Courses

Required core courses for the graduate program in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis are detailed below:

MICB 781: Advanced Immunology

The objectives of this course are to increase the depth of students' knowledge in immunology, expand the students' knowledge of topics in immunology that were not covered in the introductory immunology courses, improve the students' capacities to critically read primary research reports in the discipline of immunology, and improve the students' oral presentation skills.

MICB 785: Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis - Special Topics Journal Club

Microbiology/Immunology Topics is a course designed to study recent developments in the fields of immunology and microbial pathogenesis. This is achieved through student and faculty presentations of primary research articles in recently published journals in the fields of immunology and microbial pathogenesis.

(1 hour/semester of residence in the program)

Students are required to register for MICB 785 each semester of residence and are required to present at least one research paper each semester.

MICB 790 Teaching Assistant

Students are required to serve as a laboratory teaching assistant for 2 semesters in one of the following service courses taught by the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology: MICB 701, Immunity, Infection and Disease (Medical Student course), MICB 702, Microbiology (Dental Student course), MICB 327 Parasitology, or MICB Microbiology (Medical Technician course). Laboratory teaching assistants provide basic laboratory instructions and introduction to the laboratory exercises, assist students with the laboratory exercises as needed, and grade laboratory reports.

MICB 791L: Advanced Microbiology

The objectives of this course are to increase the depth of students' knowledge in microbial pathogenesis, including microbial genetics and bioinformatics, cellular microbiology, and infection-related inflammation; expand the students' knowledge of current topics in microbial pathogenesis that were not covered in the FIS and BMS 736 microbiology courses; improve the students' capacities to critically read primary research reports in the discipline of microbial pathogenesis and improve the students' oral presentation skills.

MICB 796 Graduate Seminar

(1 hour/semester of residence) Students are required to register for MICB 796 each semester of residence and are required to present one research seminar per academic calendar year.

MICB 797 Research or Dissertation

(as needed) MICB 797 credits are recorded as Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) as determined by the student's research advisor.

BMS 736: Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis

The structure of the course is such that the progression of topics to be discussed generally moves from Immune Recognition and Activation, to Regulation of the Immune Response, then to Consequences of Immune Recognition. At the end of each section, an in-class examination will evaluate your knowledge of material covered in that section through discussion-type questions. There will be no comprehensive final examination. The basis for the final Immunology section grade determination is the average of the three examination scores.

Remaining coursework:

Additional graduate coursework to be included in the Ph.D. program may come from any department of the University and is included at the discretion of the Graduate Advisory Committee. Although the number of graduate courses required will vary for different students, most students will be expected to complete at least two additional graduate level courses (numbered 700 or above) beyond the basic required courses taken as part of the common core curriculum in the first year of graduate school and those listed above. The advisory committee can recommend additional coursework to exceed the minimum requirement. Note: MICB 796 (Graduate Seminar), MICB 785 (Journal Club), and MICB 790 (Teaching Assistant) do not fulfill this requirement.

Required credit hours. Full time students on a stipend must register for nine or more credit hours in each of the fall and spring semesters and six or more credit hours in the summer session.