Joint Graduate Program in Cell & Developmental Biology

The Graduate Program in Cell and Developmental Biology (abbreviated as the CDB program) is part of a large, diverse, and highly interactive community of biological scientists that form the Molecular BioScience Graduate Program at Rutgers University and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. This consortium currently is made up of seven graduate programs from the two adjacent universities that functions to coordinate the recruitment, admissions, and first year core curriculum offering of Ph.D. students, as well as to give aid our students in selecting Ph.D. research advisers from among the more than 200 faculty members on campus. The CDB program currently has approximately 90 faculty members from a number of departments in the two universities. Faculty research spans the fields of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, drawing from diverse experimental systems to study developmental, human and molecular genetics; signal transduction and regulation of gene expression; developmental biology; regulation, structure and function of cytoskeleton; cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions; cellular and molecular endocrinology; ultrastructural and molecular analysis of mammalian cells; and neurobiology.

The CDB Program offers advanced studies leading to the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees:

All Ph.D. students are expected to complete a set of core courses during their first year that includes developmental biology, cell biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics, and laboratory rotations. The Ph.D. requirements include completing a series of core/elective courses and laboratory research, passing parts I and II of the qualifying examination, and writing and defending a research dissertation. Programs for the Master's degree require a minimum of 24 course credits, 6 credits of research, and the satisfactory completion and defense of the thesis.

Financial Aid:

All Ph.D. students are guaranteed a competitive stipend, health coverage, and tuition remission for the duration of their graduate studies, provided that academic standards are met and progress towards a Ph.D. is maintained. All students should apply to the Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Program - these applications will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee of the consolidated Graduate Programs in Molecular BioSciences. The application deadline is January 5 of each year, but the Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications early in December.