A Comprehensive Foundation for Modern Biomedical Research
As biomedical research moves forward in the 21st century, the lines between traditional scientific disciplines are almost gone. Accomplished researchers must possess more than an in-depth knowledge of one specific field – they need a broad understanding of principles and techniques from disciplines across the biomedical sciences. Since 1992, graduate students at Vanderbilt have received a comprehensive educational foundation for a successful career in biomedical research through the umbrella graduate programs here at Vanderbilt University.
We have two biomedical PhD programs that provide graduate training in the biological and biomedical sciences. We provide a personalized, flexible approach to accommodate a wide range of educational backgrounds and specific interests. We providie our students the strongest possible cross-disciplinary education, and we constantly update and modernize our topics, content, and approach to our curriculum.
Which Graduate Program is Right for You?
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (IGP) is a good choice for applicants with a strong background in Biology. Undergraduate majors in Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry offer strong preparation for the IGP curriculum. Students in this program pursue several different research areas across disciplines.
The Quantitative and Chemical Biology program (QCB) is a good choice if you have a background mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, or engineering but limited biology instruction. This Ph.D. track, multidisciplinary program introduces elements of biology to students who wish to pursue a doctoral degree at the interface of the chemical, physical, and biological sciences. Many students in this program choose to work in interdisciplinary fields such as chemical biology, structural biology, imaging sciences, molecular and cellular biophysics, or systems biology.
Students in both programs have access to the same faculty for four research rotations, and choose to participate in the same 11 departments and programs when choosing their research lab at the end of their first year.
For more information on choosing between the IGP and QCB programs, click HERE.
Our application for Fall 2027 opens on August 1, 2026.
The First Year IGP Program
The goals of the first year program are to provide students with a strong, broad background in biomedical and biological sciences and research methods. Courses are based on the most recent literature in the subject fields of the sections of the course. This means that lectures and discussions are heavily dependent on recently-published journal articles.
Students have the flexibility to explore their research interests from the offerings of the 11 participating departments and programs prior to choosing a laboratory for their dissertation research. Students rotate in four laboratories in their first year; at the end of that first year, students will join a department or program and become students in that department or program.
Information on faculty research can be found on the individual department and program websites, and the BRET Training Faculty can be found here. Faculty profiles may be incomplete, but you can learn more by investigating their pages in their departments.
Please visit the IGP program pages to learn more about the program and the first year curriculum.