Curriculum
General Overview
In the first year, students are required to successfully complete four seven-week rotations, identify a laboratory mentor and complete core curriculum. Students from the MSTP can matriculate into the PMI after completing two years of medical school and identifying a laboratory mentor. In the second year students complete course work and pass a comprehensive examination. The remaining years are dedicated to research in their mentor’s laboratory.
The sequence of classes is summarized in the table below (credits in parentheses):
|
Year 1 (Fall) |
Year 1 (Spring) |
Year 1 (Summer) |
Year 2 (Fall) |
Year 2 (Spring) |
|
Principles of Microbiology and Immunology (6) 2 lab rotations (4) |
Comprehensive Immunology (2) Comprehensive Microbiology (4) 2 lab rotations (4)
Experimental Pathogen Biology (2) OR Experimental Basis of Immunology (2) |
Biomedical Ethics (2) D2K (3) Scientific Writing (2) |
Electives (2+) (optional) Immunology RIP (1) AND Contemporary topics in Immuno (1) OR Micro RIP (1) AND Microbiology Seminar (1) |
Electives (2+) Immunology RIP (1) AND Contemporary topics in Immuno (1) OR Micro RIP (1) AND Microbiology Seminar (1) |
For more information, please view the PMI Handbook.
Required PMI Activities
The weekly Student/Postdoc Research in Progress course allows graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to present their most exciting current research results. Graduate students must present their research progress once each year after passing the Comprehensive Examination. Graduate students are required to attend departmental seminars which typically hosts guest speakers and will also have the opportunity to meet with guest speakers for special breakfasts or lunches. Here, students can begin to form contacts for collaborations and future post-doctoral opportunities.
PMI Comprehensive Examination
Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program, including students in the M.D./Ph.D. track, should take the comprehensive examination in the fall of the second year. The comprehensive examination will be administered after the student has completed most required course work and has chosen a major advisor. All abstracts will be evaluated by the Comprehensive Examination Committee, which will then reach out to faculty to form the student’s individual comprehensive exam committee (three evaluators with one serving as Chair). The final 3-person committee will be responsible for administering both the written and oral component of the comprehensive exam.
The student will be required to submit a proposal in the format of a NIH R21 grant application (1 Specific Aims page and a 6-page Research Strategy). The individual comprehensive exam committee will receive the full document (cover page with name and title, abstract, aims page, and research strategy) and will be assessed mainly for clarity, scientific accuracy, and internal consistency.
The oral defense will typically take place within 6 to 8 weeks of submission of the sufficient written proposal. The oral exam is not to exceed two hours and is intended to assess the student’s mastery of the principles of their field, using the written examination as a guide/jumping off point. That is, questions are not restricted to solely the content of the proposal but may be from any concepts of the field at large, including from PMI courses. The student is graded pass/fail, with a simple majority vote of the panel deciding the grade.
In the event of a failure of the written and/or oral component of the exam, the student shall be given one opportunity to retake each failed component of the examination within two months of failure of the first exam. In the event that a student fails either component twice, the action of the faculty shall be dismissal of the student from the program or recommendation that the student transfer to the M.S. degree program, for the completion of his/her training.
Advancement To Candidacy And Formation Of A Dissertation Committee
Following completion of course work and passing the comprehensive examination, the student undertakes the steps required for advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D degree, outlined below.
Students should form a dissertation committee within two months of passing their Comprehensive Examination. The committee shall consist of at least five faculty members, with a majority being from PMI. The Dissertation Advisor is included in the committee but another PMI faculty member must be designated Chair of the committee. The Director of the PMI will review the committee. Upon approval from the Director, the student should then email the PMI Coordinators to obtain the forms that will be required at their first committee meeting. Final approval of committee membership rests in the hands of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
The thesis committee should meet within two months of formation. Prior to the meeting, a written thesis proposal should be provided to each committee member. At this meeting, the dissertation research project is presented in detail to the committee; if the committee approves the proposal, the student should make certain that all required graduate school forms are completed for advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The forms will be completed after the first meeting, so please please contact your PMI Administrator after your first meeting so that the forms can be initiated,
Every time a thesis committee meets (including the first meeting), a brief report of this meeting, to be completed by the Thesis Committee Chair, must be sent to the PMI Administrator, so that this information can be included in the student's academic file.
Following the initial thesis committee meeting, additional meetings must be held at six month intervals. The student must submit, one week prior to the scheduled committee meeting, a brief written summary of their research progress since the previous committee meeting.
Graduation Information
Looking for information about graduation?
See the PMI Checklist to Schedule and Defend Your Thesis.
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)
SURP is designed to provide stimulating and rewarding research opportunities for undergraduates considering graduate education in Immunology.