BU offers the COS Pivot service to students with an @bu.edu email address. The database is updated on a daily basis and offers a wide variety of federal, non-federal, foundation, and private funding opportunities for any discipline. With the BU subscription, you can save search criteria and receive weekly updates on new and upcoming funding opportunities. For instructions to set up your account, go to the COS Pivot How-To Guide.

Room Access in the Life Science and Engineering Building

Conference Room Request

Graduate Students Organization

GWISE – Graduate Women in Science and Engineering

• Course Adjustment Form

• Continuing Student Status Registration Form (For full-time students)Use this form if you’re not registering for any credit and need to have continuing student status.

• Certificate of Full-Time Participation in Graduate Program  Use this form only when you’re registering for credits and need to be certified full-time. 

• Summer Research Status Registration Form

• PhD Internship Petition

• BF Program Petition Form Use this form to use one course in lieu of another or to request a waiver for requirement. Please be sure to attach any relevant course descriptions.

• PhD Intent to Graduate Form

• Lab Rotation Approval Form submit prior to the start of each lab rotation

• Lab Rotation Report Form submit upon completion of each lab rotation

• Research Advisor Election / Change Form

• Computational Co-Advisor Policy

Office of the Ombuds

For conflicts that arise between student and research mentor, staff in the Office of the Ombuds at BU are available to meet with students in-person, by phone, or via a Zoom meeting.  The office provides students with a confidential, independent, and impartial staff to discuss sensitive issues. The ombuds will not act or disclose your identity without your permission, unless the staff finds there is an imminent risk of harm.

930 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
(617) 358-5960
ombuds@bu.edu

• Qualifying Exam Committee Approval Form

• Updated TAC Meeting Procedures

• Pre-TAC Meeting Update Form

• TAC Report Forms

This guide outlines the steps PhD students in the Bioinformatics Program should follow when preparing for their dissertation defense. Please review the requirements and deadlines carefully and contact the program coordinator if you have questions or need assistance.

1. Complete Your Dissertation Prospectus

The first step in preparing for your dissertation defense is to complete your dissertation prospectus.  The prospectus is intended to serve as an outline/summary of each chapter and sub-chapter of your dissertation.  Developing your prospectus will aid in organizing and preparing to write your dissertation.  To help you get a better understanding of what it is and the information included, here is an example of a dissertation prospectus.

Once completed, submit your prospectus along with the Dissertation Prospectus Approval Form.  Each member of your dissertation committee must sign the form. The program coordinator will obtain the program director’s signature.

Important: Your prospectus and dissertation must include a section or chapter discussing the novel computational, mathematical, or statistical method developed as part of your research project.

Due: The dissertation prospectus and approval form is to be submitted approximately six months prior to your planned defense.

2. Dissertation Formatting and Submission Requirements

Begin preparing your dissertation using Boston University’s dissertation resources:

• Dissertation Writers Guide and Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) information
• Electronic Theses and Dissertations submission website
• Dissertation Word template
• Sample dissertation pages

Please use the provided Word template to help ensure that your dissertation meets BU’s formatting requirements, including fonts, margins, figure labels, and other formatting details.

The library is updating its dissertation submission procedures. Additional instructions will be provided when the revised procedures are finalized.

3. Apply for Graduation

Submit the Intent to Graduate form indicating your intended graduation date.

Deadlines for Graduation:

	January	May	August
Submit Intent to Graduate	November 1st	March 1st	June 1st
Last Date to Hold Defense	December 10th	April 15th	July 15th

Please note: submitting the Intent to Graduate form does not commit you to that graduation date. If your plans change or you need additional time, your graduation date can be updated.  International students will want to confirm with ISSO that changes to their graduation date will not create issues with their immigration status.

4. Confirm Your Defense Date, Time, and Location

Once your defense date and time are confirmed, notify the program coordinator.

If needed, the program coordinator can reserve a room for your defense at the Charles River Campus (CRC).  If you are located on the BU Medical Campus and wish to hold your defense there, please coordinate with your lab to reserve a space. 

Due: As soon as the defense has been scheduled, but no later than 4 weeks prior to the exam.

5. Obtain Approval for External Committee Members

If your dissertation committee includes members from outside Boston University, you will need to submit a Special Service Appointment Form for each external committee member.

Submit the completed form and a copy of the committee member’s CV to the program coordinator, who will forward the materials to the program director for review.

If a Special Service Appointment form has already been submitted for a committee member (i.e., during preparation for your PhD qualifying exam) and that person remains on your committee, you do not need to submit another form unless requested.

Due: at least 4 weeks prior to the defense.

6. Submit Your Defense Scheduling Form and Abstract

The following documents are to be submitted to the program coordinator:

• Completed Defense Schedule Form
• A properly formatted copy of your dissertation abstract, following the sample pages linked in Section 2.

The program coordinator will obtain the program director’s signature on the scheduling form.

If you plan to livestream your defense: Include the meeting link when submitting your scheduling form and abstract so it can be included in the defense announcement.

Due: at least 3 weeks prior to the defense.

7. Distribute Your Dissertation Draft to Your Committee

Send a draft of your dissertation to all committee members at least two weeks before your defense. This gives your committee time to review your work and provide feedback before the examination.

Due: at least 2 weeks prior to the defense.

8. Defense Paperwork

The program coordinator will send the required examination documents to your committee chair before the defense. You do not need to bring examination forms with you on the day of your defense.

9. Consider a Temporary Dissertation Embargo

If you need to restrict public access to your dissertation temporarily, review BU Libraries’ guidance on requesting a temporary dissertation embargo.

Review the applicable requirements and procedures before submitting your dissertation.

10. Commencement Ceremonies

In addition to the All-University Commencement ceremony, which all Boston University graduates are invited to attend, the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) holds its own commencement ceremony each May for CDS graduates.

Students are welcome to attend both ceremonies. However, many graduate students choose to attend only the ceremony hosted by their individual school or college.

Important: Students will only be invited to attend the CDS commencement ceremony held during the calendar year in which they expect to graduate, not the academic year.  This means that students who graduate in August ’27 should plan to participate in the CDS ceremony held in May ’27, even though they will not have officially completed their degree at that time. Please be advised that August graduates will not be invited to participate in the following May’s CDS commencement ceremony.

Please plan accordingly when deciding which ceremony to attend.  Details about both ceremonies and other events are posted on BU’s Commencement website.  Be sure to check back for updates throughout the year, including event dates/times/locations, details for ordering your cap & gown, tickets, photographs, etc. 

Questions or Assistance

Preparing for a dissertation defense involves a number of steps, and the process can feel overwhelming while you are completing your research and writing your dissertation. Please contact the program coordinator if you have questions or would like to review the process together.

The Bioinformatics Program has funds available to support student travel to scientific meetings and conferences to present student research. All PhD students in good standing are eligible to apply.

BF Travel Funding Request

Print your poster using PhDposters.com – just stop by the Bioinformatics office or call a staff at 358-0752 for instructions

How to print a poster in the Biology Media Center in LSEB 631.

This is a self‐registering site where students order business cards on line. For purchasing contact Johanna: johannas@bu.edu.
Link and Instructions on how to use the site are below.
To order BU student business cards online:
1. Go to www.artcraft.com/BUStudent/login.aspx
2. Create user ID and password on Login Page
3. Enter name/email/address on Profile Page to create account
4. Enter your information
5. Purchase your cards
6. Cards ship directly to the students
7. Receipts are due upon purchase

*Note ‐ Production time is 5‐7 business days.

• Course Adjustment Form

• Petition for Approval of Credits for Transfer

• BF Program Petition Form Use this form to use one course in lieu of another or to request a waiver for requirement. Please be sure to attach any relevant course descriptions.

• MS Intent to Graduate Form

• Additional Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Procedures and Forms

MS Internship Approval Form  Students must receive approval prior to starting their internship. Completed forms are to be uploaded to this dropbox. Once approved, students must register for the internship class (ENG BF541).

Create a profile on one of the platforms that BU’s Center for Career Development offers for free, including Handshake and Parker Dewey.

Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator directly for a list of companies.

BU Bioinformatics Program Merit Scholarships

Tuition assistance is available to master’s students in the form of Merit Scholarships, which provide partial tuition to full-time MS students. These scholarships are awarded at the time of admission and do not require a separate application. These awards are made to both international students and U.S. citizens who have demonstrated excellent academic ability and who have demonstrated enthusiasm and knowledge in the field of Bioinformatics.

BU offers the COS Pivot service to students with an @bu.edu email address. The database is updated on a daily basis and offers a wide variety of federal, non-federal, foundation, and private funding opportunities for any discipline. With the BU subscription, you can save search criteria and receive weekly updates on new and upcoming funding opportunities. For instructions to set up your account, go to the COS Pivot How-To Guide.

Additional Resources

• GRS Financial Aid
• Loan calculators, deferment and consolidation information: U.S. Department of Education Direct Loans