Curriculum

First Year Curriculum

The four core courses are designed for Ph.D. students enrolled in the Graduate Programs in the Molecular BioSciences. They are intended to be taken concurrently as two groups of two courses, together with the two seminars which will discuss papers assigned in the core courses. The seminar will not take the place of assigned seminars/topics courses required by the specific graduate programs. The enrollment in the core courses and seminars will be limited to approximately 45 students, and registration is by special permission of the Course Director. In addition, the prerequisites for Cell Biology and Microbial and Molecular Genetics are Biochemistry 501 and 502.

Program Requirements

First year

A student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and pass Part I of the Qualifying Examination to remain in the Ph.D. Program after the first year. The student must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to take the qualifying examination. The student should select a thesis advisor by the beginning of the second year. Consideration should be given to the specific requirements of the different Graduate Programs in planning an academic program for Year Two.Second yearA student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25 and pass Parts I and II of the Qualifying Examination by June 15 to remain in the Ph.D. Program after the second year. The student must have a minimum GPA of 3.25 to take Part II. The student should select a specific Graduate Program by the end of Year Two, at the time of Part II of the Qualifying Examination at the latest.

Student appeals may be made in writing to the Executive Committee of the Graduate Programs in Molecular BioSciences.Third year and beyondThe requirements after the third year will be established by the specific Graduate Program selected by the student. It is expected that the student will have a Thesis Committee that will meet at least annually to monitor the progress of the student.

The Qualifying Examination will be in two parts:Part I. To be taken in June of the first year, will be a written examination based on a selection of journal articles given to the students at least 14 days before the examination. 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.

This examination format has been used for several years by the two Biochemistry Programs and was adopted a year ago by the Cell and Developmental Biology Program. The examination will be prepared and graded on a pass/fail basis by a committee of members representing the different programs.

Part II. To be taken by June 15 of the second year, at the latest. The student will write a proposal that will be defended orally before a committee. The proposal will contain a hypothesis with specific aims, background and significance of the hypothesis, and a plan for accomplishing the research. The purpose of this part of the examination is to determine if the student is intellectually prepared to begin dissertation research.

The written research proposal will be presented to the Examination Committee of four faculty members at least a week before the examination. The student's thesis advisor may not be a member of the Examination Committee. If the thesis advisor wishes, he/she may sit in the examination as an observer, but may not participate in the discussion, and must be absent from deliberations leading to a decision.

Third year and beyond

The requirements after the third year will be established by the specific Graduate Program selected by the student. It is expected that the student will have a Thesis Committee that will meet at least annually to monitor the progress of the student.