Cell and Molecular Biology, Ph.D.

Core Requirements (4 Credit Hours)

• PCB 6920 Advances in Cell and Molecular Biology Credit Hours: 1
• PCB 6956 Scientific Grant Writing Credit Hours: 3

Additional Required Courses (7 Credit Hours Minimum)

• BSC 6930 Lectures in Contemporary Biology Credit Hours: 1 (1 credit for this program, taken four times for a total of 4 credits)
• PCB 6525 Molecular Genetics Credit Hours: 3

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  *PCB 6525 may be substituted for another suitable course upon approval by the Graduate Director and student committee chairperson.

Electives (3 Credit Hours Minimum)

Graduate classes not on this list may be used with the approval of the MB Graduate Director

Selected from:

• PCB 6107 Advanced Cell Biology Credit Hours: 4
• BSC 5425 Genetic Engineering and Recombinant DNA Technology Credit Hours: 3
• BSC 6932 Selected Topics in Biology Credit Hours: 1-4

Research Requirements (43 Credit Hours Minimum)

• BSC 7910 Directed Research Credit Hours: 1-19

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  With the permission of the Committee Chairperson, additional course credits can be substituted for Directed Research hours as long as the total is 43 credit hours minimum. Course credits substituting for Directed Research or Dissertation hours may not exceed a total of nine (9) credit hours.

Qualifying Exams

All students in the Cell and Molecular Biology Ph.D. program must complete a written and oral qualifying examination.

The written exam shall be in the format of a grant proposal and contain the following sections:

• Abstract {300 words}
• Specific Aims [1 page]
• Background and Significance of topics [2 pages]
• Proposed research program (conducted over 3-year period) [4 pages]
• Bibliography (no page limit)

The length of the proposal shall be no more than 7 pages (the abstract and bibliography does not count in the page limit). The topic of the exam shall meet the following guidelines:

• The written proposal cannot be based in the same model organism that the student will use to carry out their dissertation research
• The written proposal cannot be based on the analysis of the same gene/protein that the student will investigate during their dissertation research
• The written proposal cannot be based on the analysis of the same pathway that the student will investigate during their dissertation research

The oral exam is centered around a formal dissertation proposal presentation, followed by a period of questioning by the dissertation advisory committee.

Admission to Candidacy

The doctoral student is eligible for admission to candidacy after completing structured course requirements, passing the qualifying examinations and approval by the supervisory committee. Appropriate forms to document promotion to candidacy must be completed and to the Office of Graduate Studies. Following admission to candidacy, a student must enroll in BSC 7980 Dissertation: Doctoral  when engaged in research, data collection, or writing activities relevant to the doctoral dissertation. Advisors should assign the number of credits in this course in accordance with policy and appropriate to the demands made on faculty, staff, and University facilities, but in no event will the total number of earned dissertation credits be fewer than 32. Students not admitted to candidacy are not eligible to enroll in BSC 7980 Dissertation: Doctoral  .

Dissertation Requirements (32 Credit Hours Minimum)

The dissertation of all graduate students admitted to a graduate degree program at the University of South Florida must conform to the guidelines of the Handbook for Graduate Thesis and Dissertations available from the USF Office of Graduate Studies (https://www.usf.edu/graduate-studies/students/electronic-thesis-dissertation/).

• BSC 7980 Dissertation: Doctoral Credit Hours: 2-19 (32 hours required for this program)

• With the permission of the Committee Chairperson, additional course credits can substitute for Dissertation hours as long as the total is 32 credit hours minimum.  Course credits substituting for Directed Research or Dissertation hours may not exceed a total of nine (9) credit hours.

Doctoral Seminar and Defense

All doctoral students must present a public seminar to the MB Department and must be enrolled in BSC 7980 , during the semester in which the seminar is given. The seminar should be a concise summary of the research completed to satisfy the requirements for the Ph.D. The seminar is open to the general public and must be announced two weeks prior to the presentation. Upon completion of the seminar, the general public will be invited to ask questions. At the discretion of the student’s advisory committee, members of the committee may continue to question the graduate student after the general public has departed the seminar room. Each student is expected to defend his/her research to the unanimous satisfaction of the advisory committee. Following the defense, students will make any editorial modifications to the dissertation as recommended by the advisory committee and submit the dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies.

If required, due to unforeseen events of catastrophic nature, such as, but not limited to, a global pandemic or natural disaster, the seminar or defense may be presented in an on-line virtual manner (such as via TEAMs or Zoom) that is still publicly accessible and attended by committee members and chairperson.

• BSC 7936 Doctoral Seminar Credit Hours: 1

Other Requirements

• 1 Scientific Publication submitted by the dissertation defense date
• 2 presentations at a national or international Scientific Meeting