PhD in Molecular Pathology
Program Details: Evaluation of Progress
The progress of all students in the Molecular and Cellular Pathobiology program will be evaluated at the end of each semester by the Program Director. A student who does not maintain a 3.0 GPA will be notified by the Program Director in writing that he/she is on probation. If, after the following semester, the GPA remains below 3.0, the student will be notified by the Program Director of pending dismissal. Formal action for dismissal, however, will be taken only after the student’s program and progress have been reviewed by a committee of the MacPath graduate faculty appointed by the Program Director. To facilitate this, the student first should discuss the deficiency with the committee and a plan to resolve the deficiency must be brought to the full faculty.
For the student to continue in the program the full faculty must, by a majority vote, approve the remediation plan. If the faculty votes not to continue the student, a letter to this effect must be sent to the Dean of the Graduate School indicating that the student no longer meets the Molecular and Cellular Pathobiology Graduate Program's criteria for continuation. This step is necessary because it is only if a student falls below a 2.5 GPA that he/she is no longer eligible to continue based on the graduate school’s policy. A graduate program, however, may have more rigorous requirements. Consistent with the policy of the Wake Forest University Graduate School, if at any time a student’s GPA falls below 2.5, they will be placed on academic probation by the graduate school.
The student will have one semester to bring his or her GPA to 2.5 or greater or face dismissal from graduate school by the Dean. A student may appeal this action through the Program Director. By majority vote, the faculty may recommend that the student be given additional time to bring up the GPA. If so, the written reasons for this request will be provided to the Dean of the Graduate School, who will make the final decision as to whether to allow this student to continue in the program, and the conditions that must be satisfied.