Human genetics: Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy and Pre-medical Basic Health Sciences Certificate

The Ph.D. degree requires at least three years of study for students entering with a B.S. or a B.A. degree, and must be completed within seven years. Departmental funding (i.e., tuition plus stipend support) will not continue beyond five years. The M.S. degree requires at least two years of study for students entering with a B.S. or a B.A. degree and must be completed within five years on entry into the program. No departmental funding is provided for students in the M.S. program. The Pre-medical Basic Health Sciences Certificate in Human Genetics requires two semesters of study and must be completed within those two semesters.

Students working toward the Ph.D. degree in Human Genetics pass through two stages of graduate study. The first stage consists primarily of course work recommended by the department and the student’s graduate committee; the second of original research leading to a doctoral dissertation. The first three semesters plus one summer of the doctoral program are intended to lay the foundation for a lifelong research career by developing the student's knowledge of the field and skills in scientific writing, laboratory techniques, critical thinking, data interpretation, study design, literature research and review, and the integration of data from multiple disciplines. The focus then shifts to the student's development as an independent investigator with emphasis being placed upon the development and execution of an original research project leading to a doctoral dissertation.

Students working toward the M.S. degree in Human Genetics combine course work with research leading to a thesis. The second year of study is primarily devoted to the research that is required for the student to complete their thesis. The first year of study focuses upon developing the student’s knowledge of the field, while the second introduces the student to the laboratory skills and/or literature research necessary to complete his or her research and prepare a defensible thesis.

An M.S. degree is awarded in recognition of the student’s knowledge of human genetics and the completion of his or her thesis research as documented by the successful defense of the thesis. A Ph.D. degree is awarded as the ultimate recognition of a student’s achievement of independent, creative and publishable research. Science requires a full-time commitment and it should not be assumed that work of doctoral quality can be accomplished within the constraints of a 40-hour work week. Ph.D. students are expected to develop their knowledge and critical skills within their chosen areas of inquiry to such a level that they are able to transcend the scholarship of any one of their advisers.