doctoral dissertation

Department Date：YY/MM/DD

Note: This form must be submitted to the graduate administration of the respective department for filing before the end of the fourth year as a basis for the final academic report.

Annexed table5：

Summary of doctoral thesis work (final) academic report record

Note: this form should be submitted to the graduate management department for record no later than three months before the defense, as the basis for defense application.