PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry

Admission

Prospective students are expected to have strong undergraduate backgrounds in biology and chemistry (general and organic). College-level courses in physics, calculus, and statistics are also expected to have been completed. Any deficiencies in these areas may need to be corrected after matriculation into the program, but without receiving graduate course credit. Applicants must submit scores for the General Graduate Record Examination. The Subject GRE, while not required, is strongly encouraged. Normally, the Subject test should be taken in Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Applicants whose native language is not English are also required to submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Admission is limited to September enrollment.

Curriculum and Requirements

The MCBB Program offers post-bachelor’s and post-master’s PhDs. With the exception of MB and BB courses, the reader is referred to individual department listings for descriptions of the courses listed below. For details on requirements regarding grade point averages, annual reports, and responsible conduct in research, please see the MCBB graduate program guide at www.bu.edu/mcbb.

Post-master’s PhD

For the post-master’s PhD, 32 course credits are required. The required courses are the same as described below  for the post-bachelor’s PhD. However, depending on the student’s background, one or more of the required courses may be waived in consultation with the instructors of those courses, subject to the approval of the MCBB Program Committee. No more than 4 credits may be derived from 2-credit seminar/readings courses.

Post-bachelor’s PhD

For the post-bachelor’s PhD degree in MCBB, a total of 64 course credits is required. Of these, at least 32 credits must come from lecture, laboratory, or seminar courses distributed as follows:

Required Core Courses (24 credits total)

• CAS BI 552 Molecular Biology I (4 cr)
• GRS BI 753 Advanced Molecular Biology (4 cr)
• CAS BI 583/584 Progress in Cell and Molecular Biology (2 cr each; the student is required to attend this seminar throughout his or her graduate career at Boston University, but may only count a total of 4 credits toward the degree.)
• GRS MB 721 Graduate Biochemistry (4 cr)
• GRS MB 722 Advanced Biochemistry (4 cr)
• GRS BI 735 Advanced Cell Biology (4 cr)

PhD candidates in the post-bachelor’s program may apply for the MA upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, provided that the coursework requirements for the MA have been satisfied. In this case, no thesis or scholarly review paper is required.

Qualifying Examination

For the PhD, a qualifying examination must be passed. The examination is designed to test the student’s knowledge in molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry as well as his or her grasp of areas related to a research topic. It is normally taken in the second year after most or all of the formal coursework has been completed. It consists of a written preliminary exam, offered twice a year, and an oral qualifying exam administered by a committee of no fewer than five faculty, at least four of whom must be members of the MCBB Program (including the thesis advisor). The oral qualifying exam should be passed within 6 months of the preliminary exam. Any student failing this examination may, at the discretion of the examination committee, have the opportunity to take it again. Failure of the second examination will be grounds for automatic dismissal from the PhD program and the loss of any further financial aid, although the student may still be eligible for the MA provided that those degree requirements are met.

Teaching Requirement

The program requires a minimum of two semesters’ participation in teaching during a graduate student’s career as part of the PhD.

Thesis

For the PhD, a dissertation of publication quality describing original research is required. The first reader must be a member of the MCBB Program. The thesis committee consists of no fewer than five faculty, of whom at least three (including the first reader) must be members of the MCBB Program. At least one outside member is encouraged. Usually, this committee will be the same as that for the qualifying examination, although replacements may be necessary in individual cases. After passing the qualifying examination, the student is required to meet with this committee on a regular basis, usually at least once a year, at which time the student’s research progress will be evaluated. Before the thesis defense is scheduled, the committee will agree on the body of work that is sufficient to constitute the thesis and meet with the student, who will defend the work. A thesis defense seminar is also required.