Graduate Program - Molecular Basis of Disease

Curriculum

Introduction

The graduate program is designed to provide students with the training necessary to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease. The required course curriculum can be completed during the first two years while making a substantial start toward a thesis research project. The description and requirements delineated in this document apply to students entering the Pathology Ph.D. program in the 2009/2010 academic year. It is expected that all requirements for the Ph.D. can be completed within five years.

Timeline for Completing Ph.D. Program

Year 1: Take Core Courses and Do Three Lab Rotations
- Typical schedule for first year student

Year 2: Complete Course Work and Begin Thesis Research
- Typical schedule for second year student
- Select Thesis Advisor and Laboratory after completing rotations in 3 different labs
- Select Supervisory Committee and have first committee meeting before the end of the second year.
- Register for PATH 800 after establishing your Supervisory/Thesis Committee.

Years 3-5: Take General Exam and Complete Thesis Research
- Typical schedule for final years
- Take the General Exam (GE) before the end of the 3rd year. The GE focuses on presentation of the proposed thesis project, progress to date, and knowledge of the field.
- Complete a dissertation project.

Final Quarters: Write and Defend Dissertation

Required Course Work

A minimum of 10 credits must be taken each quarter (except summer: 2 credits) to remain a full-time graduate student eligible for training grant support. After a Thesis Advisor is chosen, students register for as many credits of PATH 600 (Independent research) as needed (e.g. 10 credits if no other course is taken). All students must complete 18 graded credits in graduate level courses (500 level) prior to registering for the General Examination (GE). This is a University of Washington Graduate School requirement. Unless you petition out of some of the required courses, the program requirements will satisfy the graded credits requirements. Note that grades received from courses with numbers in the 600, 700 or 800 series can never count toward the 18 graded credits. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 is required.

We have crafted the course requirements to maximize student contact with the program faculty and to optimize opportunities to learn about disease processes (clinical presentation) and the approaches used to determine basic molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases.

The Pathology Ph.D. Program requires the following courses:

PATH 501 - Pathology Proseminars
PATH 507 - Introduction to Pathology Research
PATH 520 - Experimental Pathology Seminars: Path Presents
PATH 544 - General and Systemic Pathology
PATH 551 - Lab Rotation
PATH 600 - Independent Study or Research (before Supervisory/Thesis Committee established)
PATH 800 - Doctoral Dissertation (after Supervisory/Thesis Committee established)
Molecular Basis of Disease Course Series
- PATH 512 - Pathology Methods for Grad Students
- PATH 513 - Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration
- PATH 515 - Atherosclerosis and Myocardial Infarction
- PATH 516 - Human Genetic Disease
- Path 517 - Biology and Pathology of Aging
- CONJ 538 - Genetic Instability and Cancer
- CONJ 539 - Biological Basis of Neoplasia
BIOST 511 - Medical Biometry I
Graduate Student Retreat
Biomedical Research Integrity Series

Recommended courses:

CONJ 526 - Introduction to Systems Biology
CONJ 531 - Signaling Mechanisms in Excitable Cells
CONJ 532 - Signal Transduction from the Cell Membranes to the Nucleus

Petitioning for Exemption from a Required Course

A student can petition in writing to the Graduate Program Director to be exempted from one of the specific Pathology course requirements if he/she believes that it would repeat course material already taken. If the petition is persuasive, and the petition is granted, it should be noted that this does not reduce the Graduate School requirement for 18 graded credits.

Evaluation and Grades

The performance of every student in the program will be evaluated annually by the Graduate and Admissions Committee. The evaluation will be based, in part, on the annual report by the student's Thesis Advisor (due every August) and on the most recent report from the thesis committee (annual thesis committee meetings are a program requirement). The student will be sent a note documenting the committee opinions and recommendations. The major goal of this review is to make sure that a student gets additional advice when there may be problems with the student's progress.

The following are critical grade thresholds for graduate students:

3.0 Any time that the GPA for the quarter, or the cumulative GPA, is below 3.0 a "low scholarship report" is sent to the Graduate Program Director for determination of any programmatic changes or advice that is needed.
2.7 The Graduate School considers this to be the lowest passing grade for a graduate student. Below this, the student can not use the grade toward the 18 graded credits.
1.7 The Office of Graduate Academic Records states that 1.7 is the lowest numerical grade that a graduate student can get. Any grade of 1.6 and below is converted to 0.0 on the student record and 0.0 is used when computing GPA.

On the quarterly grade report that students receive each quarter, there is a "graded credits attempted" box. This is usually, but not always, the same credits the Graduate School determines when calculating satisfactory completion of course work credited toward the requirement for 18 graded credits. It is recommended that you acquire a copy of your transcript from the registrar's office in Schmitz Hall to verify your GPA.