Step One: Choose a Project and Faculty Advisor
Faculty Advisor: Students choosing Selectives 1 or 2 will work with a faculty advisor who is affiliated with the WWAMI Program. Faculty advisor responsibilities are to guide the student throughout the process of their research project, including evaluating the plan, signing the proposal, critiquing and approving the final product.
Faculty advisors need to be:
- Interested in your topic (though not necessarily expert in it)
- Available to you through phone, email, and scheduled meetings
The ideal faculty advisor will also be:
- A role model for qualities you seek to emulate in your professional development
- Enthusiastic about working with you
- Experienced with the clinical problem, scientific question, or policy issue you will be studying
- Someone with skills and knowledge that complement those you bring to the project
In your search for your faculty advisor, start with the III Departmental Coordinator from the department that you topic fits under. You may ask the III Departmental Coordinator for suggestions of faculty who may be interested in serving as faculty advisor for your III project, or the Coordinator may serve as your advisor. You might also consult departmental websites and faculty interest databases such as the Community of Science (COS), http://www.cos.com/.
For selectives 1 and 2, submit a III Proposal for approval by the III Approval Committee. All proposals must be accompanied by a signed proposal form. The faculty sponsor/advisor proposal coversheet requires two signatures prior to turning in the proposal, (1) the faculty sponsor/advisor and (2) the III Departmental Coordinator. For Selective 1, if working with human subjects, a copy of the Collaborative IRB Training Institute (CITI) student-training certificate and IRB application must accompany the proposal. For Selective 2, a preliminary literature search must accompany the proposal to demonstrate that there are sufficient published studies to proceed with the literature review. Only proposals that are complete will be sent to the III Approval Committee. Proposals must be approved by the III Approval Committee prior to initiation of the project. A notification will be sent to the student when the III Committee approves the proposed project. You will also be notified should the committee request changes to the proposals. When the revised proposal is approved, you will receive a letter of approval from the III Approval Committee. A proposal is required to be submitted by March, Year 1.
Note: Students accepted in the MSRTP or RU/OP programs are not required to submit a separate III proposal to the III Approval Committee.
Selectives 1 and 2, submit a final paper along with a signed III Final Faculty Advisor Evaluation Form to the Curriculum Office no later than the last Friday in January, 2nd year (see table below).
- Final Product: For Selectives 1 and 2, the student must write a paper related to the investigation. Specific paper guidelines and evaluation criteria differ for each selective and are described in guidelines available online, or from Marcie Buckner in A300. Writing the paper is an essential component of the Independent Investigative Inquiry requirement, so the student must be the sole author of the paper, even if the student has collaborated with another student, faculty member, or plans to submit the paper for publication under joint authorship. Papers used to fulfill requirements for other courses are not acceptable.
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