Program Overview

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology is a 75 semester credit hour program beyond the baccalaureate degree. The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in molecular and cell biology, preparing them for careers in research and academia.

Faculty

The program is led by a team of experienced faculty members, including:

• Professors: Juan E. Gonz·lez, Kelli Palmer, Lawrence J. Reitzer, Donal Skinner, Stephen Spiro, Li Zhang, Michael Qiwei Zhang
  • Associate Professors: Joseph Boll, Nicole De Nisco, Nikki Delk, Tian Hong, Tae Hoon Kim, Faruck Morcos, Duane D. Winkler, Zhenyu Xuan
  • Assistant Professors: Nicholas Dillon, Xintong Dong, Lin Jia, Purna Joshi, Brandon Kim, Erica Sanchez, Darshan Sapkota, Yuki Shindo
  • Professors Emeriti: Lee A. Bulla, Donald M. Gray
  • Associate Professors Emeriti: Gail A. M. Breen, Dennis L. Miller

Degree Objectives

All PhD students must satisfactorily complete a total of at least 75 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree, including:

• Two of four core courses:
  • BIOL 5410 Biochemistry
  • BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology
  • BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology
  • BIOL 5440 Cell Biology
• In the first year, PhD candidates must perform two laboratory rotations, and take:
  • BIOL 6V02 The Art of Scientific Presentation
  • BIOL 6193 Colloquium in Molecular and Cell Biology
• At the end of the first year, students are evaluated based upon performance in the core classes, laboratory rotations, and performance as teaching assistants (if applicable)
• Students who pass this evaluation must complete:
  • BIOL 6398 The Art of Scientific Writing in their second year
  • Two graded electives (for which a letter grade is assigned) before graduation
• Students must also pass a written and oral qualifying examination by the end of year two to be eligible to continue in the PhD program

Program Requirements

• PhD students will earn an MS degree in Molecular and Cell Biology after satisfactory completion of:
  • Two core courses
  • BIOL 6398
  • 36 total hours
  • Attempting the qualifying examination in their second year
• A dissertation defense will be conducted after the dissertation has been written
• All students are required to have accepted for publication a minimum of one manuscript in an internationally recognized, peer-reviewed scientific journal
• There is no foreign language requirement