Coursework

Foundations in BCDB (BCDB 501/502)

This first-year course provides a rigorous introduction to graduate-level biochemistry, cell and developmental biology. The course is arranged in 2-week blocks on different topic areas, and depends heavily on reading and discussing primary research literature.

Introductory Graduate Seminar (BCDB 570r)

In this first-year course, you will be taught how to present scientific information by selecting, presenting, and critiquing primary literature. You are also required to attend the Advanced Graduate Seminar, in which the upper-level graduate students present their dissertation research to the program.

Hypothesis Design Scientific Writing (IBS 522r)

In this second-year course, you will go through the process of developing a proposal for your dissertation research in the style of an NIH grant application. This will be done in collaboration with your Ph.D. mentor, your peers, and the course advisors. The full proposal will then be reviewed by a senior graduate student, who will meet with you to give you feedback for you to incorporate, and then finally it will be reviewed and graded by two faculty members who will also give you feedback. At the end of this process, it is hoped that the student will have a proposal they can then use as a basis for a pre-doctoral fellowship application.

Statistics for Experimental Biology (BIOS 505)

Statistical analysis is extremely important to well-designed experiments, interpreting their results, and understanding the scientific literature. This second-year class provides instruction in this often-abused field to ensure you are able to understand and apply statistical concepts effectively.

Advanced Graduate Seminar (BCDB 790r)

Every week, two upper-level students present a half-hour seminar on their current research to the students and faculty of the program, and each student presents in this forum once per year. Students who have their defense scheduled may be excused from presenting in this forum.