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This Cellular & Molecular Medicine masters program is designed to educate students at the graduate level in biomedical sciences, with an emphasis on training in basic and translational clinical research, and to provide students with an advanced understanding of human anatomy and functional histology and cell biology. This program is open to applicants who hold a Bachelors Degree.
Upon completing this program, a graduate will have a fundamental overview of the normal structure and function of the major organs of the human body, the major types of diseases that afflict those organs – either individually or multiply – and the types of disease processes involved, and knowledge of opportunities, strategies, and approaches to prevent or treat such diseases.
The Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine is one of the five basic science departments of the University of Arizona College of Medicine located on the Northeast side of the University of Arizona Campus in Tucson, AZ. The mission of the Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine (CMM) is to provide pre- and post-doctoral, medical and graduate education in an interdisciplinary environment through research activities to advance the knowledge of biological structure as related to function and disease from the molecular level to the whole organism.
CMM faculty run active research programs in modern molecular and cellular biology, which include the areas of developmental biology, neuroscience, parasitology, immunology, cancer biology, and cellular structure and function. Our graduate program attracts outstanding students from all parts of the US and the world. Graduate students from the interdisciplinary programs of cancer biology, genetics, molecular & cellular biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, and physiological sciences also receive training in CMM faculty laboratories.
CMM mailing address:
PO Box 245044, 1501 N Campbell Ave.
Life Sciences North, Room 450, Tucson, AZ 85724-5044
College of Medicine, Tucson
Arizona Global Direct - Online
Global Microcampus - Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
Domestic and International Students: The application period for Fall and Summer '22 admissions is closed. Applications will re-open from November 1st, 2022 to February 15th, 2023 for Fall and Summer '23 admissions. The Master's Advisory committee endeavors to make all admissions decisions by the middle of March. At this time, our program does not have a Spring admission.
Global Campus Experience Students: The application for the MS in Cellular and Molecular Medicine is now open for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. Application deadlines will soon be available for upcoming semesters.
A bachelor's degree from an accredited university is a prerequisite for entering the MS program. A student may apply to the MS program prior to receiving his/her bachelor's degree, but must have received the degree prior to starting the program.
Listed below are items that are required to complete this application for admission:
Test scores for the GRE, the MCAT, or the DAT are optional and are not required for admissions. Applicants may choose to upload test results if they desire.
For Information about English Proficiency Requirements, please visit: https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/requirements/international-applicants#english-proficiency
The CMM MS Program does not provide financial aid; teaching and research assistantships are not available for this program and students are responsible for all expenses related to completion of their degree requirements. However, you may contact the Office of Financial Aid for more information about available financial aid resources or assistance (https://financialaid.arizona.edu/graduate-students).
Additionally, the Graduate College has Graduate Access Fellowships (https://grad.arizona.edu/gaf/) to which interested students may apply. Please visit their website for more information.
Domestic Applicants:
International Applicants:
Global Campus Experience Students at Amrita University ONLY:
International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.
4832
ETS Major Field Code(s) for this program: School Code: 4832; Dept. Code 0203
30
Minumum credits: 30
Core coursework for Domestic or International Students
Anatomical or Cell & Molecular Emphasis: 4 units total
This option is strongly recommended for students interested in pursuing a medical degree or those who wish to gain knowledge in human anatomy.
OR any combination of the following:
*This option is recommended for students who desire a training emphasis in the cell and molecular underpinnings of health and disease.
*Note: students could complete both options - one as a requirement and the other as an elective.
Histology: 3 units total
* As of Fall, '22, these 2 one-unit courses will no longer be taught, but they will count towards the requirement:
CMM 548 - (Histology of the Digestive and Respiratory Systems-1 unit, online)*
CMM 549 - (Histology of the Urogenital and Endocrine Systems - 1 unit, online)*
*Note: students can take either CMM 510 or CMM 547, 548, and 549, but not all of the courses for credit. It is OK to take both CMM 547 AND CMM 510 though.
Microscopy: 1 unit total
** As of Spring 2022, the requirement for microscopy is switching from ‘3 units’ to ‘at least 1 unit’… Students interested in research are encouraged to take CMM 565.
The requirement can be met through these courses:
* As of Spring 2022, these 3 one-unit courses will no longer be taught, but they will count towards the requirement:
Cell Biology: up to 3 units total
Choose one:
Scientific Communication: 2 units total
Thesis - 5 UNITS Total*
Human Disease and Pathology: 4 units total
CHOOSE ONE:
Electives: 6 Units total:
** Those taking only one unit of microscopy (CMM 566) will need two additional units of elective coursework (at least 8 total units).
In addition to the Core Courses above, master's students will be required to complete at least 6 additional elective units with a grade of C or higher. The following courses are recommended, but other courses in the biomedical sciences and medicine may be appropriate and will also be considered:
The courses listed above are suggestions. The choice of elective courses will be agreed upon by the student and the student's advisor. Other courses in the biomedical sciences and medicine may be appropriate and will be considered. The student will be required to receive approval from his or her advisory committee for his/her final selection of courses. Many of our online courses are also excellent choices for elective credit. MS students will be required to complete elective units with a grade of C or higher to remain in good standing. In accordance with the policies of the Graduate College, any student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation for the following semester. If the student's cumulative GPA is still below 3.0 at the end of their probationary semester, he/she will be dismissed from the program.
Every student is required to complete a substantial research project and to submit a written thesis that documents that research. Both laboratory and non-laboratory projects will be considered. The student's research project will be agreed upon by the student and the student's advisory committee (to be made up of at least three faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the Masters Advisory Committee). As a guideline, laboratory based thesis should be in the format of a publishable manuscript for an appropriate journal and non-laboratory based thesis should be in the format of a New England Journal of Medicine review article and be 10,000-20,000 words (not including references).
The CMM Masters Program will consider allowing previous coursework to count toward the degree requirements, up to the extent permitted by the Graduate College. The final decision about transfer credits will be made by the student's advisory committee.
Electives: 6 Units total:
In addition to the Core Courses above, master's students will be required to complete at least 6 additional elective units with a grade of C or higher. The following courses are recommended, but other courses in the biomedical sciences and medicine may be appropriate and will also be considered:
The courses listed above are suggestions. The choice of elective courses will be agreed upon by the student and the student's advisor. Other courses in the biomedical sciences and medicine may be appropriate and will be considered. The student will be required to receive approval from his or her advisory committee for his/her final selection of courses. Many of our online courses are also excellent choices for elective credit.
Every CMM-Masters student, regardless of track, is required to complete a substantial research project and submit a written thesis that documents that research. Laboratory, non-laboratory, and hybrid projects will all be considered. A student's research project will be agreed upon by the student and the student's advisory committee (for information on a student’s Advisory committee, see above).
As a guideline, a laboratory-based thesis should be in the format of a publishable manuscript for an appropriate journal. A non-laboratory-based thesis should be in the format of a New England Journal of Medicine review article and be 10,000-20,000 words in length (not including references). A student’s Thesis Committee will guide her/him in the preparation of this document. Per Graduate College policy, the thesis must be archived on the University’s open-access website prior to completion of their degree.
Students who will be working in a laboratory must complete the University’s Online RCR Training.
Students who will be working with patients or non-anonymized patient data must take the University’s HIPAA Training.
Students participating in the Global Campus Experience through Amrita University are required to take CMM 909 as they complete their research project. More information about this course and these requirements will become available soon.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
| Program-level Information | |
|---|---|
| Application Acceptance Rate | 70.59% |
| Med. Time-to-degree (years) | 2.25 |
| Department-level Information | |
| Enrollment Percent Male | 42.42% |
| Enrollment Percent Female | 57.58% |
| Enrollment Percent International | 0% |
| Enrollment Percent URM | 48.48% |