Biochemistry and molecular biology graduate core

The PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) is designed to provide a broad, graduate-level foundation, followed by advanced study and research to foster professional specialization. Students are required to successfully complete a minimum of six BMB courses across the disciplines of biochemistry, molecular genetics, cell biology and BMB tools (a minimum of one course in each discipline, and two additional courses) in consultation with the student’s advisory committee. Supporting elective courses may be in biology or other departments or programs at UNT or partner institutions (e.g., UNT HSC or TWU). Contact the department for further details on qualifying courses. Students must enroll in BIOL 5860  at least once per year for the duration of their degree.

Doctoral degree requirements and procedures

1. During the second long term/semester, the student, in consultation with the major professor, selects an advisory committee of four other faculty members, three of whom must be from the department faculty. The fourth may be from another UNT department, the Federation of North Texas Area Universities or another university if the member is approved by the Department. Additional members may be added to the committee as long as the majority of the committee members are faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences. A copy of the form designating the committee should be filed with the graduate advising coordinator before the student’s third long term/semester.

2. The student, major professor, and advisory committee must meet at least annually to monitor student progress, formulate the degree plan and candidacy exam structure, and administer candidacy exams and the final defense. The annual committee meeting will consist of a student-led progress presentation followed by time for discussion of progress and future directions. The student is responsible for organizing the annual committee meetings and the major professor is the chair of the meetings.

3. Before registering for the third long term/semester, the student, major professor and advisory committee prepare a formal degree plan of the courses to be taken by the student, including the language or tool-subject requirement. The degree plan consists of 72 hours of graduate credit at the 5000- and 6000-course level beyond the bachelor’s degree or 42 hours beyond the master’s degree, including a minimum of 12 hours of foundation and 6 hours of advanced/electives courses, and 12 hours of dissertation. Only 6 hours of special problems (6900-6910) may be counted towards the degree plan. The number of individual research (6940) hours counted toward the degree plan is determined by the major professor and advisory committee. A copy of the degree plan, signed by all committee members, should be submitted to the graduate advising coordinator before the student’s third long term/semester. All course work must be at the 5000 and 6000 levels. Doctoral students may not receive graduate credit for any undergraduate course by taking the course under a 5000- or 6000-level designation, such as special problems. Undergraduate courses, except those which meet with graduate courses, are considered to be for the correction of deficiencies and are not included in the graduate degree plan hours.

4. Doctoral students may take written and oral candidacy examinations only after completing a minimum of four (equivalent to 12 hours) foundation courses and two (equivalent to 6 hours) advanced courses. The written candidacy exam will (typically) consist of a formal research proposal, prepared in the style of a major federal research grant, outlining current progress and objectives to complete the dissertation. The oral candidacy exam will (typically) consist of an oral presentation of the project followed by an oral defense of the written proposal. The oral candidacy exam may also include an examination of the student’s comprehension of general, graduate-level subject matter at the discretion of the advisory committee. Submission of the written exam and completion of the oral defense (oral exam) must occur within one month. Written and oral exams should occur during the fifth long semester and by the end of the sixth semester at the latest. The manner and form of the written and oral candidacy examinations are determined by the major professor, who is chair of the student’s advisory committee, and the advisory committee members. The examining professor sets guidelines for the administration of the examinations. The manner and form of the written and oral candidacy exams must be agreed upon by the student, major professor, and advisory committee well in advance of the exams during annual committee meetings. The student is responsible for scheduling rooms for the examinations. Students are advised that a research proposal in the style of a major federal research grant requires substantial time for contemplation, writing, and editing. To meet the fifth long semester timeline for submission and defense, students should engage in proposal preparation throughout their third and fourth semesters. In (atypical) situations where candidacy exams do not consist of a written proposal and oral defense, a written proposal and oral defense are required in addition to the candidacy exam arrangements. All candidacy exams, the proposal submission, and the oral proposal defense should occur during the fifth long semester and by the end of the sixth semester at the latest.

5. Before registering for the fifth long semester, a formal research proposal, outlining current progress and objectives to complete the dissertation should be submitted and defended to the major professor and advisory committee for approval.

6. Students may not register for dissertation hours (6950) until all formal courses (excluding seminar), candidacy exams and the research proposal are complete and approved, and documentation is filed with the graduate advising secretary. PhD candidates should be actively writing their dissertations while taking dissertation hours. Once registered for dissertation, the student must maintain continuous enrollment in at least 3 hours of 6950 during each long semester until the dissertation is submitted to the graduate school. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment may invalidate previous 6950 credit or result in the student being dismissed from the degree program, unless granted an official leave of absence by the dean of the Toulouse Graduate School.

7. Dissertation research is expected to be of a quantity and quality to contribute to the professional, peer-reviewed scientific literature.

8. Following approval by the major professor, a draft of the dissertation must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the defense of the dissertation and final examination.

9. A formal seminar based on the dissertation must be presented by the student during the student’s final term/semester. The candidate must schedule a room for and publicly advertise the seminar and defense. Directly following the seminar, the candidate defends the dissertation in a final oral examination conducted by the major professor and advisory committee.

10. The candidate is responsible for completing all requirements and meeting all deadlines for graduation within the time specified by the graduate school.

11. A final copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Toulouse Graduate School through the VIREO system.