The graduate curriculum in Cell and Developmental Biology is designed to educate students for careers in research and teaching in the biological sciences. Departmental faculty are concerned with the structural and functional relationships of cells and organisms, with research emphases upon eukaryotic cell and molecular biology, neurobiology, developmental biology, and molecular genetics. The department has embarked on a major program to develop research strengths in molecular aspects of developmental, neural, structural, and eukaryotic cell biology to complement existing faculty interests. Students are not admitted to the M.S. program; M.S. requirements are completed as part of the Ph.D. program.

Admission

Students interested in this program must apply directly to the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (www.mcb.illinois.edu/graduate/gradprospect.html). During the first semester, students perform three laboratory rotations, choosing from any laboratory in the School. Students select a laboratory for their thesis research in December and formally join the appropriate graduate program/department at that time.

Important factors in the evaluation of applications are general academic performance, background in the biological and chemical sciences and mathematics, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and letters of recommendation from college professors. The department does not admit students to the M.S. program.

Graduate Teaching Experience

Experience in teaching is considered a vital part of the graduate program and is required as part of the academic work of all Ph.D. candidates in this program.

Facilities and Resources

Facilities include modern, well-equipped laboratories for cellular, developmental, genetic, molecular, and structural studies. The University offers exceptional and broadly based research support services. These include the Center for Electron Microscopy, with state-of-the-art instrumentation; the Center for Biotechnology, which includes facilities for molecular cloning, DNA and protein synthesis and sequencing, and transgenic animals; the Cell Science Center, which houses and staffs a hybridoma facility and flow cytometry unit; School of Molecular and Cellular Biology-subsidized shops; and a superb university library system, the third largest in the nation. The University offers outstanding computer services and is home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology combines research in the physical and biological sciences. Opportunities for interaction in the cellular and molecular sciences are also available in many other units within the Schools of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Integrative Biology, and Chemical Sciences and the Colleges of Medicine, Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and Engineering.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available to qualified applicants in the form of university fellowships (awarded on a competitive basis), teaching assistantships (awarded by the department), research assistantships, and tuition and fee waivers. Outstanding applicants are nominated for support from the Cell and Molecular Biology, Molecular Biophysics.

for the Master of Science in Cell & Developmental Biology

For additional details and requirements refer to the department's Graduate Student Handbook and the Graduate College Handbook.

Cell and Developmental Biology, MS

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
MCB 501	Advanced Biochemistry	4
MCB 502	Advanced Molecular Genetics	4
MCB 529	Special Topics Cell Devel Biol (Section WRI)	2
MCB 580	Res Ethics & Responsibilities	1
MCB 581 & MCB 582 & MCB 583	Laboratory Rotation I and Laboratory Rotation II and Laboratory Rotation III	9
CDB 595	Graduate Sem Cell Devel Biol (Sections A and C) ^{CDB 595 Section A and CDB 595 Section C must each be taken once for 1 credit hour each.}	2
Approved elective coursework hours to bring total course work hours to 32		10
Total Hours		32

Other Requirements

Grad Other Degree Requirements
Requirement	Description
Other requirements may overlap
Completion of one of the following: Pass the Preliminary Exam, or approval of the graduate program committee (chaired by a tenured CDB faculty member and comprised of at least 5 CDB faculty members), or by approval of the research advisor and department head.
Minimum GPA:	3.00