Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology

Requirements for Entering MGMI Graduate Program

Requirements for Students Entering the Graduate Program Through the Molecular Biosciences Program (Without Advanced Standing)

Sections:

Director: Joseph Dougherty
Associate Director: Nancy Woychik

First Year

Incoming Program students will take the curriculum of the Molecular Biosciences. The basic curriculum may be modified on an individual basis for students with advanced standing, who are following a "flexible curriculum" specified by a fellowship program, or who need remedial course work to remedy a deficient background. Such remedial courses will not count in fulfilling degree requirements.

Fall Semester

BIOC 5501 (RU 115:501) Biochem and Mol Biol - I 3 credits
BIOC 5502 (RU 115:502) Biochem and Mol Biol- II 3 credits
BIOC 5011 (RU 695:611) Special Topics Seminar 1 credit
IDST 5000 (RU 115:556) Ethical Scientific Conduct 1 credit
MICR 5021(RU 695:615) Lab Rotation #1 2 credits
MICR 5022 Lab Rotation #2 2 credits

Spring Semester

MICR 5013 (RU 16:681:502) Microbial and Mol Genetics 3 credits
MICR 5211 (RU 16:695:601) Advanced Cell Biology 3 credits
MICR 5213 (RU 16:695:612) Special Topics Seminar 1 credit
MICR 5023 (RU 16:695:616) Lab Rotation #3 2 credits
Elective of student's choice, research credits, or Lab Rotation #4 plus a 1 credit seminar 3 credits

(Note on Lab Rotations: While 3 Lab Rotations are indicated, a student may choose to do a fourth if a lab in which the thesis research is to be done has not yet been chosen. Details regarding these rotations as applied in 1996-97 follow this section.)

Lab Rotations

Schedule

Students are required to do three laboratory rotations as part of their graduate education: two rotations of 8 weeks each during the Fall semester, and a third during the first 8 weeks of the Spring semester. The laboratory in which the student's research is to be done should generally be chosen at the end of the third rotation. Thesis research will begin at this time. A fourth rotation may be taken by students who have not found a permanent lab after the first three rotations.
Each rotation counts as 2 course credits towards the PhD, with a maximum of 6 credits allowed. The fourth rotation will not substitute for additional course credits.

Setting up Rotations

It is the responsibility of the student to talk with faculty to arrange rotations, with the help of members of the Laboratory Rotation Committee. Selection of rotations must be reported to a member of the Lab Rotation Committee, and a lab rotation form completed. Generally the choice of the next rotation should be made about two weeks before the present one ends.
A student may not rotate in the same lab twice.

Reports Required

A one page summary of the work done in each rotation is to be prepared, and copies submitted to the head of the laboratory in which the work was done, and to the office of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. This summary should include the name of the lab, the dates of the rotation, the objectives of the work, the nature of the student's participation, and the results.

Subsequent Years

A minimum of 2 additional semesters of Special Topics Seminars.
Elective courses of student's choice to give the required minimum total of 32 credits.
Research credits to bring each semester's total to 12 credits.
The entire doctoral program must be completed in no more than seven years from the time of entry into the program.

Qualifying Examination for Students in the Molecular Biosciences Program

The Qualifying Examination for admission to candidacy for the PhD degree consists of two parts: a written exam given at the end of the first year, and an oral exam to be given before the end of the student's second year in the program.

Written Exam

The written exam will be given to all students entering through the Molecular Biosciences Program after the completion of the first year curriculum sometime in June. The exam will be based on the material studied in the required core courses of the first year and on a selection of journal articles provided to the students before the exam. Questions will be in essay format, and will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis by a committee composed of representatives from the various Molecular Biosciences graduate programs.
A student must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to sit for the exam, and failure of the exam may, upon recommendation of the Academic Standing Committee of the Molecular Biosciences Program, result in termination of the student from the PhD program. Ordinarily students will not be permitted a second attempt at passage of the exam.

Oral Exam

The oral exam must be taken within 1 year of completing the first qualifying exam, and is intended to be a discussion of the student's proposed thesis research. It will consist of a presentation by the student, followed by an evaluation of both the work already completed and the feasibility of future plans for completing the thesis. There is no formal requirement for a written component to this exam, but the student’s thesis advisor may require a written proposal in a format of their choosing. Evaluation will be on a Pass/Conditional Pass/Fail basis. Passage of this exam is required for admission to candidacy for the PhD degree. Failure at this stage will usually result in dismissal of the student from the PhD program.

The examining committee should consist of a minimum of three faculty members, two of whom should be members of the Molecular Genetics, Microbiology & Immunology graduate program. The members are to be chosen by the student and approved in writing (email is ok) by the Director of the MGMI program. The student's thesis advisor shall not be present during the exam, and will not participate in the final decision as to whether the student passes or fails.

Before the examination begins, the student should provide the most current academic transcript and CV for the committee members to evaluate. Any deficiencies in the student’s grades or course work should be noted on the Qualifying Examination Report. The chairperson for the Oral Qualifying Exam Committee must be a member of the MGMI program. Prior to the student’s presentation, he/she will be asked to leave the examination room and the Committee will elect a Chair and evaluate the student’s progress to date.

The student should give a short presentation outlining the background, questions, preliminary data, and experiments described in the proposal. Committee members are expected to question the student on the proposal to gauge the student’s knowledge of the background literature along with their understanding of the proposed experiments and how they relate to the questions they are trying to address. If the committee feels there are gaps in the student’s knowledge they can recommend solutions, such as additional course work, journal clubs, writing a review, re-writing the proposal, etc.

The student’s performance will be discussed among the committee members after the presentation (in the student’s absence). The consensus of the committee is then recorded on the Qualifying Examination Report (i.e. Pass, Conditional Pass, Fail). Specific requirements in the case of a Conditional Pass will be recorded in writing by the Chair of the Committee. The completed form must then be signed by the Graduate program director and submitted to the GSBS office (Research Tower, room V01). If a conditional pass is granted, then the student must obtain the committee’s signatures on a new form after the requirements have been met. This form must be approved and submitted to the GSBS office as above.

Choice of Research Advisor, Thesis Committee, and Thesis Defense

Research Advisor

It is intended that a student will select a mentor for his/her thesis research during the course of the lab rotations in the first year. Full time research on the student's project should begin during the summer following completion of the first year, leading up to the oral exam sometime before the end of the second year.

Thesis Committee

After successfully passing the oral exam, the student and advisor should select a thesis advisory committee consisting of at least two other members of the MGM&I Program faculty plus one individual familiar with the student's field of research from outside the Program, preferably from outside the institution. The membership of the committee must be approved in writing by the Program Director and the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UMDNJ, and communicated to the Program Academic Standing Committee. The student's research advisor will serve as chair of this committee, and will be responsible for calling meetings of the committee. This committee should meet to review the student's progress at least once each year and submit a progress report to the MGM&I Academic Standing Committee.

Thesis Defense

When the student's research has achieved the goals agreed upon by the committee and his or her advisor, a dissertation describing the results of the work is to be written according to the guidelines established by Rutgers University, distributed to the committee for their evaluation, and presented in a lecture open to the public. Following the public discussion, the committee may examine the student on issues related to the research in closed session. Formal acceptance of the dissertation requires approval of a majority of the members of the committee. If such approval is not obtained, revisions to the dissertation, or additional research may be required before the degree is granted.