Degrees

The Path to the PhD At a Glance

The summer prior to Year 1, incoming students are assigned a graduate program academic advisor; this is one of ~10 faculty members on our Student Affairs & Advising Committee, whose job it is to monitor student progress and help them navigate program milestones. The advisor is not the same as the student's primary research mentor, who we refer to as the PI or major professor. 

In Year 1, students complete all of the core coursework requirements. Two 5-week rotations per quarter take place in fall and winter; students are generally expected to secure a thesis lab by the start of spring quarter, but spring rotations are not unheard of. The program will financially support students who need spring rotations, but that support can only be extended through a student's July 1st stipend payment. 

In Year 2, students complete their remaining degree requirements (electives, seminars, ethics), pass the Qualifying Examination (QE) given by five faculty in the spring and no later than the fall of Year 3, and advance to candidacy. 

After advancing to candidacy, students conduct and complete their dissertation research under the direction of a research mentor who can be referred to in different university spaces as their major professor, advisor, or - as we say in the BMCDB community - their PI. A dissertation committee of at least three faculty approves the thesis, and the student delivers an exit seminar on this work to complete the degree. 

It takes an average of six years for BMCDB students to complete the PhD. 

See an example of a typical timeline to the PhD here. 

Read the full BMCDB degree requirements here.

Core Coursework Requirement

These classes are completed over fall, winter, and spring quarter of a student's first year in the program. 

Two substantive classes are completed each quarter: BCB 210 / 211 in fall, BCB 212 / 213 in winter, and BCB 214 / 215 in spring. In fall and winter, students also take our rotations and professional development course. 

See descriptions of our courses here. 

Elective Requirement

• 6 units of elective coursework are required.
• Electives must be graduate-level courses (i.e., 200 or above) that are graded A through F. (Un)satisfactory grades do not count.
• See the Courses page of our website for a list of advisor-approved electives.
• Students who wish to take an elective not on the list can request advisor approval by emailing them a copy of the syllabus.
• Students who are enrolled in a T32 training program, or a Designated Emphasis, can not use their required courses from those programs to count as BMCDB electives.
• Students should be finished with all electives prior to taking the Qualifying Exam; one elective being concurrently taken (i.e., in the same quarter as the QE) is allowable. 

Seminar Requirement

• For the duration of Year 1, we ask that students attend the Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology; this is recorded by registering for MCB 291.
• In Year 2, students are permitted to attend another seminar with their advisor's approval, as long as they can register for an associated course to record their participation.
• Students who are enrolled in a T32 training program, or a Designated Emphasis, can not use required seminars from those programs to count toward the BMCDB degree requirement.
• Information about seminars is generally shared among members of lab networks. Students can also use the Class Search tool to find courses numbered 291, which indicate seminars. 

Scientific Ethics Requirement

Students can satisfy this requirement in one of two ways: 

• GGG 296: This course is offered every fall; current BMCDB students recommend taking it in Year 1, although Year 2 is an option as well. Students who earn awards and grants from the NIH are required to take this course.
• UC Davis Responsible Conduct of Research certificate series: This is an online course that is mostly completable on a student's own time, although attendance at some Zoom meetings is required. 

Teaching Requirement

All students must work as teaching assistants (TAs) at least once before they take the Qualifying Exam. 

Students who are T32 trainees, or who are financially supported by a UC Davis internal fellowship through the end of Year 2, are exempt from this requirement. 

The Qualifying Exam (QE)

BMCDB students must pass an oral qualifying examination before advancing to candidacy for the PhD. To be eligible for the exam, the student must have completed all BMCDB course requirements, removed any deficiencies on the transcript, and obtained at least a 3.0 average in all graduate coursework. 

Read our Advising Chair's step-by-step guide to the Qualifying Exam here. 

Committee Selection

Qualifying examination committees will consist of five Academic Senate tenure-track faculty, three (including the Chair) selected by the student and two selected by the Student Affairs Committee that the student is allowed to veto. 

If the student is enrolled in a Designated Emphasis (DE), one committee member must be affiliated with that DE. A maximum of one non-member of BMCDB is allowed. 

Direct collaborators with the student's PI are not allowed to participate in the QE, nor are partners or romantic spouses of the student's PI. If the student's work is being funded by a grant on which the prospective committee member is a PI, they cannot serve. 

If a faculty member is on sabbatical, they are under no obligation to serve on QE committees, but can elect to do so. 

Scheduling the Examination

All doctoral students are expected to take their QE in spring quarter of their second year, unless approval is sought and granted by the Student Affairs and Advising Chair. Summer QEs are permitted, but not recommended, due to lack of faculty availability. 

Students are not required to have existing data to present the QE; therefore, the exam cannot be delayed due to insufficient data. 

Examination Format

The QE consists of two components: the written dissertation research proposal and the oral examination. The proposal is due to the committee at least two weeks before the oral exam. 

The qualifying examination begins with a ten-minute uninterrupted talk by the student, which will be administered on a chalk/white board only. Chairs are allowed at their discretion to decide whether the student can pre-prepare the board with figures. The rest of the exam consists of a question-and-answer, with the committee probing the student's methods, rationales, and plans for next steps. The exam should last no longer than 3 hours.

Results

There are three possible outcomes of the examinations - pass, retake, and fail. 

Students who pass are allowed to proceed with the candidacy application, described below. 

Students who fail are automatically recommended for disqualification; if desired, students who fail can attempt to proceed with a MS degree, but there is no possibility of continuing the Ph.D. 

Students who are required to retake all or part of the examination will receive a letter from their QE committee within 72 hours, detailing with specific deadlines what needs to be completed. Some students are asked to retake the oral exam; others are essentially being asked to "revise and resubmit" their proposals on the basis of concerns raised during the exam.  If requested, the second examination is to be scheduled at the earliest possible date and will be administered by the same committee. 

Students can only retake the QE once; those who take it a second time can only pass or fail. Students who fail the QE will be disqualified from the program; this is UC Davis Graduate Council policy, and not something we can petition to prevent. 

Advancing to Candidacy

This is generally completed as soon as possible upon passing the QE. The application process is completed as a smart-form in GradSphere. 

Dissertation Committee

Part of the application process entails listing the members of a student's dissertation committee (three members minimum). The student's PI is the Chair of the committee; the other two or three generally, but not always, were on the student's QE committee. 

As with the QE committee, one non-member of BMCDB is allowed, and students in a DE must have one member of that DE on the committee. Students are also allowed to list Academic Senate, tenure-track faculty from other UCs with no need to complete additional petitions. 

Under certain circumstances, it is possible to suggest a committee member from outside the University of California who has special expertise and qualifications. The Graduate Advisor must submit a brief statement indicating the appointee's affiliation and title, degrees held, and describing the special expertise that cannot be duplicated in the UC system. A CV and letter from the nominated person indicating willingness to serve must also be submitted.

Annual meetings of the student and dissertation committee are required in the student's third and fourth year, and every six months in the student's fifth year and beyond. A written report must be filed with the Graduate Program Coordinator after each meeting; it includes the appended form and a 2-3 page progress report written by the student.

Annual Progress Reports

Every UC Davis graduate student must file an annual report with Graduate Studies on their progress towards the degree; this is referred to as the Student Progress Assessment, or SPA. 

BMCDB has a few internal requirements for a student's SPA to be approved as satisfactory: 

• All students must complete the Individual Development Plan (IDP). Students who are required to complete an IDP for another reason, such as enrollment in a T32 training program, are not required to complete this twice.
• First-year students must complete a mentoring plan with their major professor (PI). Students are encouraged, but not required, to revisit the plan each year and revise if necessary.
• Students in Years 3 and 4 who have advanced to candidacy must have an annual dissertation committee meeting in the spring. The committee must sign off on the Dissertation Committee Report (DCR).
• Students in Year 5 and beyond must also submit a DCR; they are required to have a committee meeting twice a year, in fall and spring. 

Dissertation

The research conducted by the student must be of such character as to show ability to pursue independent research. The dissertation reports a scholarly piece of work of publishable quality that solves a significant scientific problem. It must be approved and signed by the dissertation committee before it is submitted to Graduate Studies for final approval of formatting. 

BMCDB does not have a publication requirement for the dissertation. 

The dissertation must be submitted to each member of the dissertation committee at least two weeks before the student expects it to be signed. Keeping the committee informed of progress as research proceeds helps committee members to read it in a timely fashion.

Read Graduate Studies' guidelines on filing the dissertation here. 

Exit Seminar

Each student must present a seminar on the dissertation research before the dissertation is signed and filed with Graduate Studies. Students are responsible for scheduling their own seminars, with help from their major professors as is necessary, and for sending advertisements and flyers to the graduate program coordinator.

It is common, but not necessary, for an exit seminar to take place as part of a broader seminar series (e.g., Cell Biology Work in Progress); students are responsible for contacting seminar coordinators. 

The exit seminar does not have to take place before the dissertation is filed. 

Typical Timeline to the Ph.D.

Year 1

• Fall
• BCB 210, Molecular Genetics and Genomics
  BCB 211, Macromolecular Structure and Interactions
  BCB 220L, Rotations Course
  MCB 291, Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology
  GGG 296, Ethics (optional, strongly recommended for students who plan to apply for NIH grants)
• Winter
• BCB 212, Cell Biology
  BCB 213, Developmental Biology
  BCB 220L, Rotations Course
  MCB 291, Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology
• Spring
• BCB 214, Molecular Biology
  BCB 215, Reading Course
  MCB 291, Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology
  BCB 299, Research Credits (your PI will be the instructor)
  Elective (if offered/needed)
  Complete the Student Progress Assessment

Year 2

• Fall
• BCB 299, Research Credits 
  BCB 290
  MCB 291, Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology (or seminar of your choice)
  GGG 296, Ethics (if not taken in Year 1)
  Elective (if offered/needed)
  Any coursework needed for a T32 or Designated Emphasis
  Complete Responsible Conduct of Research series IF you do not plan to take GGG 296
  Select 3/5 members of QE committee
• Winter
• BCB 299, Research Credits 
  MCB 291, Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology (or seminar of your choice)
  Elective (if offered/needed)
  Any coursework needed for a T32 or Designated Emphasis
  Accept or veto 2/5 members of QE committee, and start scheduling the exam once the committee is final
• Spring
• BCB 299, Research Credits 
  MCB 291, Joint Seminars in Molecular Biology (or seminar of your choice)
  Elective (if offered/needed)
  Any coursework needed for a T32 or Designated Emphasis
  Take the Qualifying Exam
  Complete the Student Progress Assessment

Years 3 and 4

• Fall
• BCB 299, Research Credits
• Winter
• BCB 299, Research Credits
• Spring
• BCB 299, Research Credits 
  Meet with the dissertation committee
  Complete the Student Progress Assessment

Year 5 and Beyond

• Fall
• BCB 299, Research Credits 
  Meet with the dissertation committee
• Winter
• BCB 299, Research Credits
• Spring
• BCB 299, Research Credits 
  Meet with the dissertation committee
  Complete the Student Progress Assessment