General Timetable for Ph.D. Candidates
The First Year
All students, except M.D./Ph.D. students, enter the Ph.D. Program in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology through the interdepartmental Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, the PMCB. The first year students take the Molecular and Cell Biology core courses, elective courses, one or more journal clubs, and three laboratory rotations chosen freely among faculty of the four basic science departments participating in the PMCB.
Students normally chose a thesis research advisor at the end of the spring quarter, after the laboratory rotations which permit the student and the prospective thesis research advisor to get to know one another in the laboratory. Students in the PMCB chose an initial departmental affiliation, which serves as the student's home base in the first year, but students in the PMCB may change departments at any time preceding the qualifying exam. Thus the PMCB gives students an opportunity to chose their departmental affiliation after they chose their thesis advisor. Thesis research begins in the last quarter of the first year.
The Second Year
Second year students continue their thesis research and take most of their remaining required and elective courses. In the spring term, they begin the qualifying exam, which takes the form of writing and defending an original research proposal. The qualifying exam is normally completed by the end of the second year.
Third and Subsequent Years
Students in their third year and beyond focus on their thesis research, although they can continue to take elective courses, and they participate in one or more journal clubs and attend departmental seminars every term. Students give a yearly seminar to the department on their thesis research, and attend national meetings, where they present their findings to the larger scientific community. In this period, students typically publish several papers in leading scientific journals, and they write and defend their thesis during their fourth to sixth year.
Advisory and Examination Committees
First year students affiliated with Molecular Microbiology and Immunology have an advisory committee of three faculty members to provide advice on selection of courses and laboratory rotations and other questions that may arise on a quarterly basis. Following choice of a thesis research advisor, this committee is replaced by a Thesis Advisory Committee, which together with the thesis advisor, provides guidance and advice to the student on his or her research, and monitors progress toward completion of the thesis. Second year students are assigned a three-member Qualifying Examination Committee. At the end of their training, students defend their thesis to a Thesis Examination Committee, as described in the published guidelines for preparation and defense of the thesis.
Graduate Program Regulations
All students are subject to the Graduate Program Regulations and Guidelines, which are available at the PMCB website and in the Graduate Studies Handbook.