DPHS Master of Science Thesis Handbook

DPHS MS Thesis Handbook Page 1 of 9 Updated 3/2/21

DPHS Master of Science Thesis Handbook

Students in the following Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS) programs are required to complete two independent study courses (EPH 698 and EPH 699) culminating in a Master’s Thesis:

• Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), • Master of Science in Prevention Science and Community Health (MS PSCH), and • Master of Science in Climate and Health (MS CH).

The Master’s Thesis comprises two required courses:

• EPH 698 – Master’s Thesis Proposal • EPH 699 – Master’s Thesis

Effective Fall 2020, students who enroll in EPH 698 in Fall 2020 and beyond will need to comply with the University of Miami Graduate School Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) guidelines (ETD details listed below).

EPH 698 and EPH 699 are each 3-credit courses, and both are required for the MSPH, MS PSCH, and MSCH degrees. Each course is graded as Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U).

• MSPH Students: The Instructor who assigns grades for EPH 698 and EPH 699 is the student’s Faculty Advisor.

• MS PSCH Students: The Instructor who assigns grades for EPH 698 and EPH 699 is the student’s Chair of their Thesis Committee.

• MS-CH students: The Chair of their Thesis Committee will assign grade for EPH 698, and the Chair in consultation with all committee members will assign grade for EPH 699 after the oral defense.

Students who do not complete the requirements for EPH 698 or EPH 699 by the end of the semester in which they enroll in the course will earn an Incomplete (I) grade. Students have one calendar year from when the Incomplete grade is received to complete the course and earn a Satisfactory (S) grade. If not completed during this timeframe, the grade is then changed from Incomplete (I) to Unsatisfactory (U). In this case, the student must re-enroll in the course, pay tuition for the 3 credits, and complete the course requirements to earn his/her master’s degree as the thesis courses are required for the DPHS MS degrees listed above.

A student may request an extension beyond the one year to complete an Incomplete grade. A formal request must be submitted to Rosa Verdeja, Director of Academic Affairs, at Rverdeja@med.miami.edu at least one month prior to the expiration date. The request should

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include (1) an explanation for the delay, (2) a letter or email of support for the extension from the student’s Faculty Advisor (MSPH and MS CH) or Chair of the Thesis Committee (MS PSCH), and (3) a plan and timeline for completion of the course requirements. Requests will be reviewed by DPHS Graduate Programs leadership including the director of the student’s MS program and the student will receive a response in writing.

A student must complete at least 9 credits of master’s coursework prior to enrolling in EPH 698. In addition, each master’s program has different prerequisite course requirements:

• MSPH students must have completed EPH 601 Biostatistics I and either an approved methods course or EPH 621 Fundamentals of Epidemiology prior to enrolling in EPH 698 or they must be enrolled in these courses in the same semester as EPH 698.

• MS PSCH students must complete a statistics or methods course prior or concurrent to enrolling in EPH 698.

• MSCH students must complete at least three core courses of the MSCH program, including EPH 727 and EPH 646 prior to enrolling in EPH 698.

Students should meet or consult with their Faculty Advisor each semester for academic advising prior to course enrollment. Once a student has their Faculty Advisor’s approval to enroll in the first thesis course, EPH 698 Master’s Thesis Proposal, the student emails Carlen Duncombe at cduncombe@med.miami.edu, copies Megan Garber, m.garber@med.miami.edu, and their Faculty Advisor, and requests to be enrolled in EPH 698. Students need to request enrollment in a thesis course at least two business days prior to the last day to enroll for the semester. Students should consult the Academic Calendar when planning to enroll.

CITI Certifications

DPHS Master’s students are required to complete the CITI courses on the Protection of Human Research Subjects. The student uploads the CITI certificates of completion on the Blackboard course site for EPH 698 under Assignments. Students must complete the following CITI Certifications prior to completing EPH 698 and before course grade submission deadline for a given semester. Instructions for completing the CITI certificates can be found here.

• CITI Human Subjects Research (HSR) Series for Social or Behavioral Research • CITI Conflict of Interest Course • CITI Health Information Privacy and Security (IPS) Series • CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Series

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Course EPH 698 – Master’s Thesis Proposal

During EPH 698, the student will work closely with their Faculty Advisor or Chair of their Thesis Committee to select and define their thesis topic. The student will write a thesis proposal during this course and form a Thesis Committee. The Thesis Committee should consist of at least three members, and two should be UM faculty.

Master’s Thesis Committee:

1. Committee Chair

• MSPH: The Student’s Faculty Advisor

• MS PSCH: The Student’s Research Mentor

• MSCH: The Student’s Faculty Advisor

2. Second Committee Member

• MSPH and MS PSCH: Graduate Faculty in DPHS

• MSCH: Graduate Faculty in DPHS or RSMAS. The MSCH Thesis Committee must have at least one faculty from DPHS and one faculty from RSMAS.

3. Outside Faculty

• An outside member can be from a UM department outside the student’s area of concentration or from outside the University of Miami altogether. All committee members must be approved by the Chair of your committee.

The Chair of the Committee must approve all the Committee members. View the list of Graduate Faculty on the Graduate School website (scroll down to Public Health Sciences). For more details on the members of the Thesis Committee, click here.

In addition to forming the Thesis Committee, the student will write the thesis proposal during EPH 698. The student should become familiar with the Electronic Thesis and Formatting (ETD) Guidelines set by the University of Miami Graduate School. The ETD formatting guidelines are specific, and students are encouraged to become familiar with the guidelines and format as soon as they enroll in EPH 698. The student may want to follow the ETD guidelines when writing their proposal, but this is not required.

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The Thesis Proposal should include the following sections:

1. Introduction (i.e. literature review) 2. Innovation (or specific novel research area to be addressed) 3. Objectives (including specific hypotheses) 4. Proposed Methods (procedures, regulatory approval, measurements, data analysis) 5. Timeline 6. References 7. Appendices (if applicable)

The student should submit a final draft of the thesis proposal on Blackboard under EPH 698, Assignments, at least three weeks before the last day of class in the semester. The student should share the proposal with the Thesis Committee after the first draft has been reviewed and approved by their Committee Chair. The student will continue to revise the thesis proposal based on the feedback by the committee members and upload the final version of the thesis proposal to Blackboard for the Committee Chair to approve by the end of the semester. The student will also submit their Committee member names and email addresses in Blackboard under EPH 698, Assignments. This completes the student’s requirements to earn a Satisfactory grade for EPH 698 – Master’s Thesis Proposal course.

Course EPH 699 – Master’s Thesis

A student may enroll in EPH 699 – Master’s Thesis Project after they have completed EPH 698 – Master’s Thesis Proposal course, or after they have the permission of their Faculty Advisor. MSPH students must have completed or be enrolled in EPH 602 – Biostatistics II and the second required approved methods course. The student needs to email Carlen Duncombe at cduncombe@med.miami.edu, copy their advisor and Megan Garber, m.garber@med.miami.edu, and request to be enrolled in EPH 699.

During the EPH 699 – Master’s Thesis course, the student works closely with their Thesis Committee Chair and Committee members to complete their written thesis and defend their thesis within the timeframe dictated by the Graduate School. Students should read and follow the instructions in the Graduate School’s The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Process (ETD) (see Appendices) when they enroll in EPH 699.

The DPHS Master’s Thesis should include the following sections in addition to the front page:

1. Introduction 6. Tables and Figures 2. Materials and Methods 7. Appendices (if applicable) 3. Results 4. Discussion 5. References

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Students are responsible for following the Graduate School ETD Deadlines. The deadlines are also published in the Academic Calendar. Students defending after the Graduate School deadline to defend are not eligible to graduate in that semester. Exceptions for a late defense can be requested by formal appeal to Dr. Tiffany Plantan at t.plantan@miami.edu. Students who do not produce the final PDF and submit the Certificate of Defense Approval Form, ETD Final Content Approval Form, and the ETD Availability Agreement Form by the Graduate School ETD deadline will have the graduation date moved to the next semester.

Students should plan to have a final draft of their thesis completed midway through the semester they intend to graduate to make sure they can defend by the Graduate School’s deadline. The student should work with their Committee Chair and Committee to schedule a Thesis Defense before the deadline. The Thesis Defense is a one-hour meeting open to all DPHS faculty, staff, and students, and the community. The student should prepare a 35 to 45-minute presentation with slides and expect to be asked questions from the audience. MS students are highly encouraged to attend thesis defenses of other students so they may learn what is expected before they must defend.

Once the defense is scheduled, the student:

1. Sends a complete final draft of their thesis to all members of their Thesis Committee and receives permission to schedule the defense.

2. Completes the Graduate School’s Defense Notice Form before the day of their defense. It is recommended that the student submits this form and their Abstract/Defense invitation at least one week prior to their Defense date.

3. Sends their Abstract/Defense Invitation, approved by the thesis committee, to Megan Garber at m.garber@miami.edu at least two business days before their defense. Uploads their abstract to Blackboard under EPH 699, Assignments. DPHS students and faculty will be invited to the defense. The Abstract/Defense Invitation template is available in the Blackboard One-Stop-Shop under the Master’s Thesis folder and in the Appendix of this Handbook.

4. Prepare slides for the thesis defense (a sample set of MSPH thesis defense slides are available in the Blackboard One-Stop Shop under the Master’s Thesis folder). Review the slides with your Faculty Advisor prior to your Defense.

5. Submit a pre-defense Draft of Thesis for Review to the Graduate School (optional). Email the draft to grad.dissertation@miami.edu at the same time it is sent to the Committee.

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After the Thesis Defense

1. Each member of the Thesis Committee will complete a DPHS Evaluation Form of the Master’s candidate and submit the form to Megan Garber at m.garber@miami.edu.

2. Submit the Certificate of Defense Approval Form (student enters the names and emails of the Thesis Committee members and they will receive an automated email asking them to complete the form).

3. Submit Full Draft of Thesis for Formatting Review by the Deadline (content should be close to final).

4. Produce final PDF for upload in the Scholarship@Miami Repository.

5. Upload your final thesis to Blackboard under EPH 699, Assignments.

6. ETD Final Content Approval Form (add the names and emails of your Thesis Committee).

7. Complete the ETD Availability Agreement Form.

For Additional Information

Students may contact the Associate Director of Programs at the Graduate School with any questions about the ETD formatting or processes at grad.dissertation@miami.edu.

For Public Health Sciences questions, please contact Megan Garber, Associate Director of Career and Professional Development, at m.garber@miami.edu.

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Appendices (available on DPHS website)

1. DPHS Approved Methods Courses 2. DPHS Thesis Checklist 3. The Graduate School’s The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Process 4. Public Health Sciences Abstract/Defense Invitation Template 5. DPHS Thesis and Dissertation Defense Evaluation Form

LIST of DPHS METHODS COURSES - Approved by DPHS Curriculum Committee Version: December 4, 2020

Prefix Course # Course Name CreditsSemester Offered

Pre-requisite

BST 625 Survey of Statistical Computing 3 Fall Completion with a passing grade any upper-division or graduate course in statistics or biostatics

EPH 651 Research Methods 3 Fall None

EPH 703 Advanced Statistical Methods I 4 Fall EPH 601 & pass pre-test, instructor permission

EPH 752 Advanced Research Methods 3 Fall WR - with restrictions

EPH 774 Epidemiologic Methods & Reasoning 3 Fall WR - with restrictions

BST 605 Statistical Principles of Clinical Trials 3 Spring EPH 601 & 602 and instructor permission

BST 630 Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis 3 Spring WR - with restrictions

EPH 644 Fundamentals of Program Evaluation 3 Spring None

EPH 647 Community Based Participatory Rsrch (CBPR) 3 Spring EPH 621 & either EPH 617 OR 620

EPH 656 Qualitative Research Methods 3 Spring None

EPH 705 Advanced Statistical Methods II 3 Spring EPH 703

EPH 721 Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases 3 Spring EPH 601 and EPH 621

EPH 727 Climate, Environment, and Health: Data Integration & Management 3 Spring EPH 601 or equivalent & instructor permission

EPH 751 Survival Analysis in Clinical Trials 3 Spring EPH 602 (or equivalent coursework) or instructor permission

EPH 772 Design and Implementation of Epidemiologic Studies 3 Spring EPH 621 and co-requirement EPH 601

EPH 776 Methods in Epidemiology 3 Spring WR - with restrictions

BST 692 Data Science and Machine Learning for Health Research 3 Summer WR - with restrictions

EPH 604 Clinical Trials 3 Summer A EPH 601 or instructor permission

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DPHS Thesis Checklist

Enrollment in EPH 698

1. Obtain permission from your Faculty Advisor (MSPH) or Thesis Committee Chair (MS PSCH and MS CH) to enroll in EPH 698

2. Email Carlen Duncombe at cduncombe@med.miami.edu and request to be enrolled in EPH 698. Copy your Faculty Advisor or Thesis Committee Chair and Megan Garber (m.garber@miami.edu) on the email.

EPH 698 Thesis Proposal

☐ 3. Form your thesis committee (3 members: Committee Chair, UM DPHS Faculty, Outside Faculty. MS CH students need at least 1 DPHS and 1 RSMAS faculty member on their Committee)

☐ 4. Submit approved thesis proposal and the names of your Committee members in Blackboard EPH 698, Assignments

EPH 699 Public Health Thesis Project

☐ 1. Note the Submission Deadline for each Semester and plan accordingly

☐ 2. Before your Thesis Defense

o A) Fill out the Defense Notice Form before the day of your dense

o B) Send you Thesis Abstract/Defense Invitation to Megan Garber, m.garber@miami.edu, at least 2 business days before your defense

o C) Submit a pre-defense Draft for Review (optional) to the Graduate School

☐ 3. Defend your Thesis by the deadline

☐ 4. Submit the Certificate of Defense Approval Form (add the names and emails of your committee)

☐ 5. Submit full draft of thesis for formatting review by the deadline (content should be close to final)

☐ 6. Produce final PDF for upload in the Scholarship @ Miami Repository

☐ 7. ETD Final Content Approval Form (add the names and emails of your committee)

☐ 8. Complete the ETD Availability Agreement Form

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THE ELECTRONIC THESIS AND DISSERTATION (ETD) PROCESS

INTRODUCTION

All University of Miami graduate students with a dissertation or thesis requirement must complete an electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) that will become part of Scholarship@Miami, scholarship.miami.edu, administered by Richter Library. The ultimate goal of this process is for each graduate student to produce one final PDF of their manuscript that is uploaded to the Scholarship@Miami repository by the end of the semester in which they wish to graduate. Once your ETD is added to the database, it is freely available on the internet via our locally hosted database, scholarship.miami.edu unless you have elected to temporarily restrict access. The University of Miami is also a member of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, ndltd.org, a web-hosted international federated database of theses and dissertations.

The ETD process can be painlessly navigated by students who plan ahead and are familiar with the information contained in this document and the document titled “Organization, Formatting, and PDF Conversion Guidelines for Theses, Dissertations, and Doctoral/Lecture Essays,” available for download at http://grad.miami.edu/electronic-thesis-and-dissertation/formatting-the-etd/index.html.

THE ETD PROCESS

Familiarize Yourself with the Process

At the start of the semester in which you plan to defend, visit the ETD Web site at grad.miami.edu for general information about preparing your dissertation or thesis and completing your submission. Deadlines, formatting guidelines; downloadable templates for formatting the front matter, table of contents, and landscaped figures/tables; forms; links; and information about making the final PDF of your manuscript are posted on the Web site.

Plan Ahead for Your Defense and Submission

Learn what the deadlines for defending and submitting your dissertation or thesis are so you can graduate on time. Talk to your advisor/committee early in the semester about scheduling a date for the defense of your dissertation, doctoral essay, or thesis so you can graduate on time. Please note the following clarification of ETD submission deadlines for a desired graduation date noted below:

1 Deadline to Defend: All defenses for students expecting graduation in a particular semester must take place by the date noted in the above table. All students must notify the Graduate School of the defense date by filling out the

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Defense Notice form, https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html before the day of defense. Students defending after noted last date to defend are not eligible to graduate in that semester. Exceptions for a late defense can be requested by formal appeal to grad.dissertation@miami.edu. 2 Deadline to Submit Full Draft for Formatting Review: By the date noted in the above table, the student must submit to the Associate Director of Programs of the Graduate School for review the full draft of a thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay draft consisting of (1) unnumbered front matter; (2) lower-case Roman numeral page number front matter; and (3) chapters, references, appendices, etc., formatted per Graduate School formatting guidelines. The main content of the full draft due on this day is expected to be final. Students may continue to make minor revisions to the draft after this date, but no new data or sections should be added at this stage. Students who do not submit a full draft for review by the date noted above will be asked to move the graduation date to the next semester. Exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis by formal appeal to grad.dissertation@miami.edu.

3 Deadline for Producing Final PDF: The formatting review must be completed, final PDF produced, and the Certificate of Defense Approval Form, the ETD Final Content Approval Form and the ETD Availability Agreement Form must be submitted to the Graduate School by the date noted in the above table. The Graduate School must receive all three forms fully signed for the student to receive permission from the Associate Director of Programs to upload the final ETD in the Scholarship@Miami repository. Students who do not produce the final PDF and submit the Certificate of Defense Approval Form, ETD Final Content Approval Form, and the ETD Availability Agreement Form by the date noted in the above table will have the graduation date moved to the next semester.

4 Deadline for Completion: By the date noted in the above table, students expecting graduation in a particular semester must have met all requirements associated with the Deadline for Producing the Final PDF (see above); uploaded the final PDF in the Scholarship@Miami repository; and completed online items, if required (doctoral students only). Students who do not meet the requirements outlined herein by the date noted above will have the graduation date moved to the next semester.

Fill out the Defense Notice Form When you have decided on a firm defense date, time, and location, please go to the Graduate School Web site to prepare the Defense Notice Form at https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html. All students are required to fill out the Defense Notice Form and submit it to the Graduate School before the defense date. The information on the Defense Notice Form will be posted as a public event on the Graduate School Web site, http://grad.miami.edu/about-us/grad-events-and-calendar/upcoming-dissertation-defenses/index.html. This form requires the signature of the student and main advisor. Please note that the defense must take place by the last day to defend deadline noted in the above calendar. Exceptions for a late defense can be requested by formal appeal to grad.disseration@miami.edu.

Submit a Predefense Draft for Review to the Associate Director of Programs (optional)

Students who would like to get a head start on formatting issues in the ETD can request an optional predefense draft review of the manuscript from the Associate Director of Programs of the Graduate School. The predefense draft of your document can be sent to the Associate Director of Programs at grad.dissertation@miami.edu . The predefense draft sent to the Associate Director of Programs for review should contain the major sections of the document formatted per Graduate School formatting guidelines. Documents can be submitted as (1) one Word file of the entire manuscript; (2) the entire manuscript separated into no more than 4 Word files; (3) one PDF of the entire manuscript (preferred). Electronic files can be e-mailed to grad.dissertation@miami.edu If the draft in Word or PDF file is too large to send by e-mail, send a Dropbox, Box, Google Docs, etc., link, to grad.dissertation@miami.edu so the Associate Director of Programs can download your draft. The Associate Director of Programs will review your manuscript to make sure it conforms to the Graduate School’s formatting guidelines, available at http://grad.miami.edu/electronic-thesis-and-dissertation/formatting-the-etd/index.html. If revisions are needed, the Associate Director of Programs will e-mail comments to you regarding revisions to make.

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Prepare before the Defense: Certificate of Defense Approval Form

To ensure that the Certificate of Defense Approval form is signed after you have actually defended, please fill out the Certificate of Defense Approval form after the day of your defense. Please go to the Graduate School Web site, https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html to prepare the Certificate of Defense Approval Form. Fill in the name and e-mail address of each of your committee members and the Program Director. Once completed, each committee member will receive notification that he/she must electronically sign the form to confirm your successful defense of the thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay after you have defended. This form, when electronically signed by all committee members and the Program Director, is your proof that you passed the defense. As noted, signees should electronically sign the form after the defense has been held.

Post-Defense Formatting Reviews by Associate Director of Programs

After you have successfully defended, make any changes recommended by your committee in the draft in addition to those requested by the Associate Director of Programs if you received an optional predefense review of the manuscript, then submit the revised, post-defense draft to the Associate Director of Programs to begin the post-defense review at grad.dissertation@miami.edu.

The Associate Director of Programs will review the manuscript to make sure it conforms to the Graduate School’s formatting guidelines, available at http://grad.miami.edu/electronic-thesis-and-dissertation/formatting-the-etd/index.html, and e-mail comments to you regarding revisions if any are needed. The Associate Director of Programs can review a post-defense draft in the form of (1) one Word file of the entire manuscript; (2) the entire manuscript separated into no more than 4 Word files; (3) one PDF of the entire manuscript (preferred). If the draft is too large to send by e-mail, send a Dropbox, Box, Google Docs, etc., to the Associate Director of Programs, grad.dissertation@miami.edu, for review. Several iterations of review at this stage of the process may be needed before a manuscript is deemed final, so factor that in when planning the amount of time this stage might take. The goal is to correct all formatting issues in the original word processing file(s), after which the final file(s) will be converted into one final PDF of the entire manuscript that must be approved for upload to the Scholarship@Miami ETD repository.

Produce the Final PDF for Upload in the Scholarship@Miami Repository No further edits recommended by the Associate Director of Programs? You will be instructed by e-mail to make one final PDF of your manuscript, if you have not already done so, for upload in the Scholarship@Miami within 48 hours. Note that the final PDF produced is an archival PDF, so it is a technical requirement of the Scholarship@Miami repository that for preservation purposes, all fonts must be embedded and subset in the PDF uploaded. Instructions on how to create a PDF that meets these requirements are available on the Richter Library site at http://sp.library.miami.edu/subjects/etd.

If you need assistance making the PDF, visit the ETD Formatting Support team’s Web site, http://sp.library.miami.edu/subjects/etd for conversion guides, troubleshooting tips, and appointment scheduling with an information specialist. The ETD Formatting Support team in Richter Library can be reached by e-mail at dfs@miami.edu .

Do not upload your document in the Scholarship@Miami repository until you have been instructed to do so by the Associate Director of Programs. As noted above, the Certificate of Defense Approval form, ETD Final Content Approval form, and ETD Availability Agreement form signed by all required signees must be received by the Graduate School before you will be given permission to upload the final PDF in the Scholarship@Miami repository. The Associate Director of Programs will check to confirm the three forms are in when you have produced a final PDF that is suitable for upload in the Scholarship@Miami repository.

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Access to Adobe Acrobat Professional

The ETD Support team in Richter Library has Adobe Acrobat Professional available.

Also, your department can download Adobe Acrobat Pro to a UM computer, free of charge, by accessing the link http://www.miami.edu/it/index.php/services/adobe_acrobat_professional/ . The download site is for University-owned computers on the Coral Gables, Medical, and Marine campuses.

Summary of Required Items

All Master’s and Doctoral Students The following three forms are required to complete every ETD submission. The three forms can be accessed on the Graduate School Web site, https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html . You are required to submit these three forms to the Graduate School before you will be given permission to upload the final PDF in the Scholarship@Miami repository. The Associate Director of Programs will confirm that the three completed forms have been received by the Graduate School before sending you the permission-to-upload e-mail.

(1) Certificate of Defense Approval Form The Certificate of Defense Approval form can be accessed on the Graduate School Web site, https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html. Please fill this form out after you have actually defended to ensure that the form is signed by committee members after the defense date. Fill in the name and e-mail address of each of your committee members. Each committee member will receive notification that he/she must electronically sign the form to confirm your successful defense of the thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay after you have defended. The Program Director must also sign this form. This form, when electronically signed by all committee members and Program Director, is your proof that you passed the defense. As noted, signees should sign the form after the defense has taken place.

(2) Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Final Content Approval Form

(NOTE: The ETD Final Content Approval form replaces the function of the signed hard copy of the Signature page from the thesis or dissertation, which was collected to formally document the committee's approval of the final content of the ETD.) Every thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay must have the final content approved by each member of the committee. The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Content Approval Form documents the committee's approval of the final content of your document. Please go to the Graduate School Web site, https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html , to access the form. Fill in the name and e-mail address of each of your committee members and the Program Director. Each committee member will receive notification that he/she must electronically sign the form to confirm his/her approval of the final thesis, dissertation, doctoral essay, or lecture recital essay. The Program Director will be the last person to sign the form. This form, when electronically signed by all committee members and the Program Director, is your proof that the committee approved the final document.

(3) Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Availability Agreement Form This form lets the Graduate School know what online availability option you and your main advisor want for your final PDF in the Scholarship@Miami repository. When you've produced a final PDF that's been approved by the Associate Director of Programs, you should discuss with your main advisor which online availability option to select for your thesis or dissertation before completing this form. The three availability options are (i) Open Access; (ii) UM Campus Only; (iii) Embargo. When you and your main advisor have agreed upon an online availability option, please go to the Graduate School Web site, https://grad.miami.edu/policies-and-forms/forms/index.html , to access the form. Fill in your name and e-mail address and the main advisor's name and e-mail address so you can both sign the form electronically.

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Doctoral Students Only (Ph.D., D.M.A., and Ed.D. Students only)

(4) Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) Survey

Ph.D., D.M.A., and Ed.D. students must complete the SED Survey online, https://sed-ncses.org. The SED Survey is administered by an independent organization that collects information about every student in the U.S. who receives a Ph.D. degree. Make sure you cc the Graduate School, grad.dissertation@miami.edu , with an e-mail informing us that you filled out the SED Survey. A forwarded copy of the e-mail confirmation you received from SED upon completion will also be accepted.

(5) UM Exit Survey

Ph.D., D.M.A., and Ed.D. students must complete the UM Exit Survey online. The Associate Director of Programs will send you the link to the UM Exit Survey by separate e-mail at the time you receive the permission-to-upload email.

ProQuest/UMI Publication Agreement: Optional for Master’s and Doctoral Students

Master’s and doctoral students interested in having their ETD published in a second outlet in addition to the UM ETD database may wish to submit the final PDF to ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing. The ProQuest/UMI publication agreement is submitted online. Information about this will be sent to students when they are ready to upload the final PDF in the UM ETD repository.

COPYRIGHT (Ph.D., D.M.A., and Ed.D. Students only)

Your Copyright: To Register or Not to Register You do not need to register with the Copyright Office in order to retain copyright in your work. Copyright is automatic once a work is in fixed form. For some, however, there may be benefits to registering your work. You are required to have registered your work if you were to try to sue for infringement of copyright. Registration also allows you to sue for statuary damages (rather than just actual). However, this is often more of a concern to authors of creative or other original work. If you deposit your ETD with ProQuest, ProQuest will make an offer to register your copyright for a handling fee. The University of Miami does not require that you register your dissertation with the U.S. Copyright Office. The decision to copyright belongs to the student. If you want to copyright your dissertation, you can accept ProQuest’s offer to handle the copyright of your work for a fee, or you can register for the copyright of your work yourself by directly contacting the Copyright Office: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/. See the Libraries’ page on copyright here: https://library.miami.edu/copyright/.

Bound Copies—Student Choice: One-sided Printing Only The Graduate School requires that your final document be in electronic format only. If you would like a bound copy of your document, you can print the hard copy from the final PDF you produced because it is formatted for binding. Please contact grad.dissertation@miami.edu for referrals to binders UM students have engaged. If you print the bound volume from the final PDF of your document, make sure you ask the binder to print the manuscript on one side of the paper only because your document is formatted for one-sided printing. Because the 1.5-in. left margin in the final PDF you produced is wider than the 1-in. top, right, and bottom margins in the document, a bound volume printed on both sides of the page will result in a volume that is not uniform in appearance due to the 1.5-in. left margin. You won’t be happy with the way the bound volume looks if it is printed on both sides of the paper due to the offset left margin.

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9/25/2020

ProQuest: Students who choose to deposit their ETD with ProQuest will have an opportunity to order bound copies from ProQuest when the ProQuest agreement is completed online, however, please DO NOT order bound copies from ProQuest. ProQuest will print the text from the final PDF you submit for the bound volume, but ProQuest will print the text on both sides of the paper only without letting you know this at the time you place the order. Unfortunately, ProQuest refuses to remove its offer to bind documents from its Web site.

Hard Copy of the Signature Page for Personal Use Signature Page from Your Document: If you would like to have a signed, original copy of the Signature page to bind in your hardcover thesis, dissertation, or doctoral/lecture recital essay, please print out the page from your document, obtain signatures from your committee members, then turn the form in to the Associate Director of Programs to obtain the Dean of the Graduate School’s signature. After obtaining the Dean of the Graduate School’s signature, the Graduate School will send the signed form back to you for your personal use if you provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Contact the Graduate School: Mailing Address: University of Miami, Graduate School 1252 Memorial Dr., Ashe Administrative Bldg., Room 235 Coral Gables, FL 33146 Phone: (305) 284-4154 E-mail: grad.dissertation@miami.edu Web site: grad.miami.edu

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES

THESIS PRESENTATION ANNOUNCEMENT

The Graduate Programs in Public Health and Department of Public Health Sciences are pleased to invite you to the following Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) thesis presentation.

Candidate: First Last Name, credentials Committee: Committee Chair, First Last Name, credentials

Committee member, First Last Name, credentials Committee member First Last Name, credentials

Date: Friday, June 12th, 2020 Time: 11:00 – 12:00 pm Location: Zoom Meeting Link:

Zoom Meeting ID:

TITLE Background: Methods: Results: Conclusions: Keywords:

Effective Spring 2020 for PhD (BST, EPI and PREV), MSPH and MS Prevention and Climate and Health 1

Presentation Rubric for Evaluating MS Thesis & PhD Dissertation Defenses Committee Members and Students are responsible for being aware of the evaluation rubric in advance of the defense.

(This page will be completed by the thesis/dissertation committee and a copy of the rubric will be distributed to the committee and student prior to the defense)

Student Name:

Graduate Program:

Date of Defense:

Committee Member:

At the conclusion of the defense, each committee member must complete the attached response sheets.

For each attribute that a committee member feels is somewhat or very deficient, a short explanation should be provided. Confidential Comment sections at the bottom of the rubric are provided for explanations of the reasoning behind the overall evaluation of the examinee’s performance if desired. Completed forms are to be treated as confidential and are to be turned in to the Graduate Programs Office (H Rose for PhD, Megan Garber for MSPH/MS), not to the student.

Effective Spring 2020 for PhD (BST, EPI and PREV), MSPH and MS Prevention and Climate and Health 2

Oral Thesis/Dissertation Defense Rubric

(To be completed by each committee member. Please check each evaluation criteria that you feel are appropriate within each attribute category. You may select from more than one category (ex. can select from meets expectations and exceeds expectations). The total score per attribute may include a decimal (ex. 4.0 or 4.5).

Numeric Score 1 - 2 3 4 - 5 Total Score Attribute for Oral Does NOT meet

expectations (provide a short explanation for each attribute that you select in this category)

Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations

Overall quality of presentation o Poorly organized

o Poor presentationo Poor communication

skillso Slides and handouts

difficult to read

o Clearly organizedo Clear presentationo Good communication

skillso Slides and handouts

clear

o Well organizedo Professional

presentationo Excellent

communication skillso Slides and handouts

outstandingOverall breadth of knowledge and critical thinking

o Presentationunacceptable

o Presentation revealscritical weakness indepth of knowledgein subject matter

o Reasoning confused,simplistic and/or notclearly explained

o Presentation isnarrow in scope

o Presentationacceptable

o Presentation revealssome depth ofknowledge in subjectmatter

o Adequate reasoning,explanation ofassumptions, andsupporting evidence

o Presentation revealsthe ability to draw fromknowledge in severaldisciplines

o Presentation superioro Presentation reveals

exceptional depth ofsubject knowledge

o Clear and organizedargument thatrepresents sound,original and complexthought

o Presentation revealsthe ability tointerconnect andextend knowledgefrom multipledisciplines

Effective Spring 2020 for PhD (BST, EPI and PREV), MSPH and MS Prevention and Climate and Health 3

Quality of response to questions

o Responses areincomplete or requireprompting

o Arguments are poorlypresented

o Respondent exhibitslack of knowledge insubject area

o Responses do notmeet level expectedof degree program ofgraduate

o Responses arecomplete

o Arguments are wellorganized

o Respondent exhibitsadequate knowledge insubject area

o Responses meet levelexpected of degreeprogram of graduate

o Responses areeloquent

o Arguments areskillfully presented

o Respondent exhibitssuperior knowledgein subject area

o Responses exceedlevel expected ofdegree program ofgraduate

Overall Oral Presentation assessment

o Does not meetexpectations

o Meets expectations o Exceeds expectations

Confidential Comments

Effective Spring 2020 for PhD (BST, EPI and PREV), MSPH and MS Prevention and Climate and Health 4

Written Thesis/Dissertation Rubric

(To be completed by each committee member. Please check each evaluation criteria that you feel are appropriate within each attribute category. You may select from more than one category (ex. can select from meets expectations and exceeds expectations). The total score per attribute may include a decimal (ex. 4.0 or 4.5).

Numeric Score 1 - 2 3 4 - 5 Total Score Attribute for Written

Does NOT meet expectations (provide a short explanation for each attribute that you select in this category)

Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations

Overall quality of science

o Arguments areincorrect, incoherentor flawed

o Objectives are poorlydefined

o Does not reflectunderstanding ofsubject matter andassociated literature

o Demonstrates poorunderstanding oftheoretical concepts

o Displays limitedcreativity and insight

o Arguments arecoherent and clear

o Objectives are clearo Reflects understanding

of subject matter andassociated literature

o Demonstratesunderstanding oftheoretical concepts

o Demonstratesoriginality

o Displays creativity andinsight

o Arguments aresuperior

o Objectives are welldefined

o Exhibits mastery ofsubject matter andliterature

o Demonstratesmastery oftheoretical concepts

o Demonstratesoriginality, creativityand insight

Contribution to discipline

o Limited evidence ofdiscovery

o Limited expansionupon previousresearch

o Limited theoretical orapplied significance

o Some evidence ofdiscovery

o Builds upon previousresearch

o Reasonable theoreticalor applied significance

o Exceptional evidenceof discovery

o Greatly extendsprevious research

o Exceptionaltheoretical orapplied significance

Effective Spring 2020 for PhD (BST, EPI and PREV), MSPH and MS Prevention and Climate and Health 5

Quality of writing o Writing is weako Numerous grammatical

and spelling errorsapparent

o Organization is pooro Documentation is poor

o Writing is adequateo Some grammatical and

spelling errorsapparent

o Organization is logicalo Documentation is

adequate

o Writing is publicationquality

o No grammatical orspelling errorsobserved

o Organization isexcellent

o Documentation isexcellent

Appropriate methodology/quality of analysis o Errors in methodology

selection and/or use

o Methodology appliedcorrectly andadequately, clearlyexplained

o Mastery of finer pointsof methodology pluselegant applicationand/or supplementaryapproaches

Overall Written Presentation assessment

o Does not meetexpectations

o Meets expectations o Exceeds expectations

Confidential Comments