I. Purpose
It is the purpose of the policy to define the value of an academic credit in courses in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
II. Scope
This policy applies to all courses offered by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of New York Medical College.
III. Definitions
None
IV. Policy
The academic period for GSBMS courses is the semester, which typically consists of 15 -16 weeks for instruction and exams in the Fall and Spring semesters, or 8 weeks in the Summer term (See Academic Calendar: https://www.nymc.edu/gsbms/academic-calendar/).
GSBMS courses offered in evening sessions are typically delivered in one 2-hour session per week (2 credit courses), one 3-hour session or two 1.5-hour sessions per week (3 credit courses), or two 2-hour sessions per week (4 credit courses). During the Summer term, the number of class sessions per week is doubled so that the same aggregate number of class hours are scheduled during this shorter term’s duration. Graduate credit for medical school courses involve comparable total hour guidelines, but some of these classes have fewer numbers of weeks during which there are more sessions per week.
Time allocated for faculty instruction in these guidelines may include time used for summative assessment of student performance. Time for such testing should generally not exceed 15% of the class sessions or class time allocated for a course.
Credit for each course is delineated in credit hours according to the guidelines below.
Credit hour guidelines:
Didactic lecture-based courses: Each credit hour corresponds to 1 hour/week of faculty instruction and a recommended 2 hours/week of out-of-class student preparation time.
Laboratory courses: Each credit hour corresponds to 2-4 hours/week of laboratory exercises with faculty instruction or oversight.
Graduate credit for medical school courses (e.g. Gross Anatomy, Histology, Biochemistry, Physiology and Neural Science): Each credit hour corresponds to ~1 hour/week of faculty instruction including small group, clinical case reviews and/or laboratory/demonstrations, or a total of ~13-15 hours/credit of faculty instruction. A minimum of 4 hours per class session is recommended for out-of-class preparation since graduate students will be required to self-learn background knowledge that medical students are assumed to know from other courses (e.g. Anatomy and Histology).
Seminar–style or Directed Reading-style Courses: Each credit hour corresponds to 1 hour/week of Faculty/Student meeting time with a recommended minimum of 2 hours/week of out-of-class student preparation time.
Journal Clubs: Each credit hour corresponds to 1 hour/week of student participation time and a recommended 2 hours/week of out-of-class preparation time. In addition, students are expected to deliver 1-2 journal club presentations/semester, which requires significant additional out-of-class preparation time.
Seminar/Research Rounds: Each credit hour corresponds to 1 hour/week of student participation time and a recommended 2 hours/week of out-of-class preparation time.
Research Rotations and Master’s Thesis Research: Each credit hour corresponds to ~10-20 hours/week of laboratory participation with an additional 1 hour/week of faculty and lab meeting discussions.
Practicum: Each credit hour corresponds to 70 hours or the equivalent of hands-on experience and apprenticeship, including faculty instruction, skill development, and assessment.
Master’s Independent Study: This course reflects the student’s activity in researching and writing the Master’s Literature Review. Each credit hour corresponds to ~5 hours/week of such activity plus additional time (~1 hour/week/4 credits) meeting with a faculty advisor to discuss progress on the work.
Master’s Literature Reviews and Master’s Thesis: These are zero-credit courses used to denote completion and formal approval of the Master’s Literature Review and Master’s Thesis, respectively, on the student’s academic record.
Doctoral Dissertation Research: Each credit in this type of course designates a major effort directed towards the doctoral candidate’s original dissertation research project. Each credit of doctoral dissertation research corresponds to a minimum of 20 hours/week of laboratory research with an additional 1 hour/week of faculty and lab meeting discussions and advisement.
V. Policy Authors
GSBMS Curriculum Committee (2016, 2021)
Christopher S. Leonard, PhD, Chair (2016)
Francis L. Belloni, PhD, Chair (2021)
VI. Related Policies
VII. Procedure
All new courses are expected to adhere to these guidelines and will be evaluated according to these guidelines by the GSBMS curriculum committee upon receipt of the application for a new course.
In addition, the curriculum committee will re-evaluate ongoing courses periodically (every 5 years) or when these guidelines change, to insure compliance.
