Objectives of the curriculum are to provide an education in the principles of physiology: instruction in the basic sciences relevant to the understanding of physiological principles and instruction in research methodology including experimental design, instrumentation, and analysis.

A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate study is required; 24 of these must be completed at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Continuous registration for a minimum of one semester hour each Fall and Spring term is required until all requirements for the degree are completed. One of the following courses of study are required of all students entering the program unless they have completed equivalent graduate-level courses elsewhere.

• PGY 505: Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 4 credits
• Electives: 3-4 credits
• PGY 507: Laboratory Exercises in Physiology, 4-5 credits
  • This is a laboratory rotation to determine your research project. 

• PGY 607: Cellular and Molecular Basis of Disease, 3 credits
• Electives: 4-5 credits
• PGY 508: Laboratory Exercises in Physiology (Research), 4-5 credits

Research, 0 credits

• Apply for full-time status, which allows you to take less than 12 credits per semester for the duration of your program to reduce tuition cost.

Research is conducted under the guidance of the student’s major professor and research advisory committee.

There are two research paths:

Elective courses provide opportunities for advanced education in specialized areas relevant to the student's thesis research and advanced general education. Courses may be selected by the student in consultation with the student's Thesis Advisor. Some suggested elective courses include (some of these are not available every year; other courses are also possible):

• PGY 551 Human Physiology I, 3 credits
• PGY 552 Human Physiology II, 3 credits
• PGY 555 Neuroimmunology, 3 credits
  
• NRS 520 Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, 4 credits
• NRS 521 Systems Neuroscience, 4 credits
• NRS 524 Developmental Neurobiology, 3 credits
• MAE 578 Cardiovascular Biomechanics, 3 credits
• BCH 503 Biochemical Principles, 3 credits
• BIO 502 Advanced Cell Biology, 4 credits
• BIO 608 Advanced Topics in Macromolecular Structure, 3 credits
• BE 520 Biomaterials in Regenerative Medicine, 3 credits
• BE 570 Medical Nanotechnology, 3 credits
• BE 555 Biomechanics and Mechanobiology, 3 credits
• BMS 501 Cell Biology, 4 credits
• BCH 503 Biochemical Principles, 3 credits
• BCH 507 Protein Structure and Function, 2 credits
• BCH 508 Gene Expression, 2 credits
• PAS 520 Optical Microscopic and Imaging, 3 credits
• BCH 519 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 3 credits

The thesis research is conducted by the graduate student under the guidance of his/her thesis adviser and thesis advisory committee. The student and thesis adviser recommend three members of the graduate faculty (two from inside and one from outside the department) to serve on the thesis advisory committee.

Individuals who are neither members nor associate members of the UB graduate faculty may serve as additional committee members if their expertise would be of significant value to the student and the core members of the committee. The committee is approved by the director of graduate studies and chaired by an approved faculty member other than the thesis adviser. The thesis research will culminate in a written thesis dissertation, which is an original contribution, written in English. Thesis preparation is critically monitored and supervised by the thesis adviser and the thesis advisory committee, both of whom must approve the thesis prior to the oral defense. 

The oral defense of thesis is scheduled after the candidate’s thesis advisory committee  has approved the thesis. The thesis is presented to the department in a seminar followed by an oral defense.

Research conducted by a graduate student can result in a master’s research project rather than a thesis. The project research is conducted by the graduate student under the tutelage of his/her project adviser and project advisory committee. The project advisory committee will consist of the project adviser and two members of the department Faculty.

The focus of the research for a master’s project is generally more applied than that for a thesis, with the student often defining a problem and developing a solution for it. The project will be a scholarly undertaking that results in a tangible outcome (e.g., a technical report, a computer program, a manuscript), but that does not fit neatly within the framework of a traditional scholarly thesis paper.

The final project must be accompanied by a report written by the student that introduces, analyzes and contextualizes the project, and demonstrates the student's familiarity with the relevant literature of the field.

The master’s project final paper must be approved by the graduate student’s project adviser, project advisory committee, and the director of graduate studies for physiology.