The awarding of a Ph.D. degree requires the successful completion of formal courses and demonstration of accomplishments in basic research, various qualifying examinations, scientific writing and formal presentations of research data. Your ultimate goal is to demonstrate capabilities as an independent investigator. The Graduate School considers a student admitted to the Graduate School to study for the Ph.D. an “aspirant” for the degree until you pass the Comprehensive Oral Examination. After passing the Comprehensive Oral Examination, you will become a “candidate” for the Ph.D. degree.
The general mission of graduate education for the Ph.D. degrees within Molecular Biosciences is to enhance your academic knowledge base, teaching ability, communication ability, and, in-depth basic research ability within a particular scientific area in the discipline. The specific missions within this framework are: (1) to provide academic training in current knowledge in the field through graduate-level coursework; (2) to develop in-depth basic research ability in a particular research area within the discipline, through basic at-the-bench-research, which will advance the knowledge in the field and allow the student to operate as an independent investigator in applied or basic research; (3) to develop instructional skills through teaching undergraduate laboratories; (4) to develop substantive writing ability through completion of a dissertation or manuscript on the research performed; and, (5) to provide overall training which will: (a) allow you to obtain further training in a post-doctoral program; (b) qualify you for an instructional/undergraduate research position in a four-year college or university academic unit which offers both bachelor's and master's degrees; and/or (c) qualify you for a research-scientist or post-doctoral position in industry.
Graduate School Requirements - All Graduate School requirements as explicitly stated in the Graduate School Catalog must be fulfilled, including the Foreign Language or Research Skills (FLORS) requirement.
Departmental Requirements – Please refer to each degree discipline area listed below to determine specific courses and requirements in conjunction with the following general requirements for the Ph.D.
1. At least three individual lab rotations are required for each new graduate student during the first two semesters of graduate study.
2. Attendance at Department-wide seminar is required every semester.
3. A Foreign Language or Research Skill (FLORS) requirement must be met (see specific discipline area’s degree requirements).
4. Two semesters (minimum) of graduate teaching are required.
5. A Graduate Advisory Committee must be established before the beginning of the second year of graduate study.
6. An annual meeting of this committee is required.
7. Students must enroll in "Research Grant Proposal Preparation" (BIOL 925) in the spring semester of the second year. A written preliminary exam in the form of a research proposal must be completed by the end of that course. (Successful completion of the research proposal allows for scheduling of the Comprehensive Oral Exam).
8. The Oral Comprehensive Exam must be held no later than October 1 of the third year of graduate study.
9. Upon successful completion of formal coursework and research, candidates present, for evaluation by a dissertation examination committee, a dissertation based on original research. The dissertation is presented and defended in a formal public lecture.
10. Students must complete the degree within seven years. Exceptions to this requirement require a recommendation for extension of study by the Department’s Graduate Director and Chairperson, and approval by the Graduate School.
1. Topics in Molecular Biosciences (MB Seminar) – BIOL 701
2. Techniques in Molecular Biosciences – BIOL 818
3. At least one course from each of the following options during the first academic year.
Biochemistry/Biophysics Ph.D
Three laboratory rotations are required during the first two semesters, plus each of the following courses (usually completed by the end of the second academic year):
BIOL 701 Topics in Molecular Biosciences (every semester)
BIOL 750 Advanced Biochemistry
BIOL 752 Cell Biology
BIOL 772 Gene Expression
BIOL 818 Techniques in Molecular Biosciences
BIOL 901-904 Graduate Seminar in __ (3 semesters)
BIOL 918 Biochemical and Biophysical Methods
BIOL 925 Research Grant Proposal Preparation
BIOL 952 Molecular Modeling
BIOL 985 will be taken to reflect bench research. BIOL 999 will be taken when writing and defense of the dissertation take place. Your Graduate Advisory Committee may recommend that additional courses be taken. The FLORS requirement must be completed through demonstration of a specific research technique or completion of one of the following courses:
BIOL 703 Radio Isotopes and Radiation Safety
BIOL 719 Light and Electron Microscopy
BIOL 841 Biometry
BIOL 925 Grant Writing
Microbiology Ph.D.
Three laboratory rotations are required during the first two semesters, plus each of the following courses (usually completed by the end of the second academic year):
BIOL 701 Topics in Molecular Biosciences (every semester)
BIOL 811 Advanced Molecular & Cellular Immunology
BIOL 812 Mechanisms of Host Parasite Relationships
BIOL 814 Advanced Molecular Virology
BIOL 815 Advanced Molecular Genetics
BIOL 818 Techniques in Molecular Biosciences
BIOL 925 Research Grant Proposal Preparation
BIOL 985 will be taken to reflect bench research. BIOL 999 will be taken when writing and defense of the dissertation take place. Your Graduate Advisory Committee may recommend that additional courses be taken. The FLORS requirement must be completed through demonstration of a specific research technique or completion of one of the following courses:
NOTE: If you are working towards a Ph.D. degree in Microbiology, you must take a two-hour written examination at the end of your first year of graduate study, usually in May. The content of the examination will be general microbiology (undergraduate) as covered in BIOL 400. A committee whose membership will rotate among the microbiology faculty will prepare the examination. The examination must be passed with an overall score of at least 65% before you can progress to the doctoral qualifying (comprehensive) examination. If you fail in a second attempt to pass the examination at the beginning of the succeeding fall semester, you will not be allowed to continue as a Ph.D. candidate in the graduate program, and will not be eligible for a teaching assistantship following that semester.BIOL 703 Radio Isotopes and Radiation Safety
BIOL 719 Light and Electron Microscopy
BIOL 750 Advanced Biochemistry
BIOL 756 Cell and Tissue Culture Lab
CHEM 627 Organic Chemistry II, lab (or higher)
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Ph.D.
Three laboratory rotations are required during the first two semesters, plus each of the following courses (usually completed by the end of the second academic year):
BIOL 690 Control Mechanisms in DevelopmentBIOL 985 will be taken to reflect bench research. BIOL 999 will be taken when writing and defense of the dissertation take place. Your graduate advisory committee may recommend that additional courses be taken. The FLORS requirement must be completed through demonstration of a specific research technique or completion of one of the following courses:
BIOL 701 Topics in Molecular Biosciences (every semester)
BIOL 750 Advanced Biochemistry
BIOL 752 Cell Biology
BIOL 772 Gene Expression
BIOL 818 Techniques in Molecular Biosciences
BIOL 901-904 Graduate Seminar in __ (3 semesters)
BIOL 925 Research Grant Proposal Preparation
BIOL 703 Radio Isotopes and Radiation Safety
BIOL 719 Light and Electron Microscopy
BIOL 841 Biometry
BIOL 925 Grant Writing
Students must enroll in “Research Grant Proposal Preparation” (BIOL 925) and must complete and submit a research proposal by the end of the spring semester of the second year of graduate study. This proposal will be written in the format of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) grant proposal. The proposal must develop a research topic related to the general areas of molecular biosciences. The topic of the research proposal is decided upon by the student in consultation with your Graduate Advisory Committee. The successful completion of the research proposal is required before scheduling the Comprehensive Oral Examination.
Once Ph.D. aspirants have successfully completed the required formal courses, research proposal requirement, and FLORS requirement, the Comprehensive Oral Examination will be scheduled. This examination must be held by October 1 of the third year of graduate study. Exceptions to this deadline require approval by the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. Successful completion of the Comprehensive Oral Examination admits you to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. Your Comprehensive Oral Exam Committee will give the exam. You must provide each committee member with a final copy of the proposal at least 3 weeks before the exam takes place. Your Major Advisor may not attend the Comprehensive Oral Exam but will instead submit a letter to the Chairperson of the committee, providing a detailed justification of the your preparedness for the exam or your absence of qualifications for admission to Ph.D. candidacy. After the exam and discussion of the Major Advisor's letter, committee members will decide whether or not you passed, thus becoming a “candidate” for the Ph.D. degree. The Graduate Program Assistant will forward this decision to the Graduate School.
IMPORTANT: The exam must be scheduled with the Graduate School at least two weeks before the exam actually takes place. This means that, after receiving approval from your Major Advisor and Comprehensive Oral Exam Committee, you must notify the Graduate Program Assistant to get scheduling assistance (date, time, location) and complete the Do-All form to send to the Graduate School.
Exam Format - For degrees in Biochemistry/Biophysics andMolecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, you will defend your research proposal to the Comprehensive Oral Exam Committee. The committee will also examine you with respect to more general subject areas (not necessarily related to the research proposal) associated with your research, formal coursework and scientific literature of the discipline. For a degree in Microbiology, you may be asked to defend your research proposal, however, the exam usually focuses upon your specific sub-discipline of microbiology and the other sub-disciplines of microbiology, including pathogenic microbiology, virology, immunology, microbial genetics and microbial physiology. In addition, the committee will examine you with respect to more general subject areas (not necessarily related to the research proposal) involved with your research, formal coursework and the scientific literature of the discipline.
Performance on the examination will be rated as “Honors,” “Satisfactory,” or “Unsatisfactory” and this rating will be submitted to the Graduate School. If you receive a rating of “Unsatisfactory” on the first Comprehensive Oral Exam, you may retake the exam noearlier than three (3) months, but nolater than six (6) months after the date of the first exam. If you do not retake the exam by the six-month time limit, you will not be allowed to complete the Ph.D. program. If there are unusual circumstances, you may, with approval from your mentor and graduate committee, petition the Graduate Program and Policy Committee of the Department to retake the oral comprehensive examination after the six-month time limit. Under no circumstances will you be allowed to take the Comprehensive Oral Examination more than twice. If you fail to receive a rating of “Satisfactory” after the second attempt, you will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.
Once the Comprehensive Oral Exam has successfully been completed, you will form a Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Committee (usually the Comprehensive Oral Exam Committee plus the Major Advisor). This committee is responsible for giving you permission to begin writing of the dissertation. At least three members of this committee will be selected as dissertation readers (one of these being the Major Advisor). Once the final draft of the dissertation has been accepted, but before it has been signed and bound, and only after receiving approval from the Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Committee, he Final Dissertation Defense is scheduled with the Graduate Program Assistant. All dissertation readers must be present at the exam.
Following the successful defense of dissertation, the Committee will decide if the result was deemed “Honors” or ‘Satisfactory.” This decision will be forwarded to the Graduate School. Dissertations are now to be submitted electronically. Check out http://www2.ku.edu/~etd/ for instructions.
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