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The courses a student
takes will vary according to the program and the student’s
background. Each program has a number of required (or highly
recommended) Core Courses as well as a set of Elective Courses
(see below - Section 10). In some cases, a student may waive
core course requirements if he or she has taken equivalent
course(s) at the undergraduate or graduate level. A student
in the Biochemistry program must pass a proficiency exam before
a core course can be waived. Most formal course work is completed
by the end of the third or fourth semester of graduate study.
Graduate students will be assisted in their
choice of courses and the planning of their curriculum by
an Advisory Committee consisting of three faculty members.
Each graduate student will be assigned an advisory committee
at the beginning of his or her graduate education. This committee
will advise the student and monitor progress until a thesis
committee is in place. A major role of the advisory committee
will be to help the student choose the appropriate course
work to provide a solid basis and an up-to-date understanding
of their science. This will be tested in the Qualifying Examination
(see below - Section 4). Because of this, much of a student’s
graduate course work can be thought of as preparatory to the
Qualifying Examination.
All students must take BioS 408 (0 credits)
Responsible Conduct of Science within their first year of
graduate study.
All students are required to attend Departmental
Seminars and to enroll in BioS 406 (1 credit) Biological Sciences
Seminar at least twice in the first four semesters. |
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A regular status graduate student pursuing a
doctoral degree may receive
no more than two grades below B- in a course numbered
300 or above. They
will be dropped from the graduate program for poor scholarship at the
end of the semester in which they receive their third grade below B-. |
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Students in the Integrative Biology and Neuroscience
graduate program are required to spend at least one semester,
and no more than two semesters, working on a project in a laboratory
other than that of their Ph.D. advisor. Laboratory rotations
are highly recommended but are not required of students in the
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology graduate programs. |
4. Qualifying
Examination |
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To be taken after the third semester of course
work. This examination is designed to test students’ breadth
and depth of knowledge, and their proficiency in the science
related to their specific graduate program. The Qualifying Examination
will be prepared, administered, and graded by faculty associated
with specific graduate program(s). It will consist of a two-day
written examination and an oral examination. Program-associated
faculty will grade the written exam. (In the Molecular Biology
program, two faculty
members will grade each question of the written exam). The minimal
passing score for the written exam will be 70%. If a student
passes the written exam, he or she will progress to the oral
exam which will be administered and evaluated by program-associated
faculty. The oral exam is a second chance for a student to demonstrate
breadth of knowledge and up-to-date understanding of their science.
If a student fails the written exam, he or she will be given
the opportunity to take the exam again the next time it is offered,
typically, at the end of the next semester. If a student passes
the written exam but fails the oral, he or she will be given
the opportunity to repeat that section of the exam, typically
at the end of the next semester. If a student fails the exam
twice, he or she will be terminated from the graduate program.
Faculty may recommend that a
student who fails the Qualifying Exam leave with a “terminal”
Master’s degree. To do so, students must complete all
of the requirements for the M.S. degree in their program. Faculty
who evaluate the student’s performance on the Qualifying
Exam reserve the right to require the student to repeat the
written and/or the oral parts of the exam, and to recommend
the “terminal” Master’s degree path. |
5. Thesis
Proposal/General Examination |
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The presentation of the Thesis
Proposal/General Examination will be scheduled after the fifth
semester. Graduate students will have first established an
agreement with a faculty member to carry out their research
project in that lab. With input from the thesis advisor, the
student will prepare a written Thesis Proposal, in the format
of a research grant proposal, which will describe the thesis
project. The proposal will be presented orally to the Thesis
Committee (see below - Section 6), discussed, and agreed upon.
A copy of the thesis proposal, with a Title Page signed by
all members of the thesis committee, must be submitted to
the Graduate Programs Office of the College of Arts and Sciences
(University rules).
The Thesis Committee will also use this forum
to question the graduate student about specific aspects of
the research, alternative experimental approaches, general
science related to the project, etc. This will constitute
the “General Examination.” This examination is
designed to ensure that a student has an adequate understanding
of the science related to his or her field of study, is sufficiently
prepared to carry out the research, and has demonstrated adequate
potential to be considered a candidate for the doctoral degree
and ultimately, to be successful as a doctoral degree recipient.
A satisfactory performance by the graduate student will constitute
the passing of the General Examination. (The form “Report
on the General Doctoral Examination” must be signed
by all committee members and submitted to the Graduate Programs
Office of the College of Arts and Sciences after the successful
completion of this exam). If the Thesis Committee decides
that a student’s performance on the General Examination
is unsatisfactory, they may recommend at this point that the
student not proceed toward the doctoral degree, but rather
attain the terminal Master’s degree. If a student contests
this decision, he or she reserves the right to request that
conditions be established by the thesis committee that, if
fulfilled, would allow the student to qualify as a doctoral
degree candidate. Examples of such conditions may be repeating
the oral examination, demonstrating progress in research,
or fulfilling other requirements determined by the thesis
committee. If conditions are not met, the student will not
be allowed to proceed in the doctoral degree track and will
have the option of fulfilling the requirements for the Master’s
degree and leaving with that degree.
When a student has attained the appropriate
number of credits (72 credits beyond the Bachelor’s
degree or 48 beyond the Master’s degree) and the thesis
proposal is submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences,
the student is officially considered a Doctoral Degree Candidate.
In subsequent semesters, a student can register for Maintenance
of Candidacy credits.
It is understood that a thesis project may
often diverge from the original plan. Any significant deviation
from the original thesis research plan must be worked out
between the graduate student and the thesis advisor, communicated
to the thesis committee, and agreed upon. A graduate student
must hold regular thesis committee meetings. The purpose of
these meetings is to discuss progress, problems, changes to
the research plan, etc. |
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The Thesis Committee will consist of three faculty,
in addition to the thesis advisor, one of whom will be outside
the department. The thesis advisor will chair and be a member
of the thesis committee. The Thesis Committee will replace the
Advisory Committee established when the student entered the
program. It will take over the responsibility of advising the
student and monitoring the student’s progress toward degree. |
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The format of the thesis may vary. The Thesis
Committee and the student together will decide on an acceptable
thesis format. The requirements for the written thesis, the
timetable for the submission of a draft of this document and
the final version of the thesis, the defense, etc. are established
by the university and are followed by graduate students in this
department. |
8.
Additional Requirements |
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All students are expected to participate in
graduate student colloquia, Department Open House poster sessions,
and in discipline-related tea-time seminars and lunch-time seminars. |
9. Meetings
with Graduate Committee |
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Graduate students who have not reached candidacy
for the doctoral degree will meet with the Graduate Committee
each semester to review their progress. Each student must submit
an up-dated curriculum vitae to the committee before each meeting. |
10. Core
Courses and Elective Courses |
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BIOCHEMISTRY
Required Core Courses
• BioS 371 and 372 - Elements of Biochemistry
I and II
(A student with one year of undergraduate biochemistry can
fulfill this requirement by passing a proficiency exam.)
• BioS 469 and 470 - Biochemical Problem Solving I and
II
• Chm 423 - Bio-organic Chemistry
• BioS 345 - Molecular Genetics
• Seminar Course in Biological Sciences or Chemistry
Elective Courses
• Additional courses to reach 24 course
credits may be chosen from the upper level courses in Biochemistry,
Molecular Biology, and Bio-Organic Chemistry. At least 12
of these credits must be at the 400 level.
INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY
Required Core Courses
4 courses, with at least one from each of 3 core areas
- Behavior/Evolution - BioS 439 Advanced Behavioral Ecology
BioS 409 Evolutionary and Functional Morphology
- Neurobiology I - BioS 453 General Neuroanatomy
BioS 457 Advanced Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
- Neurobiology II - BioS 416 Neurophysiology and Memory
BioS 450 Developmental Neurobiology
BioS 401 Professional Graduate Skills (strongly recommended
to be taken in first two years)
One year of graduate level statistics - either Psyc 421
and 422 or Educ 410 and 411
Elective Courses
2 additional courses required - may be chosen from core
courses not used to fulfill core requirements or the following
• BioS 429 Advances in Herpetology
• BioS 445 Systematics and Evolution
• BioS 411 Advanced Cell Biology
• BioS 421 Molecular Cell Biology I
• BioS 371 Elements of Biochemistry I
• BioS 372 Elements of Biochemistry II
• BioS 471 Elements of Eukaryotic Biochemistry
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Recommended Core Courses
• BioS 345 - Molecular Genetics (or equivalent)
• BioS 371 - Elements of Biochemistry I (or equivalent)
• BioS 372 - Elements of Biochemistry II (or equivalent)
• BioS 411 - Advanced Cell Biology
• BioS 421 - Molecular Cell Biology I (prerequisite
= BioS 411 or equivalent)
• BioS 422 - Molecular Cell Biology II (prerequisite
= BioS 345 or equivalent)
Elective Courses
• Additional courses to reach 24 course credits may
be chosen from the upper level courses in Biochemistry, Molecular
Biology, and Cell Biology. At least 12 of these credits must
be at the 400 level. |
