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PhD Program Schedule

The PhD program’s focus is to hone each student’s critical thinking, problem solving, field-specific, communication and career planning skills while promoting their development as advocates for science and ethical research.

To accomplish these goals, students must complete a core curriculum, undertake research rotations, complete field-specific electives and undertake thesis research while successfully navigating key evaluation milestones.

Courses

Required Courses Year 1

GBS 601 - Responsible Conduct of Research, Part 1
BBS 614 - Scientific Inquiry in Biomedical Research
BBS 850 - 3 research rotations
Two Electives (2-4 credits each)

Required Courses Year 2

BBS 602 - Preparation for Qualifying Exam
Optional for students in IMP, they may substitute BBS 821 - Molecular and Cellular Immunology
One Elective (2-4 credits)
BBS 870 - Prequalifying Research
BBS 860 - Qualifying examination

Required Courses Year 3

GBS 602 - Responsible Conduct of Research, Part 2
BBS 900 - Thesis Research
BBS 865 - TRAC meeting

Required Courses Year 4 and Beyond

BBS 990 - Graduate Research
BBS 865 - TRAC meeting

Evaluation Milestones

Year 1

The student selects and is accepted by a Thesis Research Advisor by April 1st. The student is in good academic standing (GPA ≥ 3.0) in order to advance to year 2 or is approved for conditional advancement to Year 2 by the Academic Advancement Committee.

Year 2

The student successfully completes a written qualifying proposal and orally defends the proposal no later than June of their 2nd year. Each student is required to demonstrate competence in critical thinking, experimental design and problem solving and substantive area expertise.

Year 3 and Beyond

The student proposes an annual Individual Development Plan in which they:

present and discuss their immediate research and professional skills development goals to their Thesis Research Advisory Committee (TRAC).
receive feedback and advice from their research and professional skills IDP goals from their TRAC.
present and discuss their career planning goals with the staff of the Center for Biomedical Career Development.

The student’s thesis research progress and scientific development are reviewed by their Thesis Research Advisor.

Dissertation Defense

The public oral defense of the dissertation allows students to clearly explain their work and its contributions to the field. The dissertation defense allows the Dissertation Examination Committee to determine whether the student has satisfied the learning objectives of the doctoral program.