Program Overview

Graduate Programs

The Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences offers several graduate programs, including:

• PhD Program
• MD/PhD Program
• Genetic Counseling Training Program
• MS Computational Genomic Medicine
• Functional Genomics Training Program

PhD Program

The PhD program in Genetics and Genome Sciences is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in genetics and genomics. The program includes:

Program Requirements

• Courses
• Plan of Study
• Program Requirements
• Guidelines and Forms

Program Requirements

The program requirements for the PhD in Genetics and Genome Sciences include:

• PhD Thesis Guidelines
• Pre-Proposal Defense Committee Meeting Guidelines
• Qualifying Exam Guidelines
• Post-Proposal Defense Committee Meeting Guidelines
• Graduate Student Handbook
• PhD Dissertation Guidelines
• PhD Graduation Procedure

Other Requirements

In addition to the program requirements, students must also meet the following requirements:

• Students meet twice per year with Thesis Committee
• Students meet once per year with Genetics and Genome Sciences Graduate Education Committee
• Genetics Student Seminar (weekly attendance, yearly presentation)
• Genetics Journal Club (weekly attendance, yearly presentation)
• Genetics Retreat (yearly participation, organized by students)
• Two first-author, peer-reviewed publications

Research Rotations

The main purpose of research rotations is to facilitate the selection of a thesis advisor. A minimum of three rotations of four-to-six-week duration must be completed within the first year.

Choosing a Thesis Advisor

First-year students choose a thesis advisor by the end of the first semester, as a joint decision by the student, the prospective advisor, and the Genetics Graduate Student Program Committee.

Selection of PhD Thesis Committee

After selection of a research project, students assemble a PhD thesis committee in consultation with his/her advisor and the program director.

Proposal Defense

Students must pass the oral defense of a written thesis proposal. This written proposal is defended orally by the student and judged by a thesis committee in the absence of the research advisor.

Seminars and Journal Clubs

Students are expected to participate in ongoing journal clubs and research seminars that provide regular opportunities for developing oral presentation skills and the ability to analyze experimental work critically.

Doctoral Research and Publication Requirements

Dissertation research and publication are the most important aspects of graduate education. Writing a scientific paper as the lead author is an essential pedagogical experience in research training. Trainees must be accomplished in the effective communication of novel and significant results of their research. The goal of a PhD is to complete and publish a substantial body of original research. In the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, this usually takes the form of two first-author manuscripts.