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Immunology Program Course Requirements
PhD Track | MD/PhD Track
Immunology Program Course Descriptions
IBGP Course Catalog
Immunology Program Teaching Requirement
Teaching experience is an integral part of the training of
each graduate student. This statement reflects the philosophy
that effective graduate training should be comprehensive and
include formal course work, independent research, and teaching
experience. This curriculum best prepares students for careers
in academia and industry where one is often involved in formal
or informal teaching duties. Graduate students in the Immunology
graduate program are assigned specific teaching assistant duties
to fulfill the teaching requirement of the program.
All students in the Immunology program will be required to teach
during the second and third years of graduate school. The timing of
teaching assignments will be dependent on the scheduling of courses,
but will usually require approximately 20-25 hours spread over the
span of one month per year. Students will obtain one course credit
per year for fulfilling this requirement by registering for MSIMM
2250 in the appropriate term. Currently, Immunology program students
participate in teaching medical students in a Medical Microbiology
laboratory course, in undergraduate Immunology lecture course, and in
an undergraduate Immunology laboratory course. While students may
request to be assigned to a specific course, final decisions will be
made by the Program Director in consultation with individual Course
Directors. Students who wish to participate in teaching after the
third year may contact the Program Director and can usually be
accommodated, but will not receive course credits.
Students will not normally be required to teach during the academic
year in which they plan to defend their dissertation. Other exemptions
from teaching will normally not be considered or granted.
Additional Immunology Program Activities
The Immunology Journal Club, co-sponsored by the UPCI,
benefits from graduate student, post-doctoral fellow,
and faculty participation. This weekly meeting, in which
participants discuss the background, data, interpretation,
and relevance of selected current journal articles, allows
students to develop essential critical reading habits as
well as presentation and group leadership skills. In
addition, students make important contacts with faculty
and post-doctoral fellows from other program labs and
disciplines.
The weekly Immunology Seminar series, also co-sponsored
by the UPCI, allows graduate students, post-doctoral
fellows, faculty, and guest speakers 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 also meet with guest speakers at special
lunches, so that the students can begin to form contacts
for collaborations and future post-doctoral opportunities.
Attendance each week is required for all Graduate Students.
Immunology Program Comprehensive Examination
Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program should take the
Comprehensive Examination by the end of the second year,
unless permission to extend the deadline is obtained from
the Comprehensive Examination Committee. The Comprehensive
Examination will be administered after the student has
completed most of his/her course work, has decided on the
general area of his/her thesis research, and has chosen a
major advisor. Normally, the examination will be taken in
the spring semester of student's second year.
The student will be required to submit a proposal in the
format of a research grant to the Comprehensive Examination
Committee chairperson, who shall establish a panel of
faculty members to evaluate each student's proposal and to
conduct an oral examination of the student if the written
proposal is acceptable. NIH instructions for format of
the written proposal should be followed. If the written
proposal is deemed sufficient to proceed to the oral
component of the exam by a simple majority vote of the
panel, the student shall receive at least a one-week
notice of the oral defense date. The oral defense will
typically take place within 3 to 4 weeks of submission of
the sufficient written proposal. The oral exam is not to
exceed two hours, and focuses on the student's understanding
of both the contents of the research proposal and the basic
concepts underlying the contents. 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 c
omponent of the examination within two months of failure
of the first exam. In the event that a students 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 one
month of passing their Comprehensive Examination. The
committee shall consist of at least five faculty members.
The Dissertation Advisor is included in the committee and
may act as Chair, although another faculty member may be
designated Chair of the committee. The majority of the
members must be from the Immunology program faculty, and
the majority of the members must have Graduate Faculty
status. At least one member must be from outside the
Immunology program, and at least one of these outside
members must have Graduate Faculty status. The student is
not limited to faculty from the School of Medicine. The
Director of the Immunology program will review the
committee, sign the necessary forms and forward the
completed documents to the Graduate Office and to the
Immunology Program Administrator. 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.
Every time a thesis committee meets (including the first
meeting), a brief report of this meeting, signed by both
student and advisor, must be sent to all thesis committee
members, and to the Immunology Program 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.
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