• No results found

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When should I talk with my advisor?

A. The MS/PhD Program Director, after talking with you about your interests, will assign you an advisor. After we write or email to let you know the name of your advisor, please contact him/her before registering, to discuss your course options and educational plans.

We expect that each student—new or continuing, full-time or part-time—will discuss course planning with the advisor by phone, email, or in person, before registering each semester. You are also welcome to consult about your academic plans with the program director.

Advisors ask each student to begin to sketch out a full course of study, including which courses to take to satisfy each requirement and when to take them. This will be an evolving document.

A. Please start by using this Guidebook for information on requirements and course scheduling, and by talking with your advisor. You are also free to consult with the program director and other HP&M faculty. Other information sources, noted above, include syllabi and course evaluations—important supplements to HPM course descriptions available at sph.bu.edu/hpm/courses.

Before registration, the online Web Registration course planning function on the StudentLink is helpful. Its “graph” tool can help avoid scheduling conflicts. To be aware of deadlines for changing courses and the like, and to minimize problems such as being closed out of desired courses, please read the Student Insider regularly, and please review—carefully and early—the Registration Packet provided by the SPH Registrar’s Office before registration opens for each semester.

Q. Is there a directory of faculty contact information?

A. Please refer to Section 10 of this Guidebook. Also, a faculty directory is on the

department web page. It includes email, telephone numbers, and office numbers. All faculty make extensive use of email and voicemail so they are available even when you (or they) aren’t on campus.

A. A description of all BUSPH courses can be found on the Boston University Bulletin: http://www.bu.edu/academics/sph/courses/

Appendix

C

Q. Where do I get information to help develop my course plan?

H E A L T H S E R V I C E S R E S E A R C H M S / P H D G U I D E B O O K 2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5

50

A. Talk to your advisor, other faculty, and fellow students. All Boston University School of Public Health course evaluations are available online in the Student Insider.

Q. Where can I find course syllabi?

A. Syllabi are available from Department staff and the instructor on request.

A. This guidebook indicates the expected semester for each course in the MS program, and offers sample schedules. Each year, a few HP&M courses are moved, added, or

cancelled, but most remain in the same slot, semester after semester. For other departments, please also see the BUSPH Registrar’s Course Rotation Guide.

In addition, you can use the online Web Registration course planning function on StudentLink. Its “graph” tool can help you avoid scheduling conflicts.

Q. Does my thesis work have to go through Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, and what are the requirements for research ethics review?

A. Consult with your thesis advisor as to whether your thesis work can be included as a subproject of an existing IRB approved research project or whether you need to make your own separate IRB submission. All clinical fellows (and doctoral students) are required, and other MS students strongly encouraged, to complete Responsible Conduct of Research training (bu.edu/research/policies/ethicsprograms/index.html) as offered by Boston University. Material from past sessions is often archived there and is presented in a format tailored to doctoral students.

Q. In addition to courses, what other activities involve the MS and PhD students? A. Several sorts of activities engage our students, including these:

Students in the MS and PhD program are expected to attend a variety of regularly- scheduled seminars and meetings in the Department of Health Policy & Management, in the School of Public Health, in the affiliated Veterans Affairs or HP&M Department Research Centers, or on the Boston University Medical Campus. (See page on Professional Development, above.) These include regular meetings of PhD and MS students with the Program Faculty (which offer an opportunity to present and discuss thesis/dissertation research in progress), the departmental research seminars, and quarterly training sessions in the Responsible Conduct of Research Program on the Medical Campus. Students are also encouraged to attend other relevant Boston University seminars.

Participation is strongly encouraged in the BUSPH student chapter of AcademyHealth, the health services research professional association.

Some students are employed as research assistants with affiliated faculty.

Q. Where can I find information about the details of the characteristics of each course?

H E A L T H S E R V I C E S R E S E A R C H M S / P H D G U I D E B O O K 2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5

Related documents