Core Curriculum
Requirements and Didactic Training for the Ph.D. Degree in the Concentration in MCT
A student enrolled in the Concentration in MCT must complete a minimum of 90 credit hours including a minimum of 30 credit hours in dissertation research, and 60 credit hours in the core curriculum and electives. The student must pass a written and an oral qualifying examination to become a Ph.D. candidate. In addition, the student must write and successfully defend a dissertation, the presentation component consisting of a seminar open to the public.
Academic Requirements
All students are required to maintain at least a “B” grade point average (3.0 GPA). Should a student’s cumulative GPA drop below 3.0 in a semester; the student will be placed on academic probation for the next semester. Should a student’s GPA remain below 3.0 for more than one semester, the student will lose his/her Graduate Fellowship. Failure to raise the grade point average to the minimum 3.0 levels is grounds for dismissal from the program. A failure (grade lower than “B” or “fail”) in a Core Course may be grounds for dismissal for the program.
Core Curriculum
The Concentration in MCT curriculum is composed of IBS core and MCT core courses, along with elective courses to allow tailoring of individual training. All graduate students enrolled in any of the eleven PhD awarding IBS programs are required to take the IBS core courses. The IBS courses are taught by faculty from the basic science departments of the School of Medicine, and are intended to provide a sufficiently broad but comprehensive base of knowledge in the areas of cell biology, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology. The MCT core courses are taught by IEHS faculty as well as faculty drawn from multiple WSU Colleges. The MCT courses are intended to provide a foundation in multiple aspects of toxicology. The elective courses (see below) provide the student with more detailed knowledge and laboratory experience necessary to develop sufficient expertise in the more narrowly defined specific area(s) of research that the student will be pursuing.
IBS core curriculum courses:
Course # Course title Credit hrs. Semester
IBS7010 Molecular Biology 5 Fall
IBS7020 Cellular Biology 5 Fall
IBS70xx Systems Biology 4 Winter
BMS6010 Ethics in Biomedical Sciences 1 Spring/Summer
MCT Core curriculum courses:
Course # Course title Credit hrs. Semester
MTX7010 Principles of Toxicology 3 Fall
MTX7500 Molecular Toxicology (Mini-course)* 3 Winter
Other core courses:
MTX7710 Individual Study in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology
MTX7890 Seminar in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology
MTX9990 Pre-Dissertation Research
MTX9991 – 9994 Ph.D. Candidate Status
MTX9995 Ph.D. Maintenance Status
Model Curriculum
Year 1
The first year will provide the student sufficient didactic courses, laboratory experience, and seminars to enable the student to select a Graduate Advisor and begin development of a Plan of Work.
FALL
Course # Course title [Credit hrs.]
IBS7010 Molecular Biology [5]
IBS7020 Cell Biology [5]
Pick a laboratory for the first rotation
WINTER
Systems Biology (select two from the following) [4]
IBS7030 Functional Genomics [2]
IBS7040 Biomedical Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Renal Biology [2]
IBS7050 Biomedical Neurobiology [2]
IBS7060 Biomedical Endocrine Systems Biology [2]
IBS7070 Biomedical Reproductive and Developmental Biology [1]
IBS7080 Biomedical Gastrointestinal Systems and Nutrition [1]
IBS7090 Biomedical Immunology [2]
Electives (please see below) [3-6]
MTX7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
Pick a laboratory for the second rotation
SPRING-SUMMER
BMS6010 Ethics in Biomedical Sciences [1]
MTX7710 Individual Studies in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology
(Pre-Dissertation Research-Rotations) [2-4]
Total for Year 1: 23 - 27 Credit hours
Year 2
FALL
MTX7010 Principles of Toxicology [3]
Electives [3-6]
MTX7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX9990 Pre-Dissertation Research [1-6]
Select Dissertation Advisor
Prepare and Submit Plan of Work1
Select Dissertation Committee
WINTER
MTX7500 Molecular Toxicology (mini-courses) [3]
Electives [3-6]
MTX 7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX 7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX 9990 Pre-dissertation Research [1-6]
Pass written qualifying examination in March
SPRING-SUMMER
MTX 9990 Pre-Dissertation research [2]
Prepare dissertation proposal for oral qualifying examination
Pass oral qualifying examination in August
Total for Year 2: 24-28 Credit hours
Total for Years 1 and 2: 47-55 Credit hours
Year 3*
FALL
MTX7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX9991 Dissertation Research [7.5]
WINTER
MTX7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX9992 Dissertation Research [7.5]
SPRING-SUMMER
MTX7710 Individual Studies in Molecular and Cellular Toxicolgy [2]
Total for Year 3: 21 Credit hours
Total for Years 1-3: 60 Course Credits
Candidate status: 15 Credits
*BY THE END OF YEAR 3, A STUDENT MUST FINISH A TOTAL OF 60 CREDITS OF 7000 LEVEL STUDIES THAT MAY INCLUDE MTX 9990 (RESEARCH)
Year 4
FALL
MTX7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX9993 Dissertation Research [7.5]
WINTER
MTX7890 Seminars in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX7700 Current Topics in Molecular and Cellular Toxicology [1]
MTX9994 Dissertation Research [7.5]
SPRING-SUMMER
MTX9995 Ph.D. Candidate Maintenance Status [0]
Total for Year 4: 19 Credit hours
Total for Years 1-4: 62 Course Credits
Candidate Status: 30 Credits
Year 5
FALL
MTX9995 Ph.D. Candidate Maintenance Status [0]
WINTER
MTX9995 Ph.D. Candidate Maintenance Status [0]
Year 6 (if necessary)
FALL
MTX9995 Ph.D. Candidate Maintenance Status [0]
WINTER
MTX9995 Ph.D. Candidate Maintenance Status [0]
The student is expected to complete and defend the doctoral dissertation during year 5. The program requires that the student will complete a minimum of sixty 7000 level credit hours by the end of year 03 and a total of ninety credit hours (60 plus 30 hrs of Ph.D. research) by the end of year 05 or the completion of the Ph.D.
1: Plan of Work consists of a sequence of course work and dissertation research to satisfy the requirements of the Graduate Program. The Plan of Work should be signed by the student, the advisor, and the Graduate Officer. The signed Plan of Work is then submitted to the Graduate School for approval, before the student has completed 40 graduate credits.
Elective courses:
Course # Course title [Credit hrs.] Semester
BMB7320 Protein Structure and Function [3] Winter
BMB7010 General Biochemistry Lecture [3] Fall
BMS6010 Ethics in Biomedical Science [1] Summer
CB8680 Molecular Mechanism - DNA Repair [3] IRR
CB7450 Tumor Immunology [3] Winter
CB7220 Molecular Biology - Cancer Development [3] Fall
CB7210 Fundamentals of Cancer Biology [3] Winter
CB7600 Cancer Biostatistics [3] Fall
FPH7015 Biostatistics I [4] Fall
FPH7240 Epidemiology I [3] Fall
IM7010 Fundamental of Immunology [4] Winter
MGB7600 Adv. Human Genetics [3] Fall/Winter
MGB7400 Cellular Signaling [2] Fall
MGB7010 Molecular Biology & Genetics [4] Fall
PHC7010 Pharmacology Lecture [4] Winter
PHC7210 Fundamentals of Cancer Biology [4] Winter
PHC7020 Cell-Membrane Biology of Cancer [3] Winter
PSC6720 Techniques in Animal Experiments [1] Fall
PSL7640 Cell and Molecular Physiology [3] Winter
PSL7010 Graduate Physiology Lecture I [4] Fall
PSL7030 Graduate Physiology Lecture II [4] Winter
PTH7380 Cytogenetics [2] Fall
PTH7600 Molecular Pathology [3] Winter