Requirements for any of the individual core courses may be waived by the departmental orientation committee with sufficient evidence of equivalent prior course completion. For admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, the student must pass a written and oral qualifying examination. The examination is offered once a year and should be completed by the end of the second year. No later than 6 months after completion of the qualifying examination, each graduate student working toward a Ph.D. degree will be required to submit a proposal to their advisory committee on their intended dissertation research project. The exact nature and extent of this experience should take into account the interest, needs, and background of the student as well as the needs of the department.
Financial support is provided to qualified students entering the program.
Four hours of Basic Microbiology and permission. The basic biology of disease-producing microorganisms including the nature of the agents and their pathogenic processes will be stressed. Bacteria, fungi, riskettsia, chlamydia, helminths, protozoa, and viruses will be included. This course will provide the student with skills necessary for critical review and interpretation of scientific literature. This will require the student to critique the scientific paper in terms of hypothesis tested, methods utilized, and conclusions drawn.