Training Program
Overview of QCB First Year
The first year QCB Program is designed to matriculate students with a background in quantitative physical science or engineering, and prepare them to complete a Ph.D. degree in one of the participating departments. The courses taken during the first year contribute to those required by all departments, so that the remaining didactic requirements can be satisfied during the second year of graduate study.
Coursework
Students admitted to the QCB Program have varied backgrounds and interests, but all have strong quantitative backgrounds. Coursework for the Ph.D. degree is selected based on the students’ undergraduate training and the primary research track that the student is interested in. There are found primary tracks in QCB:
- Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
- Systems Biology
- Imaging Science
- Chemical Biology
Research Rotations
The most important element in any scientific Ph.D. program is research training in the laboratory. Selecting a suitable research problem and laboratory environment for this training is a focus of the QCB first year. To help them choose a laboratory for the dissertation research, students undertake four sequential 8 week rotations. Students may rotate in any of the participating laboratories. By the end of April of the first year in the program, the final preceptor decision is made, and the student enters one of the departmental or interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs.