BE Board:Thesis proposal/Guidelines

Excerpt taken from the MIT Biological Engineering Graduate Student Handbook

"The student should prepare a 30-minute presentation. The Oral Exam Committee members will have read and thought about the Proposal ahead of time. Given that the meeting lasts up to two hours, there will be ample time for questions/discussion during your presentation. If questions arise about the format or style of the presentation, the student should contact the Oral Exam Committee Chair. The student should expect to be examined in depth on subject matter directly and tangentially related to all aspects of the Proposal. The questioning need not be restricted to the Proposal itself, but may expand into areas impinging on the Thesis topic.

One or two days before the presentation, the student should pick up from the BE Academic Office a yellow “Verification of Oral Presentation” form. The Committee Chair must complete this form to confirm the outcome of a Thesis Proposal/Oral Exam Presentation, Progress Report, or Thesis Defense. The completed Verification form should be submitted to the Academic Office. From there, copies will be distributed to the student, the advisor, and the Committee Chair. If the Proposal presentation is acceptable, a “Pass” grade will be recorded for BE.951"