Applications for undifferentiated admission to the Biomedical Sciences Program are reviewed by an Oversight Committee with representation from each of the following participating degree-granting programs to ensure that individual degree-granting program admissions prerequisites are satisfied:

• Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Department of Cell Biology
• Department of Microbiology and Immunology
• Department of Pharmacology
• Department of Physiology and Biophysics
• Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience
• Interdisciplinary Program in Tumor Biology

Undifferentiated admission to graduate study via the Biomedical Sciences Program does not imply guaranteed placement into any participating degree-granting program, which is ultimately contingent upon the student's ability to secure a potential thesis research mentor.

Much of the first year is spent in an interdisciplinary core curriculum consisting of molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, and biostatistics, plus a research survey course where students are exposed to a wide range of research being carried out at the Medical Center, and a fundamentals of biomedical sciences course which spans topics from pharmacology to microbiology and immunology. During the first year, students are not limited to participation in a discipline-specific seminar series and journal club, but have the opportunity to participate in a variety of departmental and interdisciplinary seminars and journal clubs.

During the first year of the program, students rotate through three laboratories prior to selecting a research mentor. One rotation is completed during the summer prior to first year courses, one during the first year, and one during the summer following the first year. Student are encouraged to conduct rotations in different areas of biomedical investigation in an effort to maintain a broad-based approach to their education.

After completion of the first year of the program, students are expected to have identified a potential thesis research mentor who has expessed the willingness to potentially accept the student into their lab to conduct thesis research; the student must also gain approval from the cognizant Director of Graduate Studies before declaration of a degree-granting program may be confirmed and finalized with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.  Once declaration of a degree-granting program has been confirmed and finalized, students will complete any required coursework and concentrate on thesis research in their declared program.

The formal requirements for a Ph.D. degree require:

• completion of a specific number of credits and required courses as designated by each degree-granting program, with at least a B average;
• a minimum of three (3) different laboratory rotations, preferably with faculty from different departments;
• satisfactory completion of a comprehensive examination;
• a thesis proposal;
• a written dissertation;
• final oral defense of the thesis.

During the second year, students complete any additional coursework required for their declared degree-granting department or program; however, the nature and focus of their education is expected to remain broad-based. As such, during the second and subsequent years in the program, which focus primarily on thesis reseach, students have the opportunity to take additional elective courses that integrate several disciplines. If necessary, following the declaration of a degree-granting program, students have the opportunity during the second year to conduct an additional laboratory rotation if they consider this beneficial to their selection of a thesis laboratory. It is anticipated that following completion of the first two years of formal course work that completion of the final phases of the Ph.D. will require approximately three additional years.