Molecular Biophysics Training Program: Certificate Option

As a field, molecular biophysics crosses the traditional boundaries between biology, chemistry, and physics. A central goal of the Molecular Biophysics Graduate Training Program is to establish the interdisciplinary courses, supergroup and seminar programs, and inter-departmental connections needed to train biophysical scholars. A Graduate Certificate program has been established to acknowledge completion of the recommended training program requirements. Biophysics students who elect to complete these requirements can obtain a Graduate Certificate in Molecular Biophysics to complement their Ph.D. degree. It should be noted that students who elect not to pursue all the requirements of the Certificate can still benefit from participation in selected aspects of the program.

Requirements of the Certificate Program

To obtain the Graduate Certificate in Molecular Biophysics, a student must first join the Ph.D. program of one of the participating departments. The Ph.D. graduation requirements are defined by this home department, while the certificate program defines several additional requirements that are completed concurrently with the Ph.D. work. The Molecular Biophysics Training Program can begin in the first year of study, or any year thereafter. The requirements of the Certificate Program are designed so that they can be completed in a reasonable manner in parallel to the Ph.D. program by any highly motivated student of biophysics.

In the first year, it is recommended that participants undertake laboratory rotations supervised by participating Biophysics faculty. These rotations provide valuable laboratory or computational experience, and allow a student to "test the waters" in potential thesis labs. Ideally, all students should participate in at least one ten-week rotation outside the thesis laboratory prior to completion of the certificate.

Typically, by the end of the first year the student will join the laboratory of a training program faculty member and undertake a biophysical Ph.D. thesis project. This requirement ensures that the student will receive adequate biophysical training in the laboratory setting.

Concommitant with doctoral research, the student will complete the course requirements of the Certificate Program. These requirements include at least two courses from the approved course list, one of these courses generally will be CHEM 5561, Methods of Molecular Biophysics. This course provides theoretical training in selected biophysical techniques, including X-ray crystallography, NMR, EPR, optical spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and binding measurements. It is highly recommended that all biophysical students take this course at some point during their graduate career.

Following admission to Ph.D. candidacy according to the rules of the home department, the student will begin to have annual meetings with their advisor and at least 2 other faculty members with expertise in the area of their thesis research. These meetings will ensure that the student receives advice from faculty including their advisor during the completion of the thesis project.

Finally, member students and faculty are required to participate in regular program functions that include a Biophysical seminar series and monthly supergroup meetings that provide a forum for students to present their research. Students are also encouraged to participate in a monthly career lunch program that provides exposure to experts in an array of fields, including academia, industry, and medicine to receive advice regarding career training and planning. These activities also serve to build ties between students and other biophysical researchers on campus in the same or different departments.

Upon successful completion of the Ph.D. and Certificate Programs, the.Certificate of Graduate Training in Molecular Biophysics will be awarded to the student at the time of graduation, or mailed to the student following graduation.