Department of Human Genetics

Written Proposal

The written proposal should be modelled on NIH research grant applications. Students are encouraged to obtain successful prelim proposals from other students that have passed their preliminary exam. As a rule of thumb, the research proposed should be a reasonable goal for a principal investigator working with a technician, plus 1-2 students, over a 3-5 year period. The research proposal must be 20-25 pages in length, double-spaced, Times 12 point font, 1 inch margins all around, and should stay within the guidelines below. Do not waste precious space on trivial details, only to fail to communicate central ideas. The student is expected, however, to understand all aspects of the experimental procedures that are proposed, and questions addressing experimental protocols may be raised during the oral exam.