Requirements for the Ph.D. Program in Biological Chemistry:
I. First Year
A. Courses: Most students in the Biological Chemistry Program will complete the standard program outlined below during their first year. The student and Academic Advisor will meet at least twice, each semester, to plan coursework and discuss rotations (see below). If background deficiencies are identified, the student may be advised to register for appropriate undergraduate work and to delay taking a core course until the second year.
The standard first year coursework is as follows:
Fall Semester
BLCHM 6050 Faculty Research Seminar (.5 credit)
MBIOL 7570 Scientific Integrity & Ethics of Science research (1 credit)
BLCHM 6410 Protein & Nucleic Acid Biochemistry (2 credits)
BLCHM 6400 Genetic Engineering (2 credits)
BLCHM 6460 Protein Chemistry (2 credits)
BLCHM 6450 Biophysical Chemistry (2 credits)
BLCHM 7960-01 Graduate Research – (1 credit)
BLCHM 7960-02 Graduate Research – (1 credit)Spring Semester
BLCHM 6100 Journal Club and Grant Proposal Writing Course (2 credits)
BLCHM 7960-01 Graduate Research – (1 credit)
BLCHM 7960-02 Graduate Research – (1 credit)TBA -- Choose 4 different electives during the semester, research track courses and electives
Students must earn a B- or better in all graded core courses. Only one retake is allowed.
Students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 and to remain in good standing (see Part C) with the Biological Chemistry Program and to be eligible for tuition waivers and stipend.
B. Rotation Projects: During their first year, students in the Biological Chemistry Program complete four laboratory rotations with different faculty members. Each student is required to participate in all the Fall and Spring semester rotations. Students are required to rotate in at least two different departments throughout the year. In addition to helping you choose a thesis mentor, lab rotations should provide exposure to new areas of research you might not otherwise experience, familiarize you with the research in different groups and departments, help you learn new experimental approaches, and help develop contacts that may prove helpful in subsequent thesis research.
General guidelines for choosing and successfully completing a lab rotation are outlined below:
1. Choose a rotation lab only after careful thought and discussions with your Academic Advisor. One of the main goals of the rotation system is for the student to find a lab which they will pursue their thesis research.
2. At the outset of the project, discuss conceptual and methodological details with your Rotation Advisor. Also be sure you understand other expectations, such as attendance at group research meetings and the format of the Rotation Report (see below).
3. Before the end of your rotation, submit a Rotation Report to your rotation advisor. The final report format will be determined by each rotation advisor. The content of this report should be discussed beforehand with the rotation advisor and should reflect your understanding of the basic principles involved in the project. However, a typical report will be 2-4 pages in length; its content will include: (a) a description of the basic background of the research area; (b) a statement of the specific problem to be addressed in your project; (c) a description of the experimental approach to the problem; and (d) a summary of experimental results, if any, and their analysis. The emphasis should be on the explanation of the scientific problem and experimental approach, rather than on obtaining a large body of results. This should enable you to begin work on it early in the rotation so that it can be completed before the end of the rotation.
4. Approximately, one week before the end of the rotation, the Program Office will give each student a Rotation Verification Form. He/She should then meet with the rotation advisor to go over their report, after which the rotation advisor will sign the form, indicating both satisfactory performance during the rotation and approval of the report. The student should then take the signed form and the rotation report to the academic advisor, who will sign the verification form to indicate receipt of the report. Finally, the signed form and an e-mailed electronic copy of the report must be submitted to the Program Office in order to receive a CREDIT grade. Students will be given an INCOMPLETE grade until everything has been submitted. ALL documents need to be submitted before a student can officially transfer to a thesis lab. Stipend coverage will not be extended for late submission.
5. You may rotate outside the Biological Chemistry Program (BCP) faculty for one rotation (the mentor must be a Molecular Biology Program faculty member). Any other requests must be approved by the Program Director. If a student elects to join a thesis lab outside the BCP, the stipend guarantee is no longer effective.
6. Faculty and students are asked to wait until two weeks before the end of the spring semester to make a firm commitment on a thesis lab. In principle, you should be talking with faculty during your rotation about the possibility of joining their lab in May; however, we ask you to wait to finalize the commitment until ~April 11th.
C. Evaluation of First Year Academic Performance: We make every effort to help students succeed during the first year, including consultation from an academic advisor. However an unsatisfactory Biological Chemistry Program academic and/or research performance can result in dismissal. Any student with a grade of C in 2 or more of the core courses, and/or with a GPA less than 3.0 will be evaluated for appropriateness for continuation in graduate school. Students with an unsatisfactory performance in their rotations and thus unable to identify a suitable dissertation lab by the end of their first year will also be evaluated for appropriateness for continuation in graduate school. Evaluation of students with unsatisfactory academic and/or laboratory rotation records is conducted by the student’s academic advisor and the director. In any event, a GPA of 3.0 is a requirement for eligibility for graduate school tuition waivers. Students who drop below a 3.0 GPA will have their tuition waiver withdrawn. Moreover, the BCP does not provide financial support beyond the first academic year; this is a departmental responsibility.
Every student is required to sign the enclosed statement regarding the University of Utah Honor Code. Some university courses have take-home exams. Cheating, plagiarism or collusion on examinations is not permissible. Academic dishonesty will likely result in revocation of stipend and tuition benefits and a recommendation for dismissal from graduate school. Collaboration on certain problem sets may be permitted as specified by the course instructor. If any doubts exist, ask the instructor for clarification. Please read this information carefully and if you have any questions, please contact your advisor, the Director, or the Program office.
D. Recruiting Involvement: All students are expected to participate with recruiting new students during their first year. This will include hosting prospective students during the recruiting weekends. The 2011 BCP weekends are January 27-30, February 10-13 and 24-27, 2011. Please mark your calendar.
II. Selecting a Thesis Advisor
The Biological Chemistry Program is responsible for students only during their first year. Subsequently, each student must find a thesis advisor and, thereby, become a student in their advisor’s home department. Every effort will be made to assist students in finding an advisor, but, ultimately, each student is responsible for making appropriate arrangements. Only in exceptional circumstances, and with approval of the Director, will the Program continue financial support beyond one year.
Program participants have agreed to the following guidelines pertaining to the selection of thesis advisors:
A. Students and faculty should not make final commitments regarding choice of a thesis lab until near the end of the Spring semester. Students should discuss their interest in working in the lab of the potential Thesis Advisor during the year and learn whether space will be available and whether a faculty member "in principle" will direct their thesis. When a choice has been made, please submit that information to the Program Office. At this time, a thesis agreement form will be signed by the student and PI. This form states the student's progress during the first year.
B. In general, faculty are urged to accept only one student from each year's class.
C. Faculty members will try to arrange space in their labs so they are able to accept a thesis student from each class.
D. The Program recommends each participating department maintain the current stipend, though departments may vary on financial support and insurance benefits. Please consult the individual department and your potential thesis advisor about support.
III. Following Years
After the first year, each student's education will be conducted under the policies of the department of the Thesis Advisor. This requires satisfactory completion of the standard first year program, including any courses that have been deferred or that must be repeated. In addition, requirements of the graduate school must be met, including a cumulative grade point average above 3.0 and the writing and defending of a Ph.D. Thesis. Additional requirements common to all departments include the following:
A. A Preliminary Examination must be passed. The form and content of the exam may differ slightly from department to department. In general, the preliminary exam will not be undertaken (and in no case shall be considered to have been passed) until the Biological Chemistry core program has been satisfactorily completed. The preliminary exam should be taken before the end of the second year.
B. 1 1/2 semesters of additional graduate level courses should be taken. This could be a mix of didactic and journal clubs. Please check the individual department requirements. Some non-graduate level courses may also be accepted.
C. Participation in departmental journal clubs is expected.
D. After the first year, each department requires every student to serve as a Teaching Assistant for a minimum of one full semester.
E. A student transferring from one department to another after the first year will be subject to the specific guidelines of their new department. There is no guarantee that a prelim in one department will be sufficient for another department’s requirements.
Updated 8/15/2010
