Degree Requirements
In addition to the general Laney Graduate School requirements, the Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences has several additional requirements that provide students with skills that are often overlooked in graduate training programs, but that are essential for success in academic or industrial research careers.
Students usually choose three faculty members with whom they would like to do a laboratory rotation. This allows the student the opportunity to interact with three faculty members and learn about different areas of research before selecting an advisor. Lab rotations are usually for six to eight weeks.
Students take a course that provides workshops on syllabus writing and grading, lecturing and leading discussions, the use of writing as a pedagogical tool, the conduct of lab sessions, and the use of new technologies. A Teaching Assistantship follows, where the student is carefully monitored in an initial teaching opportunity.
Beyond the one semester teaching requirement, GDBBS students have the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for graduate students through GDBBS and undergrad students through Emory College of Arts and Sciences.
Students are given the opportunity to hear outstanding scientists present their research in seminars, and the students also develop their own communication and presentation skills when they give seminars on their own research.
Several programs require that their students prepare a Ph.D. research dissertation proposal in the form of a National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation research grant application.
All GDBBS programs require passing written and/or oral qualifying examinations. Doctoral examinations determine a student’s qualifications for advanced study and mastery of the field of specialization. The examinations verify adequate intellectual knowledge in the student’s given area and any required supporting fields. The examinations are prepared and administered by each graduate training program.
