Integrated Multidisciplinary Graduate Program

The discipline-based doctoral programs in Biochemistry, Cellular & Structural Biology, Microbiology & Immunology, Pharmacology, and Physiology have evolved into the Integrated Multidisciplinary Graduate Program (IMGP). The IMGP reflects contemporary, interdisciplinary advanced education and scientific research based on fundamental principles in the biomedical sciences. Effective with admission for Fall, 2008, prospective students apply to the IMGP rather than to the former individual, discipline-based doctoral programs.

The IMGP is currently composed of eleven multidisciplinary tracks, which address the most significant training areas in biomedicine. These thematic tracks have been aligned with the major research foci of the faculty in the institution.The eleven tracks are:

Biology of Aging
Cancer Biology
Cell & Molecular Biology
Genetics, Genomics, & Development
Membrane Biology & Cell Signaling
Metabolism & Metabolic Disorders
Microbiology & Immunology
Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology
Neuroscience
Pharmacology

Curricula. Students are enrolled “undifferentiated” into the IMGP, that is, without admission into a specific track. All entering students take an interdisciplinary core course in Fundamentals of Biomedical Sciences and participate in laboratory rotations in the first semester. Students may choose to do rotations and their eventual dissertation research in laboratories of over 200 faculty members. In the second semester students select a specific track and a dissertation supervising professor for further training through course work and research. Also, in the second semester, students will enroll in track-specific courses and electives and in Ethics in Research. The curriculum is interdisciplinary in nature such that students in a particular track may take courses in other tracks.  In the second year, students continue taking track-specific electives and journal clubs, participating in seminars, and engaging in research. Major milestones are the advancement to PhD candidacy exam and formal approval of a dissertation supervising committee.  Students register for a minimum of 9 semester credit hours in the Fall and Spring semesters and 6 semester credit hours in the Summer term.

Admission Requirements. Applicants are required to have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree.  Applicants should have received credit for courses taken in:

* courses should include laboratory experience

All applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and all international applicants must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The GRE must be taken within the last 5 years and the TOEFL within the last 2 years. The minimum required scores for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper test, 220 for the computer test, and 68 for the internet test. The mean combined (verbal + quantitative) GRE score for the incoming class of doctoral students for Fall 2007 was 1240 and the mean GPA was 3.44.

Apply Online. To apply for the IMGP, click here.
Application priority deadline is January 15, 2008, with a final application deadline of April 15, 2008.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early and submit complete applications with all supporting materials to receive priority review. There is NO application fee.  For more information, click here.

Applications are reviewed by an Admissions Committee composed of faculty members representing all eleven tracks in the IMGP.  Highly qualified applicants are invited for interviews beginning early in the Spring semester.

Stipend. The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) offers financial assistance in the form of teaching and research assistantships to full-time students admitted to the IMGP doctoral program.  The annual stipend will be $26,000 beginning in the Fall semester of 2008, which will readily cover all living and educational expenses, including tuition and fees.  Stipend support is provided by the GSBS in year 1 and by dissertation supervising professors beginning in year 2 of the program.  Students may also apply for stipend support from training grants associated with specific areas of research.