Academic Requirements
The full requirements for the Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program can be found in the Program Handbook. However, some of the general requirements for coursework and graduation are as follows.
Required Coursework
The academic curriculum for the Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program is centered on a series of courses emphasizing molecular genetics, molecular and cellular biology and developmental biology. This means that all students take:
- one quarter of biochemistry
- one quarter of introductory molecular genetics
- one quarter of cell biology
- two quarters in advanced molecular genetics
- core courses in developmental biology
- one course on ethics in research
Additional courses may be required depending on the area of emphasis you are studying.
In addition, a wide variety of elective courses are offered throughout the University of Cincinnati to meet almost any scientific interest. Most students fulfill all of their course requirements within the first 18 months, allowing for greater focus on laboratory research and the completion of thesis-related experiments.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate with a PhD from the Molecular and Developmental Biology graduate program, you will need to:
- complete 135 graduate credit hours
- maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 in all doctoral course work
- complete at least two laboratory rotations
- present required seminars
- participate in the program's Journal Club
- successfully pass the candidacy qualifying exam
- submit and defend a doctoral dissertation
Again, these are just some of the requirements. The full requirements can be found in the Program Handbook, an 885 kB PDF document which can be downloaded here.
For more information about the Molecular and Developmental Biology Program at Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati, email mdbprog@cchmc.org or call 513-636-4545. You can also apply online at our application page.
