Programs of Study
Overview
The Program offers the Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) and Masters Degree (M.S.) in Cell and Developmental Biology. The curriculum leading to the Ph.D. is highly flexible. The student chooses an area of emphasis, either Cell or Developmental Biology. In concert with faculty advisers, the student designs a curriculum from a combination of required and optional courses (below). Course work includes lecture courses, as well as seminars and other courses which focus on the reading of the primary literature in Cell and Developmental Biology. An important component of the curriculum is the requirement for four laboratory rotations, each five weeks in length. The student will select four different faculty labs to rotate through. The rotation represents an opportunity for the student to learn research techniques, but equally important the rotation represents an excellent opportunity to get to know both faculty and students in a more personal and individual environment. More specific information about The M.S. and Ph.D. programs is in the CDB Graduate Student Handbook.
Ph.D. students can participate in the Designated Emphasis in either Reproductive Biology or Biotechnology.
One quarter of teaching experience is required of each student. This experience helps the student to develop the organization and presentation skills which are essential to successful researchers, and teaching skills which will be required of many graduates. Additionally, students often use the experience to reinforce fundamental knowledge which may be required at the oral qualifying examination.
In order to advance to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student is required to take an oral Qualifying Examination. This exam occurs typically near the end of the second year. The Qualifying Exam tests the student's command of basic scientific knowledge, technical approaches, and the primary literature which are relevant to the student's proposed dissertation research. This exam is designed to ensure that the student is well-prepared to formulate testable hypotheses, and design suitable experimental approaches for testing these hypotheses.
Curriculum
If any significant weaknesses are identified in the student's undergraduate preparation for graduate study, these will remedied by appropriate course work.
- Laboratory Methods in Cell and Developmental Biology
A two-quarter, 12 unit sequence of laboratory rotations and lectures. All students participate in four 5-week laboratory assignments designed to acquaint them with a variety of current research techniques. - Lecture Courses (15 units minimum)
A lecture course examining the theory behind current laboratory techniques in Cell and Developmental Biology is required for all students. Lectures on specific techniques will be given by faculty members who use those methods in their own research. - Courses in biochemistry and genetics are fundamental to the understanding of cellular and developmental processes, thus students will select at least two courses in either of these two areas.
- Seminars
All students will be required to take at least one seminar each year. Examples of seminars currently offered include Fertilization and Gamete Literature Critique, Seminar in Development, and Seminar in Cell Biology. - TA Requirement
One quarter of teaching experience is required in a lab course in Cell and/or Developmental Biology or related courses.