Graduate Curriculum Requirements For The PhD
The requirements listed below are the minimum requirements to be met by all students in the Ph.D. program. The student's supervisory committee may require or recommend additional courses as deemed appropriate, based on the student's background and research plans.
Graded Course Requirements
-
A total of 18 graded credits are required before taking the General Exam, and a minimum 2.7 grade in each course is required. Students are required to take courses in bacteriology, virology, and biostatistics chosen from the following lists, with the required minimum number of credits indicated for each area of study.
Bacteriology (3 credits)
• CONJ 557 (Spring, 2 credits), Microbial Evolution
• CONJ 558 (Winter, 1.5 credits), Prokaryotic BiologyVirology (3 credits)
• MICROM 540 (Autumn, even years, 3 credits), Virology
• MCB 532 (Autumn, odd years, 3 credits), Human Pathogenic VirusesBiostatistics (2 credits)
• BIOSTAT 511 (Autumn, 4 credits), Introduction to Statistics in Health Sciences
• UCONJ 510 (Summer, 2 credits), Introductory Laboratory Based BiostatisticsThe remaining credits (for a total of 18 graded credits) can come from taking more than the minimum number of credits in each distribution or from additional departmentally approved 500-level graduate courses listed in Appendix 1. If you are interested in a class that is not listed, please petition the Graduate Program Policy and Advising Committee (GPAC) by contacting the chair for permission to have it count towards the degree before you take the class. Note that courses change, so verify course details online. Also investigate the anticipated workload, which varies considerably among graduate classes. Program policy limits you to no more than 6 graded credits per quarter.
Program Academic Requirements
- Attending departmental seminars (MICROM 520) and “Work in Progress” (WIP, MICROM 522) is mandatory. Both courses are graded Credit/No-Credit. Departmental seminars are crucial for contributing to the breadth of student knowledge, and students must register for seminar each year of graduate school. WIP serves to develop oral presentation skills. Students must register for WIP through year 5 and will be scheduled and must present in WIP every year of graduate school. The requirement for a grade of “Credit” and the manner in which this requirement will be assessed will be conveyed to students at the beginning of the academic year. A grade of “No-Credit” will result in a warning, which may escalate to Probation, Final Probation, and Drop (see https://grad.uw.edu/policies/3-7-academic-performance-and-progress/) should the deficiency not be addressed satisfactorily. Failure to register for WIP will immediately escalate to Probation.
- While completing the course requirements, students should register for enough MICROM 500 or MICROM 600 to bring their total credits to 10-18 per quarter in Autumn, Winter, and Spring. Register for exactly 2 credits in Summer, which is either UCONJ 510 (to fulfill the biostatistics requirement) or MICROM 600. When graded credit requirements have been fulfilled, register for MICROM 600 prior to completing the General Exam and for MICROM 800 after passing the General Exam for a total of 10-18 credits per quarter during the academic year and for exactly 2 credits during summer quarter.
- BIOETHICS. All of our students must complete either 8 hours of Biomedical Research Integrity: Responsible Conduct of Research training (register at https://www.washington.edu/research/required-training/biomedical-research-integrity-program-nih-required-responsible-conduct-of-research-rcr-training/) or Bioethics 101 taught by the Biochemistry Department (register for the Winter Quarter BIOC 533), by Winter quarter of the second year.
- TA one laboratory course in Microbiology. Developing good teaching skills is an important part of graduate training. Students will be assigned to TA a specific course by the Microbiology Teaching Faculty. Generally, students teach in their second year, and the teaching requirement must be met by the end of the second year. This an academic requirement and does not constitute a change in ASE duties as outlined in the annual appointment letter. Note that for students who entered the program prior to Autumn 2024, two TAships are required.
- Creditable passage of the Topic Exam.
- Present a lecture in an undergraduate Microbiology course, preferably in the fourth or fifth years. Arrangements for giving these lectures can be made by contacting individual course directors. For example, this requirement can be fulfilled by presenting lectures in the undergraduate methods course (MICROM 431). At the conclusion of the lecture, students must complete a self-assessment (Microbiology Undergraduate Lecture Self-Assessment) and review their answers with the course instructor(s) within 2 weeks of the lecture. The completed self-assessment must be sent to the GPA (microgpa@uw.edu) as evidence of completion of the lecture requirement. Note that for students who entered the program prior to Autumn 2021, two lectures are required.
- Be first author on at least one paper related to thesis research, which is published or accepted for publication in refereed journals prior to the thesis defense.
First Year Students (mandatory, not graded) |
||||
MICROM |
599 |
2 |
A |
Faculty Research Presentations for 1st year students |
Throughout Graduate School (mandatory, not graded) |
||||
MICROM |
520 |
1 |
A,W,Sp |
Micro Seminar series |
MICROM |
522 |
1 |
A,W,Sp |
Work in Progress (WIP) |
Conditional (mandatory, not graded) |
||||
MICROM |
500 |
(var) |
A,W,Sp, Su |
Lab Rotations. Minimum of 3 quarters. First Year |
MICROM |
600 |
(var) |
A,W,Sp, Su |
Independent Study Lab research. Prior to passing general exam. |
MICROM |
800 |
(var) |
A,W,Sp, Su |
Doctoral Dissertation. After passing general exam. |
Graduate School Requirements
(https://grad.uw.edu/policies/1-1-graduate-degree-requirements/)
- Completion of a program of study and research as planned by the Graduate Program Coordinator in the student's major department or college and by the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee. At least 18 credits of course work at the 500 level and above must be completed prior to scheduling the General Examination. Note that this includes classes that are not graded (CR/NC).
- Presentation of 90 credits, 60 of which must be taken at the University of Washington.
- Numerical grades must be received in at least 18 quarter credits of course work taken at the University of Washington prior to scheduling the General Examination. The Graduate School accepts numerical grades in departmentally approved 400 and 500 level courses. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required for a graduate degree at the University.
- Completion of a total of 60 credits prior to scheduling the General Examination (a master's degree from the UW or another institution may be used as a substitute for 30 of these credits).
- Creditable passage of the General Examination. Registration and completion of credits as a graduate student is required the quarter the exam is taken and candidacy is conferred.
- The Candidate must register and complete a minimum of 27 credits of dissertation (MICROM 800) over a period of at least three quarters. At least one quarter must come after the student passes the General Examination. With the exception of summer, when students take 2 credits, students are limited to a maximum of 10 credits per quarter of dissertation (MICROM 800).
- Creditable passage of a Final Examination, which is usually devoted to the defense of the dissertation in the field with which it is concerned. The General and Final Examinations cannot be scheduled during the same quarter. Registration and completion of credit as a graduate student is required the quarter the exam is taken AND the degree is conferred.
- Preparation of and acceptance by the Dean of the Graduate School of a dissertation that is a significant contribution to knowledge and clearly indicates training in research.
- Completion of all work for the doctoral degree within ten years. This includes quarters spent On-Leave or out of status as well as applicable work from the master's degree from the University of Washington or a master's degree from another institution, if used to substitute for 30 credits of enrollment.
- Registration and completion of credits as a full- or part-time graduate student at the University for the quarter in which the degree is conferred (see detailed information under Final Quarter Registration).
Training Grants
All U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to apply for training grants.
APPENDIX 1: Other Courses
The following courses are approved to count towards the degree. Keep in mind that we try to keep this list accurate; however, departmental offerings change from year to year. And, the quarter in which courses are offered, especially conjoints (CONJ), can vary. Note that the categories are based on the course title rather than a thorough review of the syllabus.
BIOCHEMISTRY CLASSES:
Dept |
Number |
Title |
Credits |
A |
W |
Sp |
Su |
B STR |
515 |
Biological X-Ray Structure Analysis |
3 |
X |
|||
B STR |
519 |
Current Problems in Macromolecular Structure |
2 |
|
|
X |
|
BIOC |
440 |
Biochemistry |
4 |
X |
|||
BIOC |
441 |
Biochemistry |
4 |
X |
|||
BIOC |
442 |
Biochemistry |
4 |
X |
|||
BIOC |
530 |
Introduction to Structural Biology |
3 |
X |
|||
BIOC |
540* |
Literature Review |
2 |
X |
|||
BIOC |
541* |
Literature Review |
2 |
X |
|||
BIOC |
542* |
Literature Review |
2 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
544 |
Protein Structure, Modification, and Regulation |
1.5 |
|
X |
|
|
CONJ |
545 |
Molecular Interactions and Medicine |
1.5 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
540 |
Introduction to Computational Molecular Biology: Genome and Protein Sequence Analysis |
4 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
555** |
Protein Technology |
1.5 |
X |
|||
MEDCH |
541 |
Biological Mass Spectrometry |
3 |
X |
CELL BIOLOGY CLASSES:
Dept |
Number |
Title |
Credits |
A |
W |
Sp |
Su |
CONJ |
524 |
Structural Basis of Signal Transduction |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
530 |
Directing Stem Cells Toward Regenerative Medicine |
3 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
531 |
Signaling Mechanisms in Excitable Cells |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
532 |
Signal Transduction from the Cell Membrane to the Nucleus |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
533 |
The Dynamic Chromosome |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
537 |
Mechanism of Transcriptional Regulation |
1.5 |
X |
|
|
|
CONJ |
542 |
Development |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
583 |
Molecular Targets in Cancer Therapy |
1.5 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
551** |
Principles of Gene Regulation |
1.5 |
X |
|||
MCB |
539 |
Biological Basis of Neoplasia |
3 |
X |
|||
MCB |
543 |
Logic Constructs and Methodologies of Biological Research |
3 |
X |
TEACHING, COMMUNICATING SCIENCE, AND COMMERCIALIZATION:
Dept |
Number |
Title |
Credits |
A |
W |
Sp |
Su |
BIOL |
505 |
Evidence-Based Teaching in Biology: Teaching for Equity in STEM |
2 |
|
X |
||
BIOEN |
504 |
Introduction to Technology Commercialization |
4 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
512 |
Scientific Speaking Seminar |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
559 |
Scientific Ideas at Work |
1.5 |
|
X |
|
|
GENETICS:
Dept |
Number |
Title |
Credits |
A |
W |
Sp |
Su |
GENOME |
541 |
Introduction to Computational Molecular Biology: Molecular Evolution |
4 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
552** |
Technologies for Genome Analysis |
1.5 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
553** |
Advanced Genetic Analysis |
1.5 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
559 |
Introduction to Statistical and Computational Genomics |
3 |
X |
|||
GENOME |
561 |
Molecular Population Genetics and Evolution |
1.5 |
|
X |
|
|
GENOME |
565 |
Advanced Human Genetics |
4 |
|
X |
|
|
GENOME |
570 |
Phylogenetic Inference |
3 |
X |
|||
MCB |
533 |
Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics |
3 |
X |
IMMUNOLOGY, MEDICINE, PATHOGENESIS, and OTHERS:
Dept |
Number |
Title |
Credits |
A |
W |
Sp |
Su |
BIOENG |
599 |
Special Topics – Contemporary Microscopy and Biophotonics |
3 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
504 |
Topics of Molecular Medicine |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
526 |
Introduction to Systems Biology |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CONJ |
539 |
Modern Approaches to Vaccines |
1.5 |
X |
|||
CWEA |
540 |
Microbiological Process Fundamentals |
3 |
X |
|||
EPI |
520 |
Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases |
3 |
X |
|||
EPI |
527 |
Vaccines |
3 |
X |
|||
EPI |
529 |
Emerging Infections of International Public Health Importance |
3 |
||||
G H |
560 |
Principles of STD/HIV Research |
3 |
X |
|||
IMMUN |
441 |
Introduction to Immunology |
4 |
X |
|||
IMMUN |
532 |
Intersection of Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Disease |
4 |
X |
|||
IMMUN |
537 |
Immunological Methods |
1.5 |
X |
|||
IMMUN |
538 |
Immunological Based Diseases and Treatments |
2 |
X |
|||
IMMUN |
550 |
Selected Topics in Immunology |
1 |
X |
X |
X |
|
MCB |
536 |
Tools For Computational Biology |
3 |
X |
|||
MEDCH |
561 |
Immunizing and Antimicrobial Agents |
4 |
X |
|||
MICROM |
555 |
Advanced Clinical Microbiology |
2.5 |
X |
X |
X |
|
MOLMED |
514 |
Molecular Medicine |
1.5 |
X |
|||
MOLMED |
540 |
Medicine in Action |
1.5 |
X |
X |
X |
|
PABIO |
551 |
Biochemistry and Genetics of Pathogens and Their Hosts |
4 |
X |
|||
PABIO |
552 |
Cell Biology of Human Pathogens and Disease |
4 |
X |
* These classes are primarily for Biochemistry graduate students, who take them as a cohort. Microbiology students can take them with permission of the instructor.
** These are smaller Genome Sciences class, so registration may be difficult.