The Genetic Counseling Graduate Program (GCGP) at UB is a holistic training program that fluidly adapts to the dynamic and complex relationship between scientific knowledge and humanistic decision-making. Our mission is to train socially and culturally conscious genetic counselors, who will advance health in the region by increasing access to genetics and genomic medicine for all people.
Graduate students will benefit from our unique transdisciplinary approach to education and emphasis on community engagement. They will be prepared to fill diverse roles in academia, clinical practice, public health policy, pharmacogenomics and biotechnology, government, or industry. Our program objectives are to:
The GCGP is in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences building at 955 Main Street in Buffalo, N.Y. Students will complete all coursework and SP cases in this building.
The Office of Biomedical Education will orient new students to the systems and processes used by UB. Information will be updated on the Graduate Student Orientation website.
UB master’s students should use the HUB Student Center. Students have self-service access to clearly defined program requirements through their HUB Student Center via the Academic Advisement Report (AAR). The AAR is an advising tool that tracks student progress toward graduation showing how completed courses and future registration will fulfill degree requirements.
GCGP students will use Typhon Group web-based software to log all client encounters. Login information and instructions will be sent by program leadership prior to fieldwork observations.
Matriculating students pursue a course of study that will lead to a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling. This MS degree is 61 credit hours, completed over 21 months and includes coursework, fieldwork, thesis research, and supplementary activities. At this time, the program can only admit full-time students.
Required courses are listed on the program website. Required supplementary activities include:
In addition to the evaluation methods described in the syllabi for coursework, fieldwork and thesis research, students will complete two additional standardized patient (SP) cases and an oral exam during their training.
One SP case will occur before the start of the Y2 Fall semester and another during Y2 Spring. The student evaluation form from fieldwork will be used by program leadership to assess students. The expected levels of student performance by semester from the fieldwork syllabus will apply. Students who do not meet minimum expectations will complete an additional assignment during subsequent fieldwork that is designed by the program director.
Oral exams will occur during final exam week in Y2 Fall. Students will demonstrate their ability to think critically through a genetic counseling case from preparation to follow up. The fieldwork rubric will be used to evaluate student acquisition of the practice-based competencies. Performance on oral exams will inform the graduation readiness assessment that occurs in January of Y2. Unsatisfactory performance will result in remedial work in the relevant area, as determined by the program director.
Students are expected to obtain a grade of B or better in all required courses and to maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from the program (see policies on academic probation and dismissal).
The only course with a prerequisite on record is Genetic Epidemiology (requiring successful completion of Statistical Methods I). Therefore, if a student were to fail a course, they could typically proceed with the next semester’s coursework. Plans to repeat coursework would then be individualized, based on the timing and content of the course failure (see Remediation).
All students will complete a formal thesis. Students will undertake the following steps in preparing their master’s thesis:
A public oral-defense-of-thesis examination and electronic submission of the resulting master's thesis to the Graduate School is mandatory. The thesis defense will be attended by the student’s thesis committee, program leadership, and other members of the genetic counseling faculty.
| Fall | Spring | |
|---|---|---|
| Genetic Counseling I | Genetic Counseling II | |
| Human Genetics | Foundations in Medical Genetics | |
| Statistical Methods I | Genetic Epidemiology | Bioinformatics |
| Clinical Genomics I | Clinical Genomics II | |
| Counseling & Ethics I | Counseling & Ethics II | |
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| Community Outreach, Observations | Practice SP Cases, Observations Continue |
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| N/A | Thesis Research I |
| All Year |
|---|
| Division of Genetics Weekly Meetings, Craniofacial Conf (1), Ob-Gyn Grand Rounds (1) |
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| Adv Prof Dev for GCs I | Adv Prof Dev for GCs II |
| Clinical Genomics III | Clinical Genomics IV |
| Counseling & Ethics III | Counseling & Ethics IV |
| Advanced Medical Genetics | N/A |
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| Fall Rotations | Spring Rotations |
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| Thesis Research III | Thesis Research IV, Public Defense |
| All Year |
|---|
| Division of Genetics Weekly Meetings, Craniofacial Conf (1), Ob-Gyn Grand Rounds (1), Oral Exam (Fall), SP Case (Spring) |
According to the Faculty Council Policy on Graduate Education in the Jacobs School, student matriculation is overseen by a Committee of Faculty chaired by the Program Director (PD). The PD is appointed by the Dean of Biomedical Education and the committee is chosen by the PD. In the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, this group is referred to as "program leadership" to mirror the Standards of Accreditation for Graduate Programs in Genetic Counseling.
Program leadership is responsible for monitoring the progress of graduate students in coursework, fieldwork, and research via assessment of grades and evaluation forms and meetings with students, course instructors, fieldwork supervisors and research advisors.
Each student will be assigned a mentor from the program leadership team. There are three required mentor meetings in the Fall, Summer, and Spring semesters (see the Mentor_Mentee Meeting Form in your student record for the full schedule). Program leadership will communicate with students about their overall progress, individual educational needs, and goals. In January of Y2, the progress meeting will include a formal evaluation of graduation readiness. Program leadership is also available to meet with all students upon request to discuss any issues related to academic, fieldwork or research progress. Students who are not making sufficient progress will be subject to remedial assignments and/or repeating courses as described throughout this handbook.
Program leadership works with the Office of Research and Graduate Education to ensure School-wide policies are met. They will inform students of actions by the department faculty and will informally mediate minor disputes when requested by a student.
During Thesis Research I in the second semester, students will work with their course instructors to identify a thesis mentor. Students are encouraged to consult with program leadership and other faculty members, as needed or desired. Beginning in the Summer, the mentor will become the primary advisor for the student’s research project and facilitate two meetings: a planning meeting with the student and a progress meeting with the thesis committee.
The thesis committee is chaired by the mentor and consists of a minimum of three graduate faculty members – the mentor, a program leader, and an additional member whose expertise is relevant to the area of research the student is planning to complete. The student may have a second committee meeting in the Fall, if advised by the mentor.
Finally, the thesis committee will convene in the Spring for the thesis defense. Committee members will complete an evaluation form that assesses the research project as whole, including completion of a comprehensive master’s thesis, oral and written presentation skills, and ability to work collaboratively.
The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) manages and assists with several of UB’s policies, like Discrimination and Harassment, Reasonable Accommodation, and Religious Accommodation and Expression. Please access their website for the most current versions of these policies, including the discrimination reporting process.
Reporting discrimination is considered a "protected activity" by law. That means that no one can take action against a person for reporting discrimination or participating as a witness in an investigation. Contact EDI with any concerns: diversity@buffalo.edu.
In case of emergency, contact University Police immediately at 716-645-2222, if you feel you are in danger. University Police should also be contacted to report any threatening or dangerous behavior.
Student Health Services provides care to registered UB students. Student Health Services is located at 4350 Maple Rd., Amherst, NY 14226. The phone number is 716-829-3316.
Counseling Services promotes the personal well-being and academic success of students by providing brief mental health services, educational programs, crisis intervention, and campus community consultation.
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The policies below are copied from the Graduate School’s policy library for your reference. They will be reviewed for accuracy annually. If there is a discrepancy between the student handbook and policy library, the policy library will be upheld.
The Student Code of Conduct outlines what is expected from you as a UB student. Here, you will find information about your rights and responsibilities, standards of behavior and an overview of student-related University policies.
During your first semester at UB you will be prompted to read and affirm the Student Code of Conduct.
Students who feel that they have been subjected to mistreatment and/or conduct which violates the Learning Environment (LE) Policy, or have witnessed behavior they believe violates the LE policy are encouraged to report the incident on the anonymous UB-wide Ethics Point System.
Since the university desires to promote student responsibility, there is no general rule concerning student class attendance. However, every class instructor shall provide to students a course syllabus during the first week of class that specifies attendance expectations, class dates and times, exams and any other required activities. Classes are to meet at the time and at the location listed in the official university course schedule, unless changed with the consent of the entire class. Instructors may take account of unexcused absences in determining course grades.
Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas.
Students are held to a high level of accountability and are expected to uphold our standards of honesty in order to sustain a fair learning environment. Academic dishonesty comes in many forms, including but not limited to:
The full policy, including timeline and possible sanctions can be found in the policy library.
It is an objective of the University at Buffalo and its Graduate School to encourage the prompt consultative resolution of grievances of graduate students as they arise and to provide orderly procedures for the formal consideration and resolution of complaints that cannot be resolved through consultation.
This set of procedures is designed to provide a well-defined, yet appropriately flexible structure that recognizes and reflects the issues unique to graduate education as well as academic areas common to all faculty-student or administrator-student relationships.
The following procedures provide a sequence of steps for the orderly and expeditious resolution of grievances initiated by graduate students. While recognizing and affirming the established principle that academic judgments and determinations are to be reached solely by academic professionals, it is the Graduate School's intention to secure, to the maximum extent feasible, equitable treatment of every party to a dispute. To that end, those who oversee the grievance process are charged to pay heed not only to issues of procedural integrity, but also to considerations of substantive fairness.
A grievance shall include, but is not restricted to, a complaint by a graduate student:
A grievance must be filed within one calendar year from the date of the alleged offense. The department chair (or program director where there is no chair oversight), college or school dean or the dean of the Graduate School may extend this time limit upon demonstration of good cause.
The Graduate School defines good academic standing as a student who is making acceptable progress toward a graduate degree or advanced certificate. All graduate students are expected to remain in good academic standing throughout the entire course of their study. To monitor graduate student academic standing, the chair/DGS/program director in charge of each graduate program will regularly review the academic records of its graduate students. Any graduate student who fails to remain in good academic standing will be placed on academic probation for the subsequent fall or spring term.
The Graduate School’s minimum academic requirements for each graduate student to remain in good academic standing are:
Note: S/U grades will not be used in GCP courses.
Individual college/schools may establish stricter academic standards. Academic requirements other than those established by the Graduate School are determined by the program faculty and approved by the appropriate decanal unit.
Students who are not in good academic standing as defined above, or who are put on academic probation, are not eligible to participate in university activities, including athletics.
Any graduate student who receives a grade of U or F in any course, including lab work or informal credit (e.g., independent study, research, dissertation guidance, etc.); or who indicates a lack of ability as determined by the director of graduate studies or student's academic advisor, must receive an immediate academic review. Upon completion of the academic review, the director of graduate studies may place the student on academic probation.
Any student who is not in good academic standing as defined above or who is otherwise determined to be making unsatisfactory academic progress must be placed on academic probation. A probationary letter must be issued to the student (with a copy to the advisor, if applicable) indicating the conditions that must be met and outlining an appropriate period of time in which to regain good academic standing. The outcome that will result if the conditions are not met must also be included in the probationary letter.
In general, academic review takes place at the end of each fall and spring semesters. After review, the department must issue probation letters (in late-December/early-January for fall, and/or in late-May for spring) to the appropriate students. Probation letters must indicate the terms of the probation and the pathway toward its removal. After the specified period outlined in the probation letter, the student must be sent another letter to either remove the probationary status or issue a second probationary letter with new conditions for regaining good academic standing, or to dismiss the student from the program.
At the graduate level, there are two types of courses: repeatable and not repeatable. Repeatable courses are informal offerings; not repeatable courses are formal didactic offerings:
Repeatable courses are informal courses, where the content of the course changes each time the course is taken. Repeatable courses include dissertation, research, thesis, project, or portfolio guidance, as well as special topics, independent study, and directed readings courses. Any limits to the number of times this type of course may be repeated are determined by the curricular requirements of each graduate program. Repeatable courses in the Genetic Counseling Program are GCP 713/722/732: Thesis Research II-IV.
On occasion a graduate student needs to retake a graduate course that is not repeatable due to attaining an insufficient grade. When a graduate student retakes a course that is not repeatable, only the highest grade earned in the course and its associated credits, will be counted toward the student's degree and calculated in the grade point average associated with the student's graduate degree program (i.e., the degree GPA). However, all grades earned for all courses attempted (including repeated courses) are calculated in the student's overall cumulative graduate GPA and are reflected on the student's graduate transcript.
The GCGP will utilize incomplete grades whenever possible. This interim grade may be used if a student needs more time to complete course requirements. The instructor must provide the student with the requirements left to be fulfilled, which could include remedial work.
Master's degrees must be completed within four years from the student's first registration date in that master's degree program.
Graduate students not meeting the written terms of their academic probation may be academically dismissed from the program by the director of graduate studies, chair of the department or graduate program director. Such dismissals shall be done in a timely fashion but no later than three weeks after the completion of the term. The Graduate School will be notified in writing of all such academic dismissals.
Graduate students who are dismissed for academic reasons from a graduate program will have a "GRD" (Graduate School) service indicator placed on their academic record to prevent future registration.
Under extraordinary circumstances, graduate students may petition for total academic withdrawal from a given term. The Graduate School will only consider cases where the student or department (on the student's behalf) can document:
Academic term withdrawal is for the entirety of a student's registration in that term (i.e., these cases are considered on an all or nothing basis). The Graduate School reserves the right to consult members of the faculty and others as appropriate when reviewing total academic withdrawal cases. Academic term withdrawal requests must be submitted within one term of the term in question. See the policy for more information.