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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 (1 credit)
PHIL 7570    Scientific Integrity & Ethics of Science research  (1 credit)
BLCHM 6410 Protein & Nucleic Acid Biochemistry (3 credits)
BLCHM 6400 Genetic Engineering  (2 credits) -1st half of semester
BLCHM 6450 Biophysical Chemistry (2 credits) - 2nd half of semester
BLCHM 7960 Graduate Research – 2 rotations (1 credit each)

Spring Semester
BLCHM 6100  First Year Journal Club and Grant Proposal Writing Course (1 credit each)
BLCHM 6430  Structural Methods (3 credits)
BLCHM 6460  Protein Chemistry (2 credits)
VARIES          Topics in Biological Chemistry  (Elective)
BLCHM 7960 Graduate Research – 2 rotations  (1 credit each)

If a grade less than B- is earned in a core course, the student will be required to retake the course.  If a student is below a 3.0 GPA, they will not be eligible for the tuition benefit program.

B. Rotation Projects: During their first year, students in the Biological Chemistry Program are expected to complete at least four laboratory rotations with different faculty members.  Each student is required to participate in all the Fall and Spring semester rotations.  In addition to helping you choose a thesis mentor, lab rotations should provide some exposure to 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.  You may rotate outside the Biological Chemistry Program faculty for one rotation (must be a Molecular Biology Program faculty member).   Any other requests must be approved by the Program Director.

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, 1-2 pages in length, to your Rotation Advisor.  The content of this report should be discussed beforehand with your Rotation Advisor and should reflect your understanding of the basic principles involved in the project.  The report should 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.  Note that 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, two weeks before the end of the rotation, the Program Office will give each student a Rotation Verification form and an Advisor Contact Verification form.  Before the end of the rotation the student should meet with their academic advisor.  The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the student's thoughts on their current and next rotation, and/or address any other relevant academic or personal issues.  At that time, the academic advisor will sign the Advisor Contact Verification form.  At the end of the rotation, the student will meet with the rotation advisor to go over the completed rotation report.  If all has gone well, the rotation advisor will sign the form, indicating both satisfactory performance during the rotation and approval of the report.  The student will return all forms to the Program Office to receive a CREDIT grade.  Students not returning their signed forms will be given an INCOMPLETE grade until the forms are turned in.

C. Evaluation of First Year Academic Performance: Students with unsatisfactory academic performance during the first year will receive a formal evaluation prior to proceeding to a thesis lab.  All students ending the first year with less than a 3.0 GPA will be evaluated, due to the requirement of 3.0 for eligibility for graduate school tuition waivers.  Recommendations to the student's thesis department regarding continued tuition waiver can be made at this time. Any student with a grade of C in 3 or more of the core courses will also be evaluated for appropriateness for continuation in graduate school.  Recommendations will be made by a select committee of faculty and approved by the Director.

Every student is required to sign the enclosed statement regarding the University of Utah Honor Code.  Many of the core courses have take-home exams.  Cheating, plagiarism or collusion on examinations is not permissible and may likely result in 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.  A GPA below the required 3.0 may also result in dismissal.  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 2005 BCP weekends are Feb 16-19 and March 2-5, 2005.  Please mark your calendar.

 

II.  Selecting a Thesis Advisor

The Biological Chemistry Program remains responsible for students only during their first year.  Subsequently, each student must find a thesis advisor and, thereby, become a student in that individual'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 Steering Committee, 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, submit that information to the Program Office.  In cases where student requests exceed space, discussions can be set up in an attempt to work out arrangements satisfactory to all concerned.

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 amount but 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.

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 one semester.

 

 

6/05