The MD-PhD required curriculum for the PhD consists of 72 credit hours from required and elective courses, drawn from these lists.
| IMC 502 | Fundamentals I | 7.2 cr |
| IMC 504 | Fundamentals II | 3.8 cr |
| IMC 510 | GI and Metabolism | 5.5 cr |
| IMC 500 | Medicine and Society | 2.0 cr |
| IMC 602 | Cardiovascular | 7.2 cr |
| IMC 604 | Pulmonary | 8.0 cr |
| IMC 606-610 | Neuroscience I and II | 2.3 cr |
| 36.0 cr |
| GGB 607 | Presentation Seminar | 3.0 cr total |
| GGB 606 | Dissertation Proposal | 2.0 cr |
| GGB 701 | Research | To be determined |
| GGB 702 | Research Progress Report | 5.0 cr |
| MST 601 | MD-PhD Seminar | 1.0 cr/sem |
| GGB/BCH 519 | Introduction to Bioinformatics and Computational Biology | 3.0 cr |
| Two of the following: | ||
| GGB/BCH 512 | Developmental Genomics and Stem Cell Biology | 2.0 cr total |
| GGB 505 | Human and Medical Genetics | 3.0 cr |
| GGB/MIC 611 | Advanced Microbial Genetics | 2.0 cr |
| BIO 550 | Human Evolutionary Genomics | 3.0 cr |
| BCH/MIC 506 | Composition and Function of the Human Microbiome | 2.0 cr |
| BCH/MIC 607 | DNA Replication and Repair | 2.0 cr |
| EEH 674 | Fundamentals of Genetic Epidemiology | 3.0 cr |
| PHC 509 | Pharmacogenomics in the Pharmaceutical Sciences | 2.0 cr |
These two electives are typically completed during the first and second year in the program; thus, after the first two years, there are no further formal course requirements.
Your major requirement in the first semester in the program is the Dissertation Proposal (GGB 606). Your research proposal process will begin with a Thesis Research Prospectus presentation. This 30-40 minute seminar will give an overview of the research in your lab, the objectives of your thesis research within that context, and the specific aims of the work you plan to complete toward those objectives. The written proposal you prepare and submit to your committee will follow the format of a NIH pre/post-doctoral fellowship. This proposal will be an outline of your doctoral research and thesis. The research proposal is the program’s “preliminary examination” in the doctoral program.