CURRICULUM - General Requirements for Ph.D.
| 6 credits | Fundamentals of Molecular Biosciences (16:695:538) |
| 2 credits | Experimental Methods in Molec Biosciences (16:695:539) |
| 1 credit | Ethical Scientific Conduct (16:115:556) |
| 1 credit | Essential Skills I (16:695:551) |
| 1 credit | Essential Skills II (16:695:552) |
| 6 credits | Lab Rotation (16:695:615 & 616) * At least three rotations are required. |
| 6 credits | Mini Courses in Molec Biosciences (16:695:621-638) (1 cr each; select 6 for a total of 6 cr) |
| 3 credits | Seminar in Biochemistry (16:115:613 & 614) *3 seminars are required - May substitute seminars from other related programs |
| 3 credits | Biophysical Chem I (16:160:537) |
| 3 credits | Statistics (16:115:557 or 16:125:578 or 16:960:501) |
| 40 credits | Research in Biochemistry (16:115:701, 702) |
| Course Total: 32 credits - Research Total: 40 credits | |
| Total Credits Required for a PhD: 72 credits |
16:115:558 Ethical Scientific Conduct Refresher. This course is required of all 5th year graduate students as well as MD/PhD in the 3rd year of PhD. This is a case-based course that reviews the most important topics in Responsible Conduct of Research. It complies with NIH requirements.
16:695:600 Progress Reports of Graduate Students in Molecular Biosciences. This course is required of all PhD students each semester. The Graduate Student Research Seminar brings together students from all of the Graduate Programs in Molecular Biosciences on a weekly basis to learn about the science conducted by their colleagues. As a speaker, the opportunity to present in a friendly and constructive environment is a great way to prepare for delivering presentations at regional and national scientific meetings, or to a prospective post-doc advisor or employer. Audience members learn about the science, approaches, techniques and ideas of their fellow students. Thesis advisors are expected to attend and students are strongly encouraged to invite members of their thesis committees to their talks.
Laboratory Rotations
The purpose of lab rotations is to choose a research area and an thesis advisor. Students are expected to take 3 (or at most 4) half-semester lab rotations and to be completed during the first year. Rotations are 2 credits each semester and are evaluated by faculty mentors on a pass/fail basis. In exceptional cases (e.g., previous extensive research experience), a student may obtain a waiver of lab rotation, but the credits (4 credits) for the lab rotations shall not be substituted by taking other courses. A written report, which must be approved by the faculty mentor, is required for credit. The report will be retained in the student’s Program file for review by the preliminary thesis committees.
GENERAL ACADEMIC GUIDELINES
Academic Standards and Termination: A student is required to carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the above General Requirements to remain in good standing in the program. It is also expected that the student will receive a grade of “Satisfactory” (S) for research credits. Students failing to achieve the 3.0 GPA will be sent a warning letter and be given a year to remedy that deficiency, and to bring his/her cumulative GPA up to 3.0 or better. Failing to do so will result in termination from the program. A notice of termination will be sent to the Dean of the Graduate School- New Brunswick.
Progress Report: For students that have passed their qualifying examination and admitted to the Ph.D. candidacy, he/she must meet with a thesis advisory committee at least once every academic year and submit a written progress report to the Program Office by June 15. The Progress Report will be used by the faculty in its annual Review of student accomplishment. It is essential that the student’s research advisor make sure that each student maintains good progress toward his/her degree and schedules annual meetings with his/her thesis advisory committee.
Language Requirements: Competence in written English is required. The Biochemistry Graduate Program has no foreign language requirement.
Registration Requirements: All students are required to maintain continuous registration until the completion of the final examination. Students will have to re-apply for admission if there is a lapse in their matriculation. Ph.D. students, who are on campus, including all those assistantships and everyone else whose academic activities are here, must register for a minimum of 3 credits per semester. Ph.D. students that are away from the campus (i.e. Not working or residing in the tri-state area), must register for a minimum of 1-credit of research. For M.S. students, the minimal registration requirement is MATRICULATION CONTINUED (148:800, 0 credit). Contact either the program office or the graduate school for specifics.
Once a student has accumulated 71 credits, of which at least 23 are research credits, he or she is required to register for only one credit per term to remain in good standing as a de facto full-time student.
Restriction on the enrollment in the medical School courses: Enrollment in the Medical School courses requires permission of the student’s advisor and the course instructor. Normally, a student may take no more than 7 credits of course work offered by the Medical School in any given semester.
Requirements for the transfer from non-matriculated to matriculated status: Non-matriculated student who wishes to be considered for admission into a degree program may submit a full application to the Graduate School for consideration of admission to the Biochemistry program.
