Admission Students are admitted through the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences in the fall of the year. This program admits students with interests in all areas of basic biomedical research. The first year of the program involves course work in molecular and cellular biology and rotations in at least two laboratories. At the end of the first year, students that select an advisor with a primary appointment in Microbiology will become members of the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology. During the first year of study students are supported by a Teaching Assistantship.
Students are responsible for securing their own health insurance.
In subsequent years of study students are supported by continuation of Teaching Assistantships or by Research Fellowships. Students give presentations in the departmental student seminar series and attend the departmental seminar program. The Ph.D. qualifying exam, involves oral defense of a written research proposal outside the student's immediate research area, and is taken at the end of the second year. The program usually requires four to five years of study. An integral component of the Ph.D. program is the presentation of research findings within the department, at the Medical Center's Student Research Forum, and at regional, national, or international scientific meetings.