Graduate Program

The Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) program at Michigan State University is an interdepartmental Ph.D. program with participating faculty from sixteen academic departments and centers, including the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The research programs address a wide variety of biological questions with an equally diverse array of organisms. However, the ideas and approaches common to cell biology and/or molecular biology unite the research programs of the participating faculty whether they are interested in herbicide resistance in crop plants, DNA replication in bacteria, or tumor development in humans

The CMB training program is designed so that the student will focus on a particular area of research while being exposed to a wide variety of topics in cell and molecular biology. The primary requirement for the Ph.D. is the completion of original research and the publication of a Ph.D. thesis describing that research. The CMB program emphasizes the importance of high quality research, and is designed to assist students in fulfilling their potential as research scientists. During the first academic year at MSU, students take required and elective courses and complete three research rotations in the laboratories of three different faculty members. This provides the student with in-depth exposure to several different research programs, and assists him or her in choosing a major professor with whom they will do their Ph.D. research. Thereafter, students are advised by both their major professor and their Graduate Advisory Committee, which includes three or four additional CMB faculty. Generally, about four years beyond the rotation period are required to complete the Ph.D. program.

 

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