This page is a resource for current students in the Epidemiology PhD program. It contains forms that are required by the Graduate School and the PhD program for various stages of the degree program as well as resources to help you in your studies, such as guidelines for preparing your dissertation.
We hope that you find this page useful. Please send any suggestions for this page to the Sr. Program Manager.
Program Handbook
For more details about our program policies and expectations, please feel free to review our Program Handbook. (updated October 2025)
Forms for the PhD Program
Graduate School Academic Forms
The following forms are used throughout a students doctoral training and are submitted via the Doctoral Actions portal within YES.
- Appoint or modify the Ph.D. committee
- Request for Independent Study
- Schedule or modify the qualifying exam
- Schedule or modify the dissertation defense
- Extend deadline to enter candidacy (Qualifying Exam Extension)
- Extend candidacy (to defend and graduate)
- Submit the results of the qualifying exam
- Submit the results of the dissertation defense
More information is available on the Graduate School’s Academic Forms & Guidelines webpage.
Module Request
Students are required to complete 3 modules throughout their training. Use the form below to submit a request for approval by the Director of Graduate Studies
Dissertation Resources
The Graduate School outlines the following information on their website regarding dissertation submission:
- For degree conferral at May commencement ceremony and August or December graduate dates, complete the Intent to Graduate Form through the YES Student portal.
- For intra-term degree conferral, complete an Application for Intra-term Graduation for the month you plan to graduate. Deadline dates are listed in the table on the Intra-term Graduation website. You may choose to walk in the May commencement ceremony that follows your degree conferral.
- Obtain final approval of your document content from your thesis/dissertation director and committee members.
- Follow the Guidelines set forth in the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines for assistance with formatting.
- Submit your thesis to VIREO for format review. For questions or to request an in person format review, contact etdadmin@vanderbilt.edu.
- Following format approval, submit final document via VIREO.
Authors determine the access to their work when creating their VIREO account. The availability can be changed at a later time by the author or by a graduate school staff member, with permission from the author.
Epi PhD Program Dissertation Guidance
Timelines
General Timeline For Epi Doctoral Program
Examination Timeline Leading to Dissertation Defense
Guidelines
Protocol and Common Courtesies for Dealing with Your Dissertation Committee
General Guidelines for the Dissertation Proposal
Example
Additional dissertation examples can be found in our Alumni Profiles.
***This information and the attached forms are intended to be a resource for you as you progress through the PhD program. Please note that the Graduate School has the most up-to-date forms and guidelines for graduation requirements, and as such will supersede any information listed on this website.***