The graduate program faculty is a well-funded, diverse, and productive group that includes members of the Microbiology Department and some members of the Departments of Immunology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Neurology. The program prepares students for careers in teaching and research in academic institutions, as well as research in the biotechnology industry. Entering students begin their graduate work by taking courses in a new core curriculum, including biochemistry, genetics, and molecular cell biology, that is taken by the graduate students in most of the basic science programs at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. During the first year, graduate students in the microbiology program also take courses in bacterial genetics and biochemistry, bacterial pathogenesis, immunology, molecular virology, and viral pathogenesis. During the first nine months, students do three research rotations in laboratories of graduate program faculty members.
Students participate in research seminars and journal clubs throughout their graduate training.
In spring of the first year, students take a written Preliminary Examination that evaluates problem-solving skills and the ability to integrate information from the graduate courses. Dissertation research usually begins in the summer of the first year. In the second year, graduate students take an Oral Comprehensive Examination based on a research proposal that they have written. After passing both the Preliminary and Oral Comprehensive Examinations, the student is admitted to candidacy for doctoral research. The research leading to the Ph.D. degree generally is completed within four to five years.