Mar 28, 2024  
Graduate Record 2009-2010 
    
Graduate Record 2009-2010 [ARCHIVED RECORD]

Cell Biology


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Application and Admission


Prospective students should apply through the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Programs (BIMS) and indicate Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology (MCDB) as the Area of Interest. Admission into the MCDB graduate program is based on a combination of criteria including undergraduate and graduate transcripts, GRE scores, letters of recommendation and previous research experience. Applicants should have a B.S., B.A., M.S., or M.A. degree in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or one of the related sciences with a background in biology. A master’s degree is not required before admission to the Ph.D. program. Organic chemistry and mathematics through college algebra or trigonometry are required. Calculus and biochemistry are strongly recommended. Students are not accepted for study toward the master’s degree.

Degree Requirements


During the first year of study, students are required to complete 2-3 lab rotations and an approved program of advanced courses. Beyond the requisite core courses, the course of study varies considerably among students, is designed to avoid course duplication, and is based on the particular research interest of the student. In the Spring semester of the second year, students are required to pass a written exam and successfully defend an oral research proposal as qualification to advance to candidacy.

One of the primary expectations for the Ph.D. degree in Cell Biology is the ability of the student to carry out relatively independent research while matriculating with the goal of becoming an independent investigator upon completion of the program. In addition, the dissertation must represent an original and significant contribution to science and must be of merit sufficient to achieve publication in a professional peer-reviewed journal. Students are required to publish a minimum of one article as a first author in a peer reviewed professional journal prior to the dissertation defense.

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