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PhD Molecular and Cellular Biology at Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University, United States

Programme overview

The Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD is a multidisciplinary research programme with three specializations: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Immunology and Pathology. Students rotate through four research laboratories in the first year, including options at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory, and can pursue thesis research in nearly 100 laboratories.

Faculty: College of Arts and Sciences and Renaissance School of Medicine  |  Department: Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology  |  Study mode: full-time  |  Location: Stony Brook, NY, United States

What you will study

First-year core courses are Molecular Genetics, Graduate Biochemistry I and Cell Biology, with a journal club and laboratory rotations. Specializations add courses such as Structural Biology and Spectroscopy, Principles of Development, or Immunology and Biology of Cancer. Students pass a written qualifying exam in the fourth semester, defend a thesis proposal, assist in teaching for two semesters, and defend a dissertation; a first-authored refereed paper is required.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Graduate School minimum requirements plus suggested requirements: bachelor's degree with mathematics through one year of calculus, chemistry (including organic chemistry and laboratory), general physics and one year of biology with laboratory; minimum GPA of 3.0 in undergraduate courses including science and mathematics; letters from three previous instructors; acceptance by the programme and the Graduate School. Students not meeting the preparation or GPA requirements may be admitted provisionally and must remedy deficiencies in the first year.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate School: the application fee is $100 (limited exceptions). Deadlines vary by program; for fall applications considered for funding the deadline is typically January 15.

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