On admission, assessment of the baseline competencies of the incoming students will include scores on Graduate Record Exams, a documentation of undergraduate record, a battery of written tests and an oral examination given by an adviser and advisory committee (of at least two additional members). A report of the adviser and advisory committee will document the baseline assessment of each entering student.
A maximum of one-third of the graduate credits (with grades of B or better) may be transferred from other graduate programs. It is anticipated that students will enter the program from a variety of backgrounds, including bachelor's or master's degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, or physics. On the basis of the entrance assessment, the advisory committee of each graduate student will determine a course of study for the individual to take in the first two years of graduate studies. The committee will determine which of the following essentials courses (if any) will be required:
56:121:510-511 Essentials of Biological Chemistry I and II
56:121:520-521 Essentials of Biomathematics I and II
56:121:530-531 Essentials of Computer Science I and II
56:121:540-541 Essentials of Integrative Biology I and II
To ensure that students take an adequate number of advanced electives, a maximum of 12 credits of essentials courses will be counted toward the graduate degree. The advisory committee of each student will recommend appropriate electives. The following is a list of some of the potential elective courses. Others may be suggested by the advisory committee.
56:115:511,512 Biochemistry I,II (3,3)
56:115:522 Protein Structure
and Function (3)
56:120:503 Estuarine Biology (3)
56:120:505 Marine Biology (4)
56:120:508 Cell Physiology (4)
56:120:509 Cytogenetics (4)
56:120:510 Cell Ultrastructure and Function (3)
56:120:512 Mammalian Physiology (3)
56:120:513 Population Genetics (3)
56:120:515 Human Genetics (3)
56:120:516 Immunology (3)
56:120:523 Topics in Quantitative Biology (3)
56:120:525 Advanced Aquatic Ecology (3)
56:120:529 Molecular Genetics of Microorganisms (4)
56:120:530 Molecular Carcinogenesis (3)
56:120:534 Advanced Cell and Developmental Biology (3)
56:120:540 Neuroscience (4)
56:120:555-556 Neurobiology (3,3)
56:120:560 Endocrinology (3)
56:120:575 Neurochemistry (3)
56:120:580 Fungi In Ecosystems (3)
56:120:585 Recombinant DNA Technology (3)
56:120:588 Life at Extremes (3)
56:120:590 Population Ecology (3)
56:121:620 Laboratory Rotation Practicum (4)
56:160:514 Introduction to Molecular Modeling (3)
56:198:541 Parallel and Distributed Computing (3)
56:198:551 Database Systems (3)
56:198:552 Advanced Database Systems (3)
56:198:556 Computer Graphics (3)
56:198:582 Motifs and Related Dynamics in Biological Networks (3)
56.198.584 Mathematical Methods in Systems Biology (3)
56:645:557 Signal Processing (3)
56:645:558 Theory and Computation in Probability and Queuing Theory (3)
56:645:560 Industrial Mathematics (3)
56:645:562 Mathematical Modeling (3)
56:645:563 Statistical Reasoning (3)
56:645:572 Computational Mathematics II (3)
Requirements of the Master of Science (M.S.) Degree
The M.S. degree requires a minimum of 30 credits, including the following requirements:
Essentials Courses. (as required by advisory committee, maximum of 12 credits).
Other Required Courses:
56:121:590 Computational Modeling of Biological Systems (4)
56:121:601 Seminar (1 credit and repeated for a total of 2 credits)
56:121:701 Master's Project (4)
Elective Courses. In consultation with the advisory committee, a student will select appropriate elective courses consistent with his/her interests, needs, and goals.
Comprehensive Exam. At the end of the program, the student's committee will administer a comprehensive exam that will include an oral defense of the master's project as well as oral and/or written responses to questions testing the breadth of knowledge in the area of study.
Requirements of Doctoral Degree
The doctoral degree will require a minimum of 70 credits beyond the bachelor's level and the following requirements:
Essentials Courses. (as required by advisory committee, maximum of 12 credits). See listing above.
Other Required Courses:
56:121:590 Computational Modeling of Biological Systems (4)
56:121:601 Seminar (1 credit and repeated for a total of 6 credits)
56:121:710 Dissertation Research (up to 40 credits)
Elective Courses. In consultation with the advisory committee, a student will select appropriate elective courses consistent with his/her interests, needs, and goals.
Ph.D.-Qualifying Exam. At the end of the second year of study, each student will be given a qualifying exam by his or her doctoral committee. The exam will include an oral defense of a proposal for doctoral research as well as written and/or oral exercises examining the student's ability to effectively integrate material from different disciplines. On the recommendation of the committee and with the approval of the graduate program director, the exam may be repeated once. At the discretion of the committee, a terminal master's degree may be granted to students who do not proceed past the Ph.D. qualifying exam but complete a suitable master's project.
Defense of Dissertation. A public presentation of the doctoral research will be followed by an oral defense of the dissertation before the doctoral committee.
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