Doctor of Philosophy in Genetic, Molecular & Cellular Biology |
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Admission Requirements:
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A baccalaureate degree in life sciences or, if not, sufficient courses in mathematics and the life
sciences to provide a strong background for studies in biomedical research. Appropriate
undergraduate degrees would be biology, physiology, engineering, chemistry, computer science.
Applicants must have satisfactory performance on the general and advance portions of the GREs
and three letters of recommendation. Previous research experience in a related field is expected but
not required. Applicants who are accepted with minor deficiencies are expected to correct these
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Pre-application forms can be obtained from: Director of PIBBS, Office of the Associate Dean for
Research, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, KAM 110, 1975 Zonal
Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9023. email: pibbs@usc.edu.
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Course Requirements:
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A minimum of 60 units is required, consisting of formal courses, seminars and research credits. At
least 24 of the 60 units are to be formal graduate course work (lecture or seminar courses). Students
must complete 16 units of coursework before they may take the screening exam. Additional
coursework beyond the 24 units that is relevant to the research interests of the student may be
required by the student’s guidance committee or by the student’s academic advisor.
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Lab rotations. During the first year students sign up for Research Units BIOC 790 (4 units each
semester) and rotate through the labs of three Mentor Members of the Program (potential research
advisors). By the first summer of graduate study but no later than 18 months in the program, each
student is expected to have selected a research advisor.
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In the first year students are required to take two four-unit courses in each semester including one in
each of the following areas: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Molecular Genetics. An Ethics Class is taken in the Summer term. For these required courses,
opting out, delaying or substituting a class requires the approval of the Executive Committee of the
Program.
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In the second year and beyond, courses are selected with the approval of the student’s Guidance
Committee with reference to the research area in which the student is working. To accomplish the
goal of having highly interactive faculty and students in the GMCB program, in the second and all
subsequent years, students are required to take the course entitled BIOC 573 Optimal Research
Presentations by Ph.D. Students (1 unit). Presentations within this course will be part of the
student’s annual research appraisal (ARA), described more fully below. A satisfactory ARA is
required of every student for every year in residence after the second year. Participation in an
organized journal club or working group recognized by the Executive Committee is required each
year. Within the first two years, each student is additionally required to take a statistics course.
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Screening Procedure:
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At the end of the first year of graduate study each
student is required to pass a screening examination. This examination
is based on the first year's required courses and is intended to
expose any weaknesses in the student's abilities. The student's
progress must be judged satisfactory in the maintenance of a GPA
minimum of 3.0 and satisfactory completion of all research rotations.
After passing screening, the student is expected to select an
area of research and obtain the consent of a member of the GMCB faculty to serve as Mentor. The
Executive Committee in consultation with the student’s mentor will select a Guidance Committee
appropriate for the student’s selected research area. The Guidance Committee will aid in selecting
appropriate coursework and in ensuring suitable progress in the program.
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Qualifying Examination:
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The qualifying examination concentrates on the student’s ability to demonstrate a conceptual grasp
of the major area of interest chosen, and an understanding of the general framework and approaches
of hypothesis-driven research. The qualifying exam will be administered by the Guidance
Committee in the summer or fall after completion of the second year in the program. The
examination is partly written and partly oral and is designed to test the student’s ability to meet the
demands of the profession. After passing the qualifying examination and maintaining a 3.0 GPA
the student is Advanced to Candidacy and a Dissertation Committee is formed. Members of the
Dissertation Committee should include the student’s research advisor, another faculty member from
the GMCB program and one member from outside GMCB training faculty.
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Annual Research Appraisal:
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After advancing to candidacy, progress on dissertation research by each student is evaluated
annually with an Annual Research Appraisal (ARA) conducted by the Dissertation committee. Prior
to the meeting with the committee, students submit a short written document describing their
research (significant experiments, problems, projected studies) to the Dissertation Committee and
give an open seminar (as part of BIOC 573 course). They then have a closed meeting with the
Dissertation Committee. The ARA meeting is intended to be a working session between the student
and his or her committee in which results and problems are discussed and the student presents a
plan for the next year of work. A satisfactory ARA is required of every student for every year in
residence after advancement to candidacy.
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Dissertation:
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At the last ARA before the defense of the thesis, the student submits an outline draft of the thesis
document to the Dissertation Committee prior to the ARA seminar. After the ARA, the Dissertation
Committee will meet in closed session to determine if additional experiments or revisions to the
thesis document are needed or approve the document and give permission for writing the
dissertation.
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Thesis defense:
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An acceptable dissertation based upon completion of an original investigation is required. The
candidate must defend an approved draft of the dissertation in a public oral defense. The
Dissertation Committee will then meet with the student in a closed session and complete the oral
examination. Upon successful completion of the oral defense and acceptance of the dissertation, a
Ph.D. in Genetic, Molecular, and Cellular Biology will be awarded.
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