Microbiology (PhD)

The Microbiology Graduate Program Ph.D. degree seeks to produce individuals that have obtained fundamental knowledge of modern microbiology research who have demonstrated the ability to identify research areas/gaps and independently design research to address these problems. Graduates will be ready to enter into the workforce and lead research projects in industry, government, or academic settings.

Goal 1: Graduates will critically analyze microbiology primary research literature to identify research outcomes and experimental protocols. This goal is accomplished through literature-based courses and literature review for the dissertation proposal and dissertation document.

Goal 2: Graduates will be able to accurately perform complex experimental designs based on analysis of the primary literature and collaborative experiment design with their mentor and peers. This goal is accomplished through performance of the dissertation research project.

Goal 3: Graduates will be able to independently analyze microbiological data and present the results of these analyses in both oral and written form that meets professional standards. This goal is accomplished through both written and oral assignments in core and elective courses, writing the dissertation, a dissertation seminar, presentation at meetings, and/or primary literature publication.

Goal 4: Graduates will be able to identify significant knowledge gaps in Microbiology and independently design research to creatively address the knowledge gap. This goal is accomplished through developing and successfully defending the dissertation research proposal through the qualifying exam process.

Goal 5: Graduates will develop and demonstrate skills for effectively transferring knowledge to others. This goal may be achieved through completion of varied activities including teaching assistantship, designing and developing educational aids for classroom use, designing and developing experiments for teaching laboratory use, and/or guest lecturing.