Graduate study in the College of Medicine’s Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry is designed to prepare candidates for careers in academics, industry, and government laboratories. Students will have the opportunity to participate in faculty research programs studying a spectrum of topics including signal transduction, protein structure and function, transcriptional regulation, the cytoskeleton, secretion and vesicular fusion, disease mechanisms (e.g. atherosclerosis, cancer, infectious disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s), drug design, nucleic acid dynamics, and membrane biogenesis & function. Students will obtain a well-rounded knowledge of modern biochemistry, participate in graduate seminars, journal clubs, and research seminars; interact with visiting scholars; and present the results of their research at local and national meetings. Financial aid is available to all students in the program.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the graduate program in Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry is through the Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBS) Program (see https://graduate.med.uky.edu/integrated-biomedical-sciences). Applicants to the IBS Program should have a Bachelor’s degree with appropriate course work in biology, chemistry, physics and math.
Students in the IBS program complete coursework that provides a foundation for doctoral studies in any of the COM basic science departments including Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry. In addition to coursework, IBS students do research rotations with any faculty in participating departments. Students completing the IBS year with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a minimum grade of B in the course IBS 601 Biomolecules & Metabolism are eligible to join the graduate program in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry.
More information regarding the Ph.D. program in Biochemistry may be obtained at http://biochemistry.med.uky.edu/.
Degree Requirements
Graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry must complete, with a minimum grade of B, two of the following four core courses held each Fall:
BCH 604 Structural Biology
BCH 610 Biochemistry of Lipids & Membranes
BCH 611 Biochemistry & Cell biology of Nucleic Acids
BCH 612 Structure & Function of Proteins/Enzymes
Students must also complete, again with a minimum grade of B, the following courses:
BCH 618 Seminar in Biochemistry (Fall)
BCH 619 Seminar in Biochemistry (Spring)
BCH 625 Scientific Communications (Spring)
In addition, each Fall and Spring prior to the qualifying exam students enroll in sufficient credit hours of BCH 640 Research in Biochemistry to ensure they have a total of 9-12 credit hours per semester.
Once students have earned a total of 36 credit hours of graduate-level coursework they complete the qualifying exam. Once qualified, students enroll in 2 credit hours of BCH 767 Dissertation Residency Credit each Fall and Spring semester until they successfully defend their dissertation.
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