Curriculum & Requirements

PhD students are required to take all three of the Foundation Courses listed below. These courses are graduate-only. A minimum of six (6) additional semester credits of formal courses is required, at least four (4) credits of which must be in graduate-only courses. Note, formal courses are those for which the student receives a letter grade (A, B, C, etc.) and do not include Research Credits (BIOL9001), Biology Seminar (BIOL9003), Research Progress (BIOL9004), or Professional Development (BIOL9006). Additional courses may be selected from other graduate courses offered in the Department or throughout the University. These are minimum requirements and individual Research Advisory Committees (RACs) will work with the student to determine the appropriate course work for the individual student and their specific research project.

PhD students coming in with a MS degree in a biological sciences discipline and having taken an equivalent graduate level Foundation Course during their MS program, may petition the GAC, with the backing of their RAC, to waive the requirement for that specific course and its accompanying credits.

Foundation Courses:

"Data Analysis" (BIOL8001; 3 semester credit hours)

"Evolution" (BIOL8002; 2 semester credits hours)

"Molecular Biology" (BIOL8003; 2 semester credit hours)

Additional Requirements:

• Students are required to enroll in "Biology Seminar" (BIOL9003) each semester they are in residence.
• Students are required to present their research in "Research Progress in Biology" (BIOL9004) each Spring Semester they are in residence. Students may substitute one spring semester of “Research Progress in Biology” by instead taking “Professional Development” (BIOL 9006).

MS students are required to take a minimum of two (2) of the Foundation Courses listed above. A minimum of four (4) additional semester credits of formal courses is required, at least two (2) credits of which must be in graduate-only courses. Note, formal courses are those for which the student receives a letter grade (A, B, C, etc.) and do not include Research Credits (BIOL9001), Biology Seminar (BIOL9003), Research Progress (BIOL9004), or Professional Development (BIOL9006). Additional courses may be selected from other graduate courses offered in the Department or throughout the University. These are minimum requirements and individual Research Advisory Committees (RACs) will work with the student to determine the appropriate course work for the individual student and their specific research project.

Additional Requirements:

• Students are required to enroll in "Biology Seminar" (BIOL9003) each semester they are in residence.
• Students are required to present their research in "Research Progress in Biology" (BIOL9004) each Spring Semester they are in residence. Students may substitute one spring semester of “Research Progress in Biology” by instead taking “Professional Development” (BIOL 9006).