GRADUATE PROGRAM IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

About the PhD Program

The Graduate Program in the 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 consortium of the Graduate Programs in Molecular BioSciences at the Rutgers University and UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The consortium currently is made up of seven graduate programs from the two Universities and the function is to coordinate the recruitment, admissions, and 1st year core curriculum offering of Ph. D. students, as well as to give our students maximum flexibility in pursuing their studies and research interests and in selecting Ph. D. research advisors from among the more than 200 faculty members.

The CDB program has currently 109 faculty members from a number of departments in the two universities. Faculty research spans the field 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 M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. All Ph.D. students are expected to complete a set of core courses during their first two years in the Program that includes cell biology, developmental biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics, and lab rotations. The requirements include completing a series of core/elective courses and laboratory research (totaling a minimum of 72 credits), passing parts I and II of the qualifying examination, and writing and defending a research dissertation.

You may also address CDB program specific questions to:

Richard Padgett, Director
Graduate Program in Cell and Developmental Biology
Waksman Institute
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1059
Tel: (732) 445-0251
FAX: (732) 445-5735
Email: Padgett@waksman.rutgers.edu

GUIDE FOR STUDENTS IN THE PROGRAM LEADING TO a Ph.D. DEGREE IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

Entrance Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent with at least a grade point average of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) is required. The most appropriate preparation is an undergraduate major in biology (molecular, cellular, developmental, or microbiology), biochemistry, or chemistry. Applicants are also expected to have an adequate background in calculus and physics.

Admission is competitive and is based on academic work, letters of recommendation, and scores on the GRE General Test and Subject Test. TOEFL scores are required of students from countries on which English is not the native language.

Course Requirements

Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 72 credits is required for the Ph.D. degree. This is to include a minimum of 33 credits of course work and at least 39 credits of research (148:701, 702).

Transfer of Credit

Credit may not be transferred until 12 credits of graduate courses with grades of B or better have been completed in the Graduate School, New Brunswick. Forms for transfer credit may be obtained from either the program Office of the Graduate School. The request for transfer of credits must be approved by the Director of the Graduate Program. A maximum of 24 course credits is transferable. Transfer of credit will be allowed only for those courses relevant to the student’s program. For transfer, courses must have been taken within the past 6 years and passed with a grade of B or better.

Graduate Advisor

The Molecular BioSciences Graduate Programs has a Faculty Committee of Advisors for the first year Ph.D. Students in the Molecular BioSciences Programs. Contact Ms. Carolyn Ambrose or Diane Murano for specifics.

Examinations

Qualifying Examination for the Ph.D. The qualifying examination is divided into two parts: (I) a comprehensive examination of the student’s general knowledge in cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and cognate disciplines, and (II) evaluation of the student’s research potential and dissertation potential. All Ph.D. students are required to take part I of the examination upon completion of either the first year of full-time study or the core curriculum, whichever comes first.

Part II of the examination should take place once the student has identified a thesis research laboratory (usually by the end of the second year of full time study). The student, with the help of his/her thesis advisor will be asked to put together an examination committee consisting of: Chair (advisor), two faculty members from within the program, and one member outside the program. Exceptions to this will be made only with prior written approval of the program director. The committee chairperson is to submit a written report to the program director of the result of this examination (pass/fail).

Requirements for admission to Ph.D. Candidacy are: (i) completion of the core curriculum, (ii) carrying a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, and (iii) satisfactory completion of Parts I and II of the qualifying examination. Following admission to candidacy the student is expected to keep his/her thesis advisory committee members informed of research progress in annual committee meetings. During the last semester of registration, the Ph.D. student is to give a public seminar. This may be held as part of the thesis defense.

The Thesis Dissertation Committee The student is to present his/her thesis dissertation before a committee of 4: Chair (the thesis advisor, CDB member), 2 faculty members from the CDB program, and an outside member*. The final draft of the dissertation should be prepared in strict accordance with the instructions given in the pamphlet Style Guide for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation, available at the Office of Graduate School. Two copies of the thesis are required to be submitted to The Graduate Office, and one copy to the Graduate Program’s office.

The dissertation itself must be a single entity and a clearly written account of the student¹s original research. In addition to a description of the details and results of the research, it should contain an appropriate general and contextual introduction, written at a level accessible to most other workers in the wider field. If the thesis consists of more than one piece of research, the elements of the dissertation must be related parts of a common research program and should be tied together in the introduction and the conclusion.

The final examination and dissertation defense is open to the public. An announcement of the final examination and dissertation defense must be posted and/or sent to the biosciences community via email listservs.

Policy on the “Outside Member”

The Graduate School requires that one member of a Ph.D. dissertation committee be an individual who is not a member of the student’s degree program. This individual may be a Rutgers faculty member or someone from outside the university. Outside members are intended to bring a fresh perspective to the supervision of a student’s research and also to bring an unbiased look at the quality of the work. Therefore, they must be people with no conflict of interest with regard to assessment of the student’s work. 

In some fields, especially the biomedical sciences, there is such a broad inclusion of relevant individuals on program faculties that it has become quite difficult to find a Rutgers faculty member to appoint as an outside member of a dissertation committee who is not already a member of the program faculty. At the same time, the membership of these programs is drawn from a wide range of units within Rutgers and UMDNJ, such that there can easily be faculty members of a program who have little professional contact.

It is therefore permissible, in such situations, that the “outside” member be drawn from within the program faculty when it can be shown that that individual has no personal or professional ties to the student, the adviser and other members of the committee. In these cases the outside member may not be a member of a department already represented on the committee. In addition, the “outside” member may not serve as dissertation committee chair. Requests for these exceptions will have to demonstrate that this is the case and will require approval by the Graduate School.

*The outside examiner can be either outside the Program or the University. For appointments of “outside examiners” who do not hold any membership in the graduate faculty, approval of the Program Director and the Graduate School is necessary. The student and/or the advisor is to make the request to the Program Director, who in turn will forward to the Office of the Graduate School a letter requesting the appointment of this individual to the committee.

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Curriculum

Total course credits: 33, Thesis Research (148:701,702): 24 credits minimum. The Graduate School requires a minimum of 72 credits consisting of coursework and thesis research for the Ph.D. degree.

Qualifying Examination

The Ph.D. qualifying examination consists of two parts. The first part is a written comprehensive test. The second will be an oral examination based on a proposal written on the area of the student’s dissertation research.

Part I of Qualifying Examination

To be held in June of the first year or after completion of the set of 4 core courses. The students will be given a selection of journal articles at least 14 days prior to the exam. There will be a two-day written exam related to these articles to test basic knowledge, comprehension of the papers, and experimental design. The questions can be specific as well as wide-ranging.

The examination will be prepared and graded on a pass/fail basis by a committee of faculty members. A student must have a GPA of at least 3.0 to sit for the examination and must pass the examination to remain in the Ph. D. program.

If the performance of a student on the examination is unsatisfactory, the student may be given another chance. If that examination is still unsatisfactory the student will be required to terminate from the program.

Part II of Qualifying Examination

Research Proposal: The student should have a permanent thesis advisor by the beginning of their second year of Ph.D. studies, and it is then that the student should work towards completing part II of the qualifying examination. Since he/she will be in the initial stages of the research problem the research proposal presents an opportunity to thoroughly research the background of the problem and to develop a logical research plan for the dissertation research. Preliminary research results are not required for this proposal and completion of this part of the examination.

The proposal will consist of an introduction and background relevant to the proposed study, a statement of the hypothesis to be tested, and the experimental plan. It will be presented to a committee of at least 4 members (the advisor, 2 other faculty members of the CDB faculty, and an outside member). The presentation will be followed by questions from the committee relating to problems that may arise with the proposed research plan, expected results and their interpretation and alternate experimental strategies.

GENERAL ACADEMIC GUIDELINES

Academic Standards and Termination: A student is required to carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing in the program. It is also expected that the student will receive a grade of “Satisfactory” (S) for research credits. Students failing to achieve the 3.0 GPA will be sent a warning letter and be given a year to remedy that deficiency, and to bring his/her cumulative GPA up to 3.0 or better. Failing to do so will result in termination from the program. A notice of termination will be sent to the Dean of the Graduate School- New Brunswick.

Progress Report: For students that have passed their qualifying examination and admitted to the Ph.D. candidacy, he/she must meet with a thesis advisory committee at least once every academic year and submit a written progress report to the Program Office by June 15. The Progress Report will be used by the faculty in its annual Review of student accomplishment. It is essential that the student’s research advisor make sure that each student maintains good progress toward his/her degree and schedules annual meetings with his/her thesis advisory committee.

Language Requirements: Competence in written English is required. The Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Program has no foreign language requirement.

Registration Requirements: All students are required to maintain continuous registration until the completion of the final examination. Students will have to re-apply for admission if there is a lapse in their matriculation. Ph.D. students, who are on campus, including all those assistantships and everyone else whose academic activities are here, must register for a minimum of 3 credits per semester. Ph.D. students that are away from the campus (i.e. Not working or residing in the tri-state area), must register for a minimum of 1-credit of research. For M.S. students, the minimal registration requirement is MATRICULATION CONTINUED (148:800, 0 credit). Contact either the program office or the graduate school for specifics.

Restriction on the enrollment in the medical School courses: Enrollment in the Medical School courses requires permission of the student’s advisor and the course instructor. Normally, a student may take no more than 7 credits of course work offered by the Medical School in any given semester.

Requirements for the transfer from non-matriculated to matriculated status: Non-matriculated student who wishes to be considered for admission into a degree program may submit a full application to the Graduate School for consideration of admission to the CBD program.