Program of Study
The interdisciplinary
nature of the program attracts students with diverse
backgrounds. To develop an appropriately
customized curriculum, each student meets at the beginning of the first
year with the program directors to select courses and to discuss laboratory
rotations. These meetings continue on a regular basis until the
student​ identifies a thesis committee chair. Typically, first-year
students participate in three laboratory rotations prior to selecting a thesis
lab.
BBSB students will typically take four to six courses in their first year and must complete the following requirements during their graduate education:
DBBS-wide requirements:
BBSB-specific requirements:
- Chemistry and Physics
of Biomolecules (BIO 5357)
- Four (4) semesters
of BBSB Student Seminar (BIO 5469)
- A student seminar
series in which students present their current work to BBSB peers.
- Students receive
feedback from their peers on both their science and presentation.
- Three (3) advanced
electives
- Courses must be
offered through DBBS or through Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics Departments as 500
level graduate courses unless otherwise approved by program directors.
- MSTP students may
use their medical courses to satisfy this requirement.
- Three (3) semesters
of journal clubs
- A variety of
journal clubs provide topics aligned
with student interests.
- Students
present at least once in each semester for credit and will
receive feedback.
- Students
are encouraged to continue participation in journal clubs aligned with their
interests throughout their graduate career.
After taking the first year
of classes and selecting a laboratory, students will develop and defend a novel
research project of their own design in the qualifying exam
(see guidelines for more details). During this process, which has
both a written and oral component, students
identify important gaps in knowledge based on primary
literature, develop clear hypotheses,
and devise quantitative experiments to
test said hypotheses.
Students will then
assemble a thesis committee within 6 months and propose their
thesis project within 9 months of passing the QE. Large
amounts of preliminary data are not required to propose a thesis
project.
Significant progress on the thesis project (as judged by
the thesis committee and most likely including published
works in peer-reviewed journals) is required prior to a thesis defense and
graduation.