Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ph.D.

Admission to Candidacy

Admission to graduate study leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy does not constitute formal admission to candidacy for the degree. To become a candidate for the Ph.D. degree, a student must:

1. Complete successfully all coursework recommended by the departmental advisory committee.
2. Complete successfully a qualifying examination that includes both written and oral sections.
3. Defend before an appropriate faculty committee a monograph detailing the area of proposed research or a research proposal patterned after a grant proposal.

Degree Requirements

To obtain the Ph.D. degree in molecular and cellular biology, the candidate must:

1. Meet the requirements set forth in the Degree Requirements  section of this catalog.
2. Enroll for the courses necessary to bring the total number of credit hours of graduate coursework to 60 (as many as 24 credit hours may be waived for students with previous graduate work in the life sciences).
3. Carry out a research program under supervision of the faculty, prepare a dissertation and successfully defend it before an audience that includes the dissertation committee of the faculty.
4. Meet a residence requirement of two years as a full-time student at SMU.