The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, along with the other basic science departments at the Medical School, provides the forum for specialization within the PhD program. Applicants to the graduate program at the University of Massachusetts usually have a strong background in chemistry, biology or biochemistry. Undergraduate students with such a background are encouraged to apply to the graduate program by contacting the Graduate School of Biomedical Studies . Applications from foreign national students are also welcome. Appropriate visas, including F1, are available as necessary.
Graduate students receive a full tuition scholarship plus a stipend as research assistants.
The graduate student stipend is highly competitive with those offered by other graduate programs throughout the United States. Students admitted to the PhD Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School may specialize within any of the departments or programs listed above. During the first year, all graduate students study an interdisciplinary core curriculum composed of course work in biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology. The core curriculum provides the students with a rigorous background in biomedical sciences that will serve as a nucleus for additional, more specialized coursework required by each of the programs. An extremely important facet of the first year curriculum for graduate students is a series of laboratory rotations.