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Yale University
School of Medicine
333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06510
Office of
Student Research
367 Cedar Street
Room 310 ESH
New Haven, CT 06510
Office: (203) 785-6633
Fax: (203) 785-6936
EMAIL US
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 The
presentation of a dissertation has been one of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Yale for over a century.
Initially, case reports and reviews of literature predominated, but
as the scientific method found its place in medicine, the faculty
has required that dissertations presented be based on original investigation
either in the laboratory or in the clinic. This experience is
considered an important and essential phase of a curriculum which
is designed to promote the development of critical judgment, habits
of self-education and imagination, as well as the acquisition of knowledge
and research skills.
| Student
Research & the M.D. Thesis |
All
students at Yale University School of Medicine
engage in research during medical school,
with the exception of students who have a
Ph.D. degree before matriculation. A wide
choice of subjects for research is permitted.
Students may choose basic laboratory projects
or may investigate clinical, epidemiologic
or sociologic (including medicine and humanities)
topics. Publications in the literature may
serve as the source of data for research.
One basic requirement applies to all projects:
there must be a specific hypothesis that
can be supported or rejected by new data that
are generated by the student. Data must
be subjected to statistical analysis and results
should either confirm or reject the original
hypothesis.
A
close working relationship between the student
and faculty research mentor is a major goal
of this program and is strongly encouraged.
When laboratory research is performed, it
is the responsibility of the faculty advisor
to provide all necessary space, equipment
and supplies. If the project is concerned
with clinical or epidemiological investigation,
the same commitment to guidance and support
is expected. Weekly conferences between student
and advisor are encouraged during the course
of the research. The research must be designed
and specifically performed by the student
with the advice of the faculty mentor. Students
may not work jointly on a research project. |
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The
first evidence that the thesis or dissertation was considered
a requirement for the degree of Doctor of Medicine is
in a statement in the catalog from 1839, which in part
reads, "...the candidate must present a dissertation
on some subject connected with the medical sciences."
This requirement remains in effect to the present time,
and is enthusiastically endorsed by the faculty as an
important component of the "Yale System" of
general medical education.
The
creative discipline required to carry out a project and
prepare a thesis enables each student to become a physician-scholar,
whether the ultimate objective is clinical practice, research,
teaching, or administration. Yale hopes to produce
physicians who can evaluate data quickly and critically
as they must do throughout their professional careers.
The
M.D. thesis at Yale University teaches a student how to
understand the scientific method from the inside, how
to design an hypothesis, how to collect and evaluate data
and communicate the knowledge to others, and how to think
scientifically and critically for the rest of his/her
professional life.
To
this day, Yale University School of Medicine has carried
on the tradition of required medical student research.
This tradition is a hallmark of the Yale system of medical
education. |
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| Thesis Requirements & Restrictions |
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| Typing
& Assembly Instructions |
The
final submission of the M.D. thesis should meet
the following specifications:
Paper:
20
lb. weight paper of good quality; corrasable
bond is not acceptable. All pages must
be a high-contrast, dark image on white
paper.
Print Size:
Use
a 10-12 point font.
Typing:
Double
spaced on one side of the page. Single spacing may
be used within block quotations, footnotes, and
bibliography, but double spacing must be used between
successive entries.
Margins:
1-1/2
inch left hand margin (normally, the binding edge),
1 inch on the three other edges. These margins apply
to full-page photographs and pages containing tables
and illustrations, as well as to pages of text.
Page Numbers:
Each
page in the thesis should be numbered except the
title page, table of contents, abstract, and acknowledgements.
The number should be placed either at the top center
or at the top right hand corner at least 1/2 inches
from any edge.
Number of Copies:
The
Office of Student Research requires one letter-quality
printed original hardbound cover, any color. One
copy for the department chairman's office and one
copy for your advisor are optional (contact your
Departmental Thesis Committee). The copies should
be reproduced on a good copying machine. These copies
may be bound with soft covers. Allow at least one
week for copying and binding of your thesis.
Bound Copy:
The
full thesis title, the student's full name, "Yale
University", and the year of degree imprinted
on the cover. An abbreviated title, students name
and year imprinted on the spine.
Ordinarily,
photographs should be scanned
and entered electronically into the
text. To mount photographs, use Duco
or equivalent cement, rubber cement
or "permanent" glue. Regular
glue, picture corners, and adhesive
cellophane are not acceptable. If charts,
graphs, maps, tables, or computer printouts
that are larger than the standard size
are to be used, they should be folded
carefully into the manuscript, with
the fold at least 1/2 inch from the
right hand edge of the page.
Legends
are placed below the illustrative material. A legend
may appear, however, on a facing legend page when
both illustration and the legend cannot be accommodated
on one page.
The
Office of Student Research has a list
of typists, copying and binding services.
A thesis which contains strikeovers,
messy erasures, and careless spacing
and centering, or in which the fundamentals
of punctuation and spelling are not
observed, may not be accepted. Allow
at least one week for copying and binding
of your thesis.
Typing and Binding Costs:
The
cost of typing and binding the dissertation is the
responsibility of the student. Departmental or research
funds should not be used for this purpose.
Abstracts:
The
abstract should be placed immediately
after the title page. A copy of the
abstract is also be submitted to the
Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.
See section on "Abstracts
of M.D. Thesis" for more detailed
information. |
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A
student's research is presented as a formal bound thesis during the
fourth year (see Yale's ThesisWeb
for examples of M.D. theses from past medical students). The
M.D. thesis must fulfill the following minimal requirements (in order
for final submission of bound copy):
- Title page (Title page formatting
- WWW,
PDF,
Word).
Title should not exceed 100 characters including spaces between words.
- Abstract Page (as described
below).
- Acknowledgements (personal and faculty
acknowledgements, grant support, departmental support, etc).
- Table of Contents, with page numbers for each
section.
- Introduction (relevant review of the literature).
- Statement of purpose & hypothesis.
- Methods.
Please
Note: Give details of all methods used, Describe in detail exactly
which procedures, methods and experiments were conducted by you
and which procedures, methods and experiments, generation of data,
or production of reagents, were performed by others. It is not
sufficient to state that this information may be mentioned elsewhere.
It must be summarized here.
It
is recognized that students may often be completing a portion
of a larger work. A statement detailing precisely what was done
by the student and what was done by others does not detract from
the thesis but is necessary for academic honesty.
- Results.
All
primary data related to the thesis topic should be presented with
the important data given in figures or tables. All figures and
tables should be included in this section and should be explained
in the detail in the text. If preferred, tables and figures can
be presented separately after the discussion but, if possible,
it is advantageous to include them in the body of the results
section. All data should include the number of observations, and
mean values ± S.E.M. or ± S.D.
- Discussion.
- References (Examples
of Reference Section Formatting).
Indicate
references in the text by sequential numbers in parentheses (do
not use superscripts or subscripts). In the Reference section,
list references numbered in the order in which they appear in
the text and in the format shown in the Examples
of Reference Section Formatting (note that the initials of
the authors always follow the surnames, and that there should
be no space between more than one initial). Include all authors'
names up to 5 authors (use et al. after the 5th author) and complete
article titles. Indicate articles that are in press following
the journal name.
Abbreviate
the names of journals according to PubMed
or Serial
Sources for the BIOSIS Database. Spell out names of unlisted
journals. Supply inclusive page numbers. Submitted manuscripts,
manuscripts in preparation, unpublished observations, personal
communications, and preliminary report citations must appear parenthetically
in the text. They should not appear in the Reference section.
Journal
style guides and endnote style files for the Journal
of Clinical Investigation and New
England Journal of Medicine -- two publications
considered as acceptable standards by Dr. Forrest -- can be downloaded below:
 Journal
of Clinical Investigation - PC endnote style
Journal
of Clinical Investigation - Macintosh endnote style
New
England Journal of Medicine - PC endnote style
New
England Journal of Medicine - Macintosh endnote style
- Figure References & Legends.
Figures
must be cited sequentially in the text using Arabic numerals (for
example, "Fig. 7"). Provide a short title (in the legend,
not on the figure itself) and explanation in sufficient detail
to make the figure intelligible without reference to the text
(unless a similar explanation has been given in another figure).
Provide a key to any symbols used.
- Tables.
All
tables should be double-spaced on manuscript pages. Tables should
be self-contained and self-explanatory. Provide brief titles and
use superscript capital letters starting from A and continuing
in alphabetical order for footnotes.
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| Students
in Combined Programs |
Ph.D. Thesis in Lieu of M.D. Thesis
For
students enrolled in the combined M.D./Ph.D.
Program, the doctoral thesis submitted
to and approved by the Graduate School
will serve in lieu of the thesis requirement
of the Medical School. The Graduate
School awards degrees twice a year,
in late fall (November or December,
depending on the Corporation schedule)
and May. In order to guarantee consideration
by the appropriate Graduate School Committee
on Degrees, the dissertation must be
submitted by September 15 for a fall
degree, or March 15 for a May degree.
Students planning to submit the dissertation
on March 15 for a May degree, however,
should make every effort to file the
petition by March 1, so that planning
for commencement ceremonies can proceed
in a timely fashion. If the Ph.D. has
not been completed, a separate M.D.
thesis must be submitted to qualify
for the M.D. degree.
M.D./M.P.H. Program
For
students in the M.D./M.P.H.
Program, one thesis satisfies both
degree requirements provided it is approved
and carried out under a Yale faculty
member of the Department of Epidemiology
and Public Health and is in an appropriate
subject area. The same regulations concerning
the dates of the M.D. thesis submission
and review by the appropriate departmental
committee will apply. |
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Joint Projects Are Not Acceptable
Dissertations
written jointly by two or more students are not acceptable.
This does not mean that they may not work on related problems,
but each student should have the experience of carrying
out an investigation from beginning to end on his/her
own initiative.
Research Involving Human Subjects
All
research involving human subjects must be approved by
the Human
Investigation Committee (HIC) of the School of Medicine.
Applications and guidelines are available online (http://info.med.yale.edu/hic/forms/)
or in the Office of the Chairman of the Committee, 47
College Street, Suite 208.
Research Done Outside of Yale
A
student may wish to undertake his/her research project
under the supervision of a qualified investigator who
is not a member of the faculty of Yale University School
of Medicine. The approval of an outside preceptor will
be granted by the Office of Student Research upon receipt
of a statement by a full time Yale faculty member acting
as sponsor, in whose area the research work will be done.
The statement should indicate the sponsor has approved
the preceptor and the facilities available for the research
project. The same regulations concerning the dates of
submission and review by the appropriate departmental
committee will apply to the thesis done outside of the
medical school. Specifically, the faculty member will
be responsible for reviewing the progress of the thesis
with the student, reviewing the written thesis and giving
faculty approval. The thesis will be reviewed by the Department
Thesis Committee of this faculty member's department. |
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| Research Presentations & Travel Information |
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*Student
Research Day
Poster Session Application Form
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*Student
Medical Student Travel
Application Form
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*To
complete the application form electronically,
download the PDF file on the left and open
it using either Adobe
Acrobat writer 4.x or 5.x or Adobe
Acrobat Reader 4.x or 5.x. Further instructions
are available within the document itself.
Alternatively,
download and print the application document
using Acrobat Reader for PDF files or Microsoft
Word for DOC files (Windows only). Fill
out the printed application using a type-writer,
word processor, or by printing neatly. |
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In
addition to presenting at Student Research
Day (see application at right), students are encouraged
to present research work at scientific meetings. As such, a
limited amount of funds are available via the Office of Student Research
to assist students in travel-related expenses.
It
has been the policy of the Medical School to fund half the cost of
travel to a major scientific meeting. We expect the Yale department
where the research was done to pay for the other half. For students
who wish to apply for support for this travel from the Office of Student
Research, please following the directions below:
- Students must apply for travel money at least thirty days before the trip (see
application at right).
- Students must complete Yale University travel requisitions and use Yale Travel
Services. We expect students to plan ahead to get the best airfare.
- We will pay for hotel expenses, but expect that students will try to find an
economical place to stay.
- The per diem for meals is $30 a day. Meals covered by conference fees or airline
ticket fees are not to be additionally reimbursed.
- If you need transportation in the city, we would like you to take public
transportation if at all possible, rather than costly taxis.
This
policy is not intended to deter students from traveling to scientific
meetings but rather to allow more students the opportunity to travel. |
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