StudyQA — PhD: Biochemistry — Indiana University at Bloomington

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Graduate Biochemistry at IU is an exciting multidisciplinary program, a unique integration of biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, structural biology, cell biology, and genetics - combined with organic, inorganic, and analytical chemistry - that will enable you to study a diverse set of biological problems.Faculty research interests span nearly all aspects of the structure, function, and dynamics of proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules. Our program draws on major instrumentation and facility resources of the departments of molecular and cellular biochemistry, biology, chemistry, optometry, psychology,and physics, as well as the Medical Sciences Program. You will work and learn in well-equipped laboratories with state-of-the-art instrumentation.

A total of 90 credit hours, of which 22.5-23 are satisfied by the core courses (B501, B502, B506, B530, B531, B540, B541, and two semesters of B580), Grant Writing (B680), Research Ethics (B680 or G601), and two semesters of B600. Six additional elective hours are required in either the major or minor field. Students must also give two departmental seminars, generally in their 4th and 5th years of graduate study. In addition, students must complete an internal minor, or meet the minor requirements of a suitable outside program. The sequence of courses comprising the minor must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.

At the end of the first year, each student selects a research advisor and laboratory. Together with the advisor, the student also selects an advisory committee of three or four faculty members appropriate to the student’s intended degree including one from the prospective minor field (see below). This advisory committee guides and monitors the student’s subsequent independent work and guides the student’s selection of advanced courses. The biochemistry graduate program requires that each student meet with the advisory committee at least once per year.

Minor

The doctoral student in biochemistry may minor in any appropriate discipline or in a specialized track within the Biochemistry Program. For an internal minor, the minor shall consist of 6 credit hours of the courses listed in either track below.

(1) Cellular and Medical Biochemistry

Biochemistry:

B507 Biophysical Analysis of Macromolecules
B511 Duplicating and Expressing the Genome
B601 Adv Nucleic Acid and Biochemistry
B602 Advanced Protein Biosynthesis and Processing
B605 Structure and Function of Membranes
B680 Special Topics: Biological Light and Electron Microscopy
B680 Special Topics: Structural Bioinformatics
B680 Special Topics: Molecular Virology and Public Health

Biology:

L585 Molecular Genetics
L586 Molecular Analysis of Cell Biology

Medical Sciences:

B801 Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
B802 Metabolism and Signal Transduction
(2) Chemical and Structural Biology

Biochemistry:

B507 Biophysical Anallysis of Macromolecules
B511 Duplicating and Expressing the Genome
B603 Advanced Macromolecular Structure and Interactions
B604 Structural Methods
B605 Structure and Function of Membranes
B680 Special Topics: Drug Design
B680 Special Topics: Electron Microscopy
B680 Special Topics: NMR
B680 Special Topics: Structural Bioinformatics

Biology:

L586 Molecular Analysis of Cell Biology

Chemistry:

C540 Organic Reactions Mechanisms
C612 Mass Spectrometry
Grades

Every student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.2 in order to remain in good standing. Courses to be counted toward the Ph.D. degree must be passed with a grade of B– (2.7) or better.

Qualifying Examinations

In the fifth semester, students meet with their examination committee to review past performance and to evaluate plans for completing the Ph.D. Includes written, oral, and research components. All full-time Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination by the end of the fifth semester.

Satisfactory Progress toward a Degree

After passing the preliminary examination, for a student to remain in “good standing” requires that sufficient progress be made toward completing a thesis. If the research advisory committee judges progress to be unsatisfactory, probation may be recommended. At the end of the probationary period (usually a semester), probation will be lifted if the advisory committee judges the student’s progress to be satisfactory. If the advisory committee judges the student’s progress to remain unsatisfactory, then the student will be required to leave the program.

Final Examination

Oral, covering dissertation, major, and minor. The final requirement is a Ph.D. thesis, which must be defended in a public research seminar and in a meeting of the research advisory committee.

Other Provisions

All students enrolled in the Ph.D. program will be required to serve as associate instructors for at least one semester, regardless of their source of support; they must complete formal instruction in teaching methods in order to enhance their teaching skills. It is the conviction of the program that teaching experience is a vital aspect of graduate education, whether or not the student intends to pursue a teaching career after attainment of the desired degree.

Ph.D. Minor in Biochemistry

Students from other programs who wish to minor in biochemistry must complete at least 6 credit hours of graduate coursework in biochemistry, excluding B502, B580, and B600, with an average of B (3.0) or above.

Ph.D. Minor in Biotechnology

Students who wish to minor in biotechnology must complete at least 6 credit hours from the following list below of graduate coursework in biotechnology, with an average of B (3.0) or above.

T501 Topics in Biotechnology I: Biochemical Instrumentation (2 cr.)
T502 Topics in Biotechnology II: Mammalian Tissue Culture (2 cr.)
T508 Theory and Application of Biotechnology Lecture (3 cr.)
T515 Theory and Application of Biotechnology Lab (3 cr.)
T521 Research Design and Ethics (2 cr.)T525 Protein, Expression, Purification, and Expression Lab (3 cr.)
T540 Structure and Function of Biomolecules (3 cr.)
T680 Special Topics: Writing in Biotechnology (1 cr.)
T680 Special Topics: Entrepreneurship and Research (2 cr.)

Requirements

Application form (Online)
A 300-500 word Statement of Purpose regarding your current goals, plans for your professional career, and reasons for selecting a field of study (upload to online application)
Official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended (uploaded online).
Official results of the Graduate Record Examinations
Three letters of recommendation (uploaded online by recommender)
Your CV or resume with your timeline that includes your teaching, research and/or industrial experiences; a publications list, and any college or professional honors and awards.
An application fee of $65 USD.
If you are from a country in which English is not the primary language, you should also take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).