Graduate Studies
Revised: April 2001

The Department of Molecular Biology, through its affiliation with the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, offers a program leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics. The new graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology will join a self-contained, highly interactive research community comprised of about 25 graduate students, 65 postdoctoral fellows, and 11 faculty members.

The Harvard Medical School Ph.D. Program in Genetics is part of the Graduate Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) administered jointly by the Departments of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Pathology. Students admitted into one of the five departments are free to complete their rotations and thesis work in any of them, and requirements for graduation with a Ph.D. are the same in all departments.

Graduate students are encouraged to explore the diversity of BBS laboratory and course offerings during their first two years. In the first two years students are required to complete eight semester-long courses and a minimum of two laboratory rotations. A core curriculum has been designed to cover the fundamentals of genetic, cellular, biochemical, and molecular aspects of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. A wide range of additional courses are also offered at both the introductory and advanced levels. Upper level courses are usually conducted as seminars, stressing critical and creative thinking and demanding active participation in class discussions. Students may enroll in courses offered by the Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University in Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A free shuttle bus connects the medical area to the Cambridge campus and MIT.

Laboratory rotations provide a broad research experience by allowing the student to become acquainted with the research interests and methods of several laboratories. It is recommended that students complete three four-month rotations, though only two are required.

By the beginning of their second year, most students are established in a lab and are actively pursuing their thesis research. Required coursework is normally completed by spring of the second year. At this time, students take a qualifying examination which entails preparing one written research proposal and defending it orally before a small committee of faculty members. Students are also required to serve for one semester as a teaching assistant or participate in the Community Education Program.
An important feature of graduate study in Boston is the wealth of seminars that are presented each day in Boston area universities. At MGH, in addition to two weekly Molecular Biology seminars (one of which is devoted to speakers invited by the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows), seminars at MIT and Harvard in Cambridge are easily accessible by shuttle bus and/or subway. The BBS program also hosts several poster sessions at the beginning of each academic year to acquaint the graduate students with the research activities of faculty in departments outside their own.

Extracurricular activities are considered part of the informal training of all students and student participation is encouraged and expected. Such activities include a weekly BBS dinner seminar series for first and second year students at which BBS faculty are invited to present informal seminars, a weekly BBS Rotation Club for first and second year students, and the BBS Data Club for second year. A BBS Student Retreat is held annually in the fall. The MGH Department of Molecular Biology together with the HMS Genetics Department holds its own two and a half day annual retreat. Additionally, all students are welcome to participate in the Division of Medical Sciences Student Organization-sponsored events and activities.

Admissions
Applicants for graduate study should have sound preliminary training in organic and physical chemistry, calculus, physics and biology. The Graduate Record Examination and special subject test are required. If English is a second language, the TOEFL exam is also required.

Students are encouraged to seek outside funding from extramural agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Hughes Foundation. However, all students accepted into the Ph.D. program are guaranteed full tuition, health insurance fees, and stipend support.

Information on the Program
Application for admission to BBS is made through the Division of Medical Sciences of the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. For an application and detailed information on graduate course offerings, and research interests of the BBS faculty, write to: Admissions Office, Division of Medical Sciences, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-5720, telephone: (617) 432-0162.

For more detailed information visit the Division of Medical Sciences website:
http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dms/phdprogams.html.