Department of
Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology

Graduate Program

| Program Description | | Entrance Standard | | Financial Aid | | Curriculum | | Candidacy |

The major objective of graduate education in the Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Graduate Program is research training. Students are grounded with a strong foundation in basic concepts of microbiology, microbial pathogenesis, and immunology and allowed flexibility in choosing advanced coursework in their specific areas of interest. Each student will complete an original, in-depth research investigation and document that investigation in the form of a written thesis or dissertation.

The overall educational objective of the program is to produce doctoral students capable of designing, performing, and directing independent research in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis as well as teach at the highest academic levels.

Program Description

In general, four to five years are required to complete the Ph.D. program. Students have to complete core courses, take at least 30 hours of course work, pass candidacy exam (in written and oral), and defense dissertation research. Students will enter the program as second year students after successfully completing the common first year core curriculum, which is directed by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

More detail information for prospective students.

Entrance Standards

Applicants to the graduate program of Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis must have an earned bachelors or masters' degree from an accredited institution. Applicants should have a strong background in biological sciences, organic chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies directs the Recruitment Committee and Admission Committee for the recruitment and selection of applicants into the first year core curriculum. All applicants are required to take the general aptitude sections of the Graduate Record Examination. A minimum combined score of 1000 (Verbal + Quantitative) is required for admission. Foreign students must also submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

To be admitted into the Graduate Program in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis students must have a 3.0 GPA in the first year core curriculum courses and a grade of B or better in any courses taken in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology.

Students in the Program will be supported by fellowships, traineeships, teaching assistantships, faculty research grants, and individual fellowships from outside sources. Support will include full tuition, health services and hospitalization insurance to the student, and a monthly stipend.

Curriculum

The Doctor of Philosophy program requires at least 30 hours of course work. Six credit hours must be in research ( MICB 797 Doctoral Degree Research and Dissertation ). The student and their advisory committee select the remaining advanced course work that specifically addresses their research interests.

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Advisory Committees

After completion of rotations in the first year of residence in the graduate program, graduate students will select an area of research and appropriate graduate advisor. Graduate students, in consultation with their graduate advisor, select a graduate advisory committee made up of at least 5 members.

More information... about Advisory Committees.

Candidacy

Comprehensive Preliminary Examination. All students are required to take a written comprehensive preliminary examination at the end of the first academic year of residency in the graduate program. All required graduate courses from the first year common core curriculum and the elective modules in Microbial Pathogenesis and Cell Signaling should be successfully completed by this time. The exam consists of four parts covering Immunology, Prokaryotic Genetics, Microbial Pathogenesis, and Cell Signaling.

Candidacy. After successfully passing the comprehensive written preliminary examination, students must complete an NIH style research proposal and successfully defend the proposal to be considered for candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
More information... about the process of candidacy.

Requirements for Students Enrolled in the M.D.-Ph.D. Program.

Requirements for students enrolled in the WVU School of Medicine M.D., Ph.D. program will be exactly the same as for regular graduate students, with the following exceptions:

1. successful completion of the first two years of the medical school basic sciences curriculum will be considered equivalent to the required course component of the Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Graduate Program
2. students will be required to take Biostatistics for the Basic Sciences and Discussions in Scientific Integrity
3. a passing score on the USMLE Board Examination taken at the end of the second year of the medical school curriculum will be considered equivalent to a passing score on the written preliminary examination of the Ph.D. curriculum;
4. students must serve as a teaching assistant in MICB 701, Immunity, Infection, and Disease at least once during their residence in the department.

Thesis Requirements

Written Dissertation. The form of the dissertation will be decided by the graduate advisory committee and must be consistent with the School of Medicine Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations and guidelines published in the university graduate catalog. A copy of the dissertation draft must be delivered to the graduate advisory committee and to the departmental office at least one month prior to the defense of dissertation.

Defense of dissertation. Each student must present his/her research in an open seminar to the faculty of the University. Announcement of the Defense of Dissertation Seminar must be published in the university record three weeks prior to the examination date. Successful completion of this requirement of the program and conferral of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is determined by a vote of the advisory committee and is subject to guidelines stated in the general graduate catalog of the university.

Conferral of degree. Completion of the final examination requires the conferral of the degree by the Graduate Advisory Committee. The student must also fulfill all of the appropriate deadlines and guidelines for graduation posted by the WVU Health Sciences Center Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

Career Opportunities in Field

Most previous graduates of this program have gone to post-doctoral fellowships in university, government (NIH, etc.) or pharmaceutical companies. One recent graduate obtained a position at the University of Pennsylvania in the technology transfer office. Skills learned in this program are especially versatile because they allow students to work in most fields of cell and molecular biology, as well as more specialized areas of microbiology and immunology.