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Molecular Physiology & Biophysics

Prospective Students

Welcome to the website for prospective Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (MPB) graduate students.

Students join the MPB Graduate Program either via an Umbrella Program or by Direct Admission:

Umbrella Programs:

The majority of our students enter MPB via one of three umbrella programs:

Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
Quantitative & Chemical Biology Program
Medical Scientist Training Program

Each of these programs, including the application process, is described at length on their respective sites. Briefly, they all involve core coursework and rotations through laboratories of the students’ choice. After completing rotations, students choose a laboratory and Graduate Program. The MPB Graduate Program is one of eleven Graduate Programs within the basic sciences.

Direct Admission:

Students who already have a Master’s degree can apply to one of the umbrella programs or can apply to be directly admitted to the MPB Graduate Program. Direct admits are arranged with a specific MPB primary or secondary faculty member and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, the Graduate Education Committee, and the Department Chair. Candidates are required to provide their CV, 2 letters of reference, their undergraduate and Master’s transcripts and a personal statement describing their prior research experience and the reason they wish to join the lab of a MPB primary or secondary faculty member. Candidates will be interviewed in person or over Zoom by members of the Graduate Education Committee.

Students who join MP&B directly having obtained a master’s degree from another institution, may transfer up to 24 hours, including six formal, didactic hours, with approval from the MP&B program and the Graduate School. With DGS approval, transfer credit may count toward the minimum 24 didactic credit hours at Vanderbilt required by the Graduate School. The remaining credit hours may be completed through research or didactic hours for 72 total credit hours. 

MPB Faculty

As apparent from their profiles (which can be found by clicking here), the research interests of the primary and secondary MPB faculty are overlapping but broad. As a result, their students belong to one of the following graduate programs:

  • Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Chemical and Physical Biology
  • Human Genetics
  • Medicine (the Medical Scientist Training Program)
  • Molecular Physiology & Biophysics (MPB)
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology

The vast majority of students in the laboratories of primary and secondary MPB faculty are associated with the MPB Graduate Program. This is a significant factor in creating a vibrant atmosphere in the department because most of the graduate students in our department interact on a regular basis at MPB graduate program events. The students who are in the laboratories of MPB faculty but who do not belong to the MPB Graduate Program still interact on a regular basis with students in the MPB Graduate Program at our Monday seminar series and departmental retreat.

Further information about the MPB Graduate Program can be found under the link titled “Information for Current Students”. We hope you will find all of the information you need on these pages; however, please do not hesitate to contact our Director of Graduate Studies, Richard O’Brien if you have any questions.