Medical Sciences (PhD)

Program Educational Goals:

Attain marked ability, scholarship, research, and leadership skills in biomedical science.
Employ research methods to assess a problem in the field of biomedical science in an ethical manner.
Engage in and conduct original research in the biomedical sciences.
Demonstrate the ability to perform research of the highest levels of rigor and reproducibility through the use of appropriate statistical tools and research design.
Effectively communicate research findings.
Prepare to be professionals in careers that require training at the highest levels in the biomedical sciences.

Program Policy Document:

Please see the Program Policy Document for more information.

Admission Requirements:

BS, MS or equivalent degree from an accredited college or university,
GRE scores of at least 148 on quantitative reasoning and at least 150 on verbal reasoning
An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher
Written statement of goals and objectives (the personal statement) that clearly identifies the applicant’s research and curriculum interests and explains how admission to the program will facilitate his/her professional objectives
Current résumé and three letters of recommendation

All students will be expected to be sufficiently conversant in English and knowledgeable in the written word to convey clear, logical and complex written expressions.

Admission is selective and competitive, based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. See Graduate Admissions for additional information.

Requirements for the Degree:

The Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Sciences requires a minimum of 43 credits including 9 credits of dissertation. The program is designed to be completed in 4 years. Only those courses in the 600, 800, 900 levels will apply towards the doctoral degree. Independent study courses will be accepted based on approval of the advisor and the Department Chair. A maximum of 9 independent study credits may be included in the program of study.

The required credits are specified in the student’s plan of study and normally include:

Core Courses:

MMSC 650 - Medical Biochemistry Credit(s): 4
MMSC 691 - Human Molecular Genetics Credit(s): 3
MMSC 800 - Preparing Research Proposals Credit(s): 2

Research Method and Analysis:

Nineteen credits.

MMSC 603 - Research Design and Statistics Credit(s): 3
MMSC 803 - Graduate Research Seminar Credit(s): 1 *
MMSC 804 - Graduate Research Seminar Credit(s): 0 *
MMSC 868 - Research Credit(s): 3 **

Note: Seminar requirement.

*Note: Seminar is taken 8 semesters, including 4 semesters for 1 credit( MMSC 803 ) and 4 semesters for 0 credit (MMSC 804 ) for students completing their degree in 4 years. Students continuing on beyond the 4th year are required to enroll in MMSC 804 for 0 credit each semester that they are in the program.

**MMSC 868 is taken for 12 credits.

Science Core Electives:

Six credits of any 600-800 level course from a relevant biomedical or basic science department, such as ANFS, BINF, BISC, BMEG, CHEM, CISC, EDUC, ELEG, HBNS, HDFS, KAAP, MEEG, MMSC, NURS, PSYC.

Dissertation:

Nine credits.

MMSC 969 - Doctoral Dissertation Credit(s): 1-9
UNIV 999 - Ph.D. Sustaining Credit(s): 0

Note:

Students who have had substantially similar courses to one or more of those required prior to entering the Medical Sciences Program may substitute other appropriate courses with the approval of the advisor and the Program Committee.