When you enter the program you may specialize in virtually any of the diverse areas of genetic research. The courses required may vary depending on your area of specialization, and every effort is made to tailor individual course requirements to individual needs. Quite independent of your area of specialization, however, the Program, by its courses, seminars and exams, makes every effort to insure that you have a working knowledge of molecular biology and genetics. Your primary advisor for the first year will be the Director of the Program. He/she will meet with you prior to the initial registration for the purposes of planning specific course requirements and deciding upon a beginning laboratory rotation. The Director normally will meet with you at the end of each semester to monitor your progress and plan the remaining curriculum. In addition, the head of the laboratory in which you rotate will help advise you. Typically, by the end of the first year most students have chosen a laboratory in which to conduct their thesis research. The thesis advisor then becomes your primary advisor for the remainder of your graduate work. In addition, beginning with the qualifying exam at the end of the third semester, students meet with their thesis committee once a year to report on their research progress.
Required Courses: The core curriculum consists of courses in Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Graduate Genetics. The latter course covers the major areas of modern genetics in a comprehensive fashion. Readings in Genetics is designed to teach students to critically evaluate scientific literature and to discuss the ethics of science. In many instances these courses include lectures given by many different faculty, who address topics within their own field of expertise and research interests. In addition to the required courses, students are urged to take one or more specialized electives. Listed below are the core courses and some of the specialized courses that are available. However, students who enter the program with particular academic strengths may be exempted from one or more required courses, so your actual course of study could be adjusted to accommodate your interests and previous training.
First Year, Fall (12 credits/semester)
First Year, Spring (12 credits/semester)
First Year, Summer (0 credits)
Second Year, Fall (9 credits/semester)
Second Year, Spring
Core Courses : Core Courses: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Genetics, Graduate Genetics, Laboratory Rotation, Graduate Research (once a thesis lab is chosen), Graduate Student Seminar in Genetics, and Readings in Genetics (Journal Club).
Specialized Courses: Biology of Cancer, Biometry, Comparative Cell and Tissue Biology, Computer Programming and Modeling Techniques in Biology, Developmental Biology, Human Evolution, Microbial Pathogenesis, Molecular Aspects of Immunology, Molecular Evolution, Neurobiology, Numerical Taxonomy, Organelle Development, Phylogenetics, Physiology and Biochemistry of Cell Cycles, Principles of Development, Principles of Evolution, Seminar in Human Genetics and Cytogenetics.
With consent of the Program Director, students may also choose electives from among graduate level courses at the University in other programs, including those in Applied Mathematics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neurobiology and Behavior, Pharmacology, Ecology and Evolution and others.
It is important for students to develop teaching and communication skills, particularly since most of our graduate students are likely to pursue academic and research careers. Genetics students typically function as Teaching Assistants in the undergraduate Genetics course, where they may conduct discussion sections or study groups, and in the introductory Biology course, conducting student laboratories. In addition, all students participate in the Graduate Student Seminar throughout their academic careers. This seminar series gives every student the opportunity to present his or her own research to students and faculty, thereby gaining valuable presentation experience and feedback.
Most students will complete their formal course requirements by January of the second year. At that time they take a written comprehensive qualifying exam. After passing the comprehensive exam each student prepares a thesis proposal. This proposal takes the form of a National Institutes of Health grant proposal for the student's thesis research and is written in consultation with the thesis advisor. It is defended orally before a committee consisting of four faculty. The committee must include one member from outside the Genetics Program faculty. We find that the thesis proposal is a valuable means to give you and your advisor an opportunity to think through the long-term strategy of your research, and it gives you the experience of communicating and defending your scientific ideas to colleagues. After passing the thesis proposal, the student advances to candidacy and pursues dissertation research full-time. His/her advisor then becomes a member of the thesis committee, which meets annually to monitor the student's progress. Most students will complete the entire program in four to six years.
We do not expect you to know which laboratory you want to work in at the time you enter the program. Therefore, we use the Laboratory Rotation course as a vehicle to introduce you to the kinds of research conducted in several laboratories within the program. Through the laboratory rotations you will gain a hands-on introduction to the particular experimental systems and methodologies available in each laboratory, along with a general feeling for the ambience of each lab. You are not obligated to do your thesis research in a rotational lab, but the rotations will help you in making a decision. Typically, a student will rotate in four different laboratories during the first year (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer).
All of the courses in the first three semesters meet on the Stony Brook campus, though additional electives and “Journal Clubs” are also offered at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Because both Cold Spring Harbor and Brookhaven National Laboratory are roughly a half hour’s drive from Stony Brook, we recommend that students choosing rotations at either facility consider their course loads and time the rotations accordingly. The decision as to where to carry out the first rotation is made by the student in conjunction with the Program Director. By the time you select your second rotation, you will have had many opportunities to become familiar with the faculty. Through the use of Program Retreats, in-house symposia at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Stony Brook, courses and special visits, the Program works to promote frequent interaction among faculty and students. Every effort is made to promote student awareness of the research possibilities at all three institutions.
A variety of outside speaker seminars and symposia are available to the students in the Genetics Program. In fact, the Genetics Program hosts a “student-invited speaker,” selected by students’ popular vote, every year. In addition, virtually every department in the Life Sciences and CMM facilities hosts regular seminars and special symposia conducted by visiting scientists. For example, the School of Medicine and the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology sponsor an annual Human Diseases Colloquium on a topic of special interest, In addition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory also host numerous seminars by resident and visiting scientists.