Ph.D. Degree in Biochemistry or Biophysics

Program Overview
The Ph.D. program is designed to train students in the ability to independently conceive and carry out original research in the general area of the chemistry of life functions. Successful defense of an independent research dissertation is required for the Ph.D. degree. The program requires, on average, about 5 years of graduate level study. The majority of a student’s time is spent doing research on his or her dissertation project, although considerable time also is devoted to advanced coursework and professional seminars. The dissertation research project is undertaken in the laboratory of a faculty mentor, under her or his close supervision. The program also offers training in the teaching of biochemistry at the undergraduate- and graduate levels. Almost all students receive financial support in the form of a research assistantship.

General Timeline
In the fall semester of the first year, most students work for four weeks in each of three different laboratories, in order to allow students and professors to find mutual interests for establishing the dissertation research project. At the end of the first semester students are assigned to particular faculty mentors, and the development of the dissertation research project begins. Matching up of students with mentors is by mutual agreement. By the end of the first year a dissertation advisory committee is formed, which is comprised of the mentor and four or more additional faculty members. This committee advises the student throughout the course of his or her graduate studies. In the first two years students typically spend about 1/2 of their time in formal coursework and the other 1/2 of their time working on their Ph.D. dissertation research. The number of formal courses declines after that, and in the later years the students are for the most part full time researchers. In the third year at the latest students must pass an oral examination administered by the full advisory committee, which formally admits them to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. In general, after passing this exam the only commitments of the student are to carry out research and participate in professional seminars. When the Ph.D. dissertation is complete, students present a formal research seminar to the department, and then defend the dissertation in an oral examination by the advisory committee.

Teaching Requirements
Ph.D. students are required to serve as teaching assistants during two semesters, under the guidance of a faculty instructor who has overall responsibility for the course. In recent years students have typically spent one semester as a 1/2-time teaching assistant (20 hours per week), and one semester as a 1/4-time teaching assistant (10 hours per week). Assignments are made so that each student gains experience in both laboratory and lecture settings.

Career Opportunities
Various career tracks are available after completion of the Ph.D. degree. The typical course is to undertake postdoctoral research, usually at another institution. The postdoctoral period is a transition between the student phase of independent research into the state where a scientist begins to take on the responsibility of overall research design, incorporation of other scientists at lower levels into that design, and obtaining funding to support his or her project. Following the postdoctoral training, scientists then obtain some type of laboratory director position, either in academia or industry. There are many variations on this general approach, and many other options after completion of the Ph.D. degree.

Differences Between the Biophysics and Biochemistry Majors
These two majors are similar in the course work requirements. The major difference is that a six-credit sequence in Biochemistry (BBMB 404, 405) can be accepted in the Biophysics major in lieu of the eight-credit sequence (BBMB 501, 502) that is required of Biochemistry majors. This reduction in required credits is intended to accommodate additional coursework in physics that is not required in the Biochemistry major. The other major difference between the two majors is in the qualifying examination process, which focuses on the subject matter specific to either Biophysics or Biochemistry.

Necessary Undergraduate Training
Most students that enter the graduate program will hold a B.S. degree in biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, or physics. All graduate students entering the Department of BBMB will be expected to have taken one semester of analytical chemistry, one year of organic chemistry and, in most instances, one year of physical chemistry. Students lacking any of these courses will be required to take them as soon as feasible after entering the program, preferably in the first year of study.

Required Courses - Biochemistry Degree

Required Courses - Biophysics Degree

Financial Support for Graduate Students