Degree Requirements
- MCB 511 Research Perspectives
MCB 525 Techniques in Molecular and Cellular Biology
MCB 554 Genome Organization, Structure, and Maintenance
MCB 555 Genome Expression and Regulation
MCB 556 Cell and Developmental Biology
MCB 557 Scientific Skills and Ethics
MCB 610 Internship (rotations)
MCB 668 Bioinformatics and Genomics - 2 quarters of teaching experience
- 3 quarters of rotations
- 3 public presentations
- Further program requirements consistent with university-wide requirements for a PhD
MCB Ph.D. Degree Requirements, Procedures, and Preliminary Examination:
This document lists degree requirements and procedures that are pertinent and specific to the Molecular and Cellular Biology program at OSU. Procedures relevant to all graduate programs are listed under the Graduate School web page http://oregonstate.edu/dept/grad_school/. Students are encouraged to become familiar with these Graduate School documents in addition to this MCB document.
Composition of Program Committee –The Director of the MCB Program will advise the student as to first year course work and the selection of internship advisors until a major professor and the Ph.D. program committees are selected. Students without a completed master’s degree are required to have selected a major professor, met with their Ph.D. program committee, and filed their Ph.D. program by the end of their fifth term of enrollment. For students with a completed master’s degree, the deadline is the end of one calendar year of enrollment.
In accordance with Graduate School guidelines, the Ph.D. program committee will consist of at least five graduate faculty members. A minimum of two of these members should be participants in the MCB program and one of the five must be the Graduate Council Representative selected from a list provided by the Graduate School. To find the list of current faculty members, who are potential Graduate Council Representatives, call, email or go to the Graduate School office. Minors are no longer required for the Ph.D., but if the student chooses to have a minor, one committee member must be from the minor department or program and may not be a member of the MCB Program. An integrated minor (consisting of course work with a single theme but from 2 or more departments) is also possible.
MCB students are expected to hold an annual committee meeting with their thesis advisory committee. All Committee members (except for the Graduate Council Representative) should try to attend. The program meeting (see below) and the oral qualifying examination meeting count towards this requirement in the years they occur (and the Graduate Council Representative will be in attendance).
Required Curriculum
| Core courses (MCB 554, 555, & 556) | 12 units |
| Research Perspectives (MCB 511) | 3 units |
| Techniques in Molecular & Cellular Biology (MCB 525) | 3 units |
| Internships (Rotations) (MCB 610) | 9 units |
| Bioinformatics and Genomics (MCB 668) | 4 units |
| Scientific Skills and Ethics (MCB 557) | 3 units |
| Total | 34 units |
The remaining course work (2 units for a typical Ph.D. program) is custom-tailored by the program committee.
The doctor of philosophy degree is granted primarily for creative attainments. To meet the academic requirements for obtaining a Ph.D degree, every student must file a doctoral study program that meets the requirements of the MCB program and is created and approved at a formal, scheduled meeting with student and the entire thesis committee. Once this program is signed and filed with the Graduate School, the student must complete the requirements as formulated before graduation. Any changes to the program are made through a petition process and must be approved and signed by the thesis committee.
Although there is no rigid credit requirement, the equivalent of at least three years of full-time graduate work beyond the bachelor's degree (that is, 108 graduate credits) is required. After admission into the doctoral program, a minimum of one full-time academic year (at least 36 graduate credits) should be devoted to the preparation of the thesis. In addition, the equivalent of one full-time academic year of regular non-blanket course work (at least 36 graduate credits) must be included on a doctoral program. The remaining coursework is custom-tailored by the program committee. Note that the minimum, general requirements of the graduate school for a Ph.D. are 36 units of coursework, 108 total units (including thesis {603}) and that no more than 15 units of blanket-numbered courses (e.g. 501, 505, 507) other than thesis may be included). Note that MCB 610 is not a blanket-numbered course. It is not necessary to include every course or thesis credit on the program itself.
Students are required to maintain a grade-point average of 3.00 or a “B” average for all courses taken as a degree-seeking graduate student and for course included in the program of study. Grades below 2.00 or “C” do not meet the requirements for courses on the program of study. Students earning less than a B grade in any MCB course would not be considered to be in good standing in the program. In cases where a student received a grade below a B in an MCB course, to restore eligibility for advancement to Ph.D. candidacy, the student would need to do one of the following:
1. With the permission of the course instructor/coordinator, the student may undertake additional work or exams to demonstrate a level of achievement judged to be equivalent to a B grade. The course grade would still remain and would count in the grade average requirement of the graduate school.
2. The student may re-take the course or challenge the exam the next time it is offered. Under the new academic rules, the second grade is now recorded, but no additional units are given.
Internships (rotations) - Rotations will be taken as three quarters of 3 units each in MCB 610 (Internship). Arrangements for rotations are the responsibility of the student with the counsel of the MCB Director. Requirements for each internship are to be determined jointly by the student and the rotation advisor, and should be clearly specified at the beginning of each internship. Deviation from the 3-quarter rotation series requires justification and written permission from the MCB Graduate Advisor and MCB Director.
Teaching Requirements - Two quarters of teaching experience are required. The courses may be offered by any OSU department or program in which MCB faculty participates. To qualify, the assignment must include in-class teaching experience.
Petition Procedures - Students may petition to have previous course work accepted in lieu of components of the required curriculum or to have previous research experience substitute for either the Techniques courses or research rotations by submitting a written request to the MCB Advising Committee. The request must include the written approval of the student’s Program Committee or Interim Advisor and documentation (transcripts, etc.). Course work or experience to be substituted must be recent (within 3 years) and of equivalent quality.
Presenting Public Lectures - Ph.D. candidates are required to give three seminars or other public presentations during their doctoral work. This requirement may be satisfied by participation in seminar courses (such as MCB 557), selected topics course, or journal clubs in which a presentation of greater than 30 minutes is given by the student and more than five individuals are in attendance. The MCB Journal Club and related journal clubs (e.g., Plant Molecular Biology and Animal Sciences) provide opportunities for seminar presentations. A presentation of more than 15 minutes at a national meeting will also satisfy the requirement. At least two faculty members must be in attendance (with the exception of national meetings). The student will be responsible for turning in a ‘Seminar’ form with the signatures from the attending faculty to document public presentations.
Attending Public Lectures - Attendance at public lectures is an important part of academic life and contributes to intellectual development beyond the bounds of narrowly defined fields of interest. MCB students are expected to attend CGRB seminars, and prominent public lectures such as the Knudsen Lectures, the Biology Colloquium and the annual CGRB Conference. In oral examinations, students may be called upon to demonstrate conceptual understanding of subjects presented by seminar speakers.
Seminar and Ethics Instructions - Presenting seminars is an integral part of a scientific career and MCB 557 or an equivalent course should provide instruction in seminar presentation. Attendance at the CGRB seminars or other seminars on campus does not quality for ethics instruction credit. NIH now requires that ethics instruction relative to scientists be included for recipients of training grants, and the MCB program faculty strongly support this concept. MCB dissertation committees are encouraged to incorporate ethics into their examinations.
Exam Format (written and oral) - the Ph.D. preliminary examination for advancement to candidacy should be taken at the end of the second year in residence and will consist of two portions:
1) A written research proposal, limited in length to ten pages, double-spaced, and submitted two weeks in advance of the scheduled oral exam. The subject of the proposal may be chosen by the student and may not be closely related to their thesis topic. A one-page abstract/outline on the topic should be submitted to the program committee for approval before the proposal is written. Upon approval of the written research proposal by the program committee, the student may proceed with the oral exam.
2) An oral defense of no less than two hours, which should be divided into two parts:
a) A one-hour defense of the proposal
b) A general oral examination covering subjects beyond the scope of the proposal
The abilities of the students to make use of information resources, think and write creatively, and articulate their ideas are major determinants of scholarly success. This examination should test the student’s ability to develop, research, and defend an original research idea. The originality of the proposal, the scholarly quality of the literature review, and the technical feasibility of the approach should be evaluated.
In addition, the student should demonstrate a capacity for critical thinking and a broad command of their general and more specific field. Committee members are encouraged to incorporate ethics into the examination. If committee members find that it is appropriate, two retests of the exam will be allowed.
Satisfactory Progress for Doctoral students in the MCB Program - Once admitted to the MCB program, graduate students are expected to make continued satisfactory progress towards the completion of their degree. As stated in the OSU Graduate Catalog, a student may be dismissed for failing to make satisfactory progress as determined by the major department or the graduate school. Graduate students are reviewed annually by the Director of the MCB program based on the information provided in their completed MCB Graduate Student Annual Review form, which includes sections documenting the student’s progress on meeting the requirements of the MCB program as well as written comments by the student and their supervisor on the yearly research and academic progress. The Director will provide written notice to students at the end of the academic year as to whether they are making satisfactory progress. If a student appears not to be making satisfactory progress, the MCB Director will consult with both the faculty supervisor and student to address the situation, assist the student and decide on a future course of action.
In addition to the general academic requirements established by the Graduate School, the MCB program defines satisfactory progress using the following criteria:
• Students must earn a B grade or better in any MCB course or course taken to fulfill their Program of Study. To be eligible for advancement to Ph.D. candidacy, the student would need to do one of the following:
1. With the permission of the course instructor/coordinator, the student may undertake additional work or exams to demonstrate a level of achievement judged to be equivalent to a B grade. The course grade would still remain and would count in the grade average requirement of the graduate school.
2. The student may re-take the course or challenge the exam the next time it is offered. Under the new academic rules, the second grade is now recorded, but no additional units are given.
• Students without a completed master’s degree are required to have selected a major professor, established their Ph.D program committee and filed their Ph.D Program of Study by the end of the fifth term of enrollment.
• Students are expected to complete the Preliminary written examination and pass their Oral qualifying examination by the end of their third year according to the format described in the MCB Graduate Student Handbook.
• Students are expected to make progress on their thesis research during years 3-5 as substantiated by their major professor.
• Before graduation, students are expected to complete two terms as a teaching assistant and to have given three public presentations or seminars as described in the MCB Graduate Student Handbook.