For the MA program, graduates with degrees in the biological or physical sciences will complete 32 credits of coursework including the required courses GMS BY 760 Foundations of Biophysics and Structural Biology and GMS BY 771 Biophysics of Macromolecular Assemblies. A written thesis summarizing laboratory research carried out under the direction of a member of the Biophysics Program faculty will complete the requirements.

For the PhD program, students will complete 64 credits of coursework, including the required courses GMS BY 760 Foundations of Biophysics and Structural Biology, GMS BY 771 Biophysics of Macromolecular Assemblies and GMS BY 871, 872 Biophysics Special Topics/Student Seminar. Students with a strong background in the biological sciences will take courses designed to improve their knowledge of the biophysical sciences. Post-master's degree students will complete 32 course credits. The PhD program will also be available to qualified MD/PhD students after completion of two preclinical years of medical school. All students will submit and defend a written thesis describing their original laboratory research carried out under the direction of a member of the Biophysics Program faculty.

Curriculum

REQUIRED COURSES

The course curriculum consists of the following required core didactic courses, plus supplementary courses selected from the following list of graduate school courses:

GMS BY 760 Foundations of Biophysics and Structural Biology (6 cr)
GMS BY 771 Biophysics of Macromolecular Assemblies (4 cr)
GMS BY 871, 872 Biophysics Special Topics/Student Seminar (2 or 4 cr)
GMS BY 945, 946 Research in Department of Biophysics

1. All candidates must pass a comprehensive/qualifying examination by the end of their second year in the program. The examination will consist of both written and oral parts.

2. The student must achieve passing grades in the required courses and maintain a B average in all courses.

3. During the first year, students meet with individual faculty members of the Biophysics Program and perform laboratory research rotations with program faculty. The student must select a PhD research topic and research advisor by the end of his or her first year in the program. Thesis research must be conducted under the guidance of the research advisor who is a member of the Biophysics Program faculty. In consultation with the advisor, the student selects a committee of four additional faculty members to act as a thesis committee.

4. The candidate submits a written thesis describing original research and demonstrating an ability for independent creative scholarship.

5. The candidate defends his or her thesis at a final oral examination. The student must demonstrate mastery of the chosen field of specialization and show that the research contributes significantly to the body of scientific knowledge. The oral examination is conducted by a committee composed of at least five members of the Division faculty. In some cases, at the discretion of the Dean of Graduate Medical Sciences, one of the five committee members may be appointed from outside the graduate faculty of Boston University.

Courses

GMS BY 760 Foundations of Biophysics and Structural Biology
Prereq: consent of instructor. The course provides thorough grounding in theory and practice of the major, fundamental methods of biophysics and structural biology. The course covers thermodynamics, spectroscopy, electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and crystallography, and nuclear magnetic resonance from the standpoint of modern molecular and structurally based research. Atkinson. 6 cr, 1st sem.

David Atkinson PhD, Professor

Esther Bullitt PhD, Instructor

Catherine E. Costello PhD, Research Professor

Hwai-Chen Guo PhD, Assistant Professor

Olga Gursky PhD, Instructor

James A. Hamilton PhD, Professor

Haya Herscovitz PhD, Instructor

C. James McKnight PhD, Assistant Professor

G. Graham Shipley PhD, DSc, Professor

Donald M. Small MD, Professor

Mary T. Walsh PhD, Assistant Professor

Fengli Zhang PhD, Instructor

Raphael A. Zoeller PhD, Associate Professor

Joint Faculty

M. Carter Cornwall PhD, Research Professor (Professor of Physiology)

Paul F. Pilch PhD, Research Professor (Professor of Biochemistry)

Elizabeth R. Simons PhD, Research Professor (Professor of Biochemistry)