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Program Details

Graduate Program: Microbiology (PHD)

General Information

Request Information
Program/Degree
Microbiology (PHD)  
Program Description

The Microbiology Graduate Program (MGP) provides post-graduate education in the basic science disciplines, including microbiology, immunology, and food safety while embracing an integrative approach to science. Students will develop a broad academic foundation with a concentration in at least one science discipline. The general focus will be on microbiology and microbial pathogens of domestic animals and humans, with an emphasis on infectious diseases and host responses. Graduates will find employment in academic, government, and private institutions. 

Admission to the program is linked to a commitment by a Microbiology faculty member to mentor the student and assure adequate support for the student to successfully complete the degree.  Therefore, Microbiology graduate students have the advantage of a designated graduate advisor from the outset.  Limited numbers of Graduate Assistantships are available through the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences.

 
Department/Academic Unit(s)

School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

The School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences (ACBS) brings together animal scientists, veterinarians, microbiologists and others to offer the strongest possible programs in research, education and outreach. This school was formed in order to offer more integrated research and educational opportunities in the animal and biomedical sciences.

 
College

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

 
Campus where offered

University of Arizona - Main - Tucson

 
Contacts
Admissions Contact
Dari Salvo
520-621-3058
Graduate Program Coordinator
Dari Salvo
520-621-3058
Director of Graduate Studies
Frank Anthony Duca
520-621-9544
Graduate College Degree Counselor
Tammy Tran
520-621-0119
 
Tuition and Fees
Please refer to the UA Bursar's Office Tuition and Fees Calculator for up-to-date information about tuition and fees. 
Please refer to the UA Registrar's's Office Special Course Fees for up-to-date information about special course fees. 

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

General requirements include: 3 letters of recommendation, curriculum vitae, statement of purpose, GRE score, and unofficial transcripts of all colleges and universities attended are to be submitted electronically through the online application.

Once an applicant has been recommended by the program committee, the applicant will be notified by telephone or email. At that time official transcripts will need to be sent to the following address: Microbiology Graduate Program Director, School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210090, Room 201 Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences Building, 1117 E. Lowell St, Tucson, AZ 85721.

 
Standardized Tests

Required test(s): GRE
Minimum GRE Verbal: 151
Minimum GRE Quantitative: 153
Minumum GRE Written: 4.0
 

English Language Proficiency as required by the Graduate College: https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/requirements/international-applicants#english-proficiency ;

 
Funding Opportunities

Limited numbers of Graduate Assistantships (GTA) and Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) are available through the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences. The GTA positions are provided on a semester-by-semester basis and generally require the recipient to assist in teaching laboratory courses in the core curriculum of the undergraduate Microbiology major. The GRA positions are generally supported by research grants acquired by the major professor and are provided during semesters when the student does not have formal teaching assistant duties. Since faculty support is required, applicants are accepted only upon commitment of a MGP faculty member to provide supplemental financial to assure successful completion of the graduate degree. MGP students may also apply for a wide range of graduate student scholarships and fellowships offered by the University of Arizona.

 
Admissions Deadlines

Domestic Applicants:

  • Fall: January 1

International Applicants:

  • Fall: January 1
 
International Conditional Admission

International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.

Other Information
The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

NRC Taxon(a) for this program: Microbiology

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

63 

Core Coursework Requirements

The PhD degree is conferred on individuals who have demonstrated proficiency in research, experimental design, and scientific achievement in a microbiology discipline. The degree also requires two semesters of teaching as a graduate assistant. The degree is not granted merely as a certificate of faithful performance of a prescribed program of study and research.

The PhD degree requires completion of a minimum of 63 credit hours of graduate coursework and includes the following: 

  • ACBS 696A Research Seminar, 2 units, minimum grade required: B. Students should enroll in, and present a seminar, at least once per academic year. Irrespective of registration, however, MGP graduate students are required to attend seminar each semester, unless there is a course scheduling conflict on the days that seminar is scheduled. Attendance will be monitored and recorded in the student’s annual progress report.
  • MIC 595A Critical Evaluation of Scientific Literature, 3 units

  • Graded Coursework in major, 15 units (see list below). Decision about these courses is made in conjunction with Major Advisor

  • Graded Coursework in minor, 9 units

  • MIC 900 Research, 18 units 

  • MIC 920 Dissertation, 18 units

Minimum GPA in core coursework: 3.0


Core coursework: The Microbiology program provides maximum flexibility in planning programs of study for MS and PhD candidates, and no uniform core of coursework is required. The student's Plan of Study is developed and approved by the student's Graduate Advisory Committee in accordance with the student's research interests and career goals. The PhD degree is conferred upon individuals who have demonstrated proficiency in research, experimental design, and scientific achievement in a micro discipline. The degree is not granted merely as a certificate of faithful performance of a prescribed program of studies and research.


Language requirements: English Language Proficiency as required by the Graduate College: https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/requirements/international-applicants#english-proficiency. ; The University of Arizona institution code is 4832.


Other requirements: Students entering the program with a strong foundation of coursework in microbiology, pathology, epidemiology, parasitology, and/or other health science disciplines will have greater flexibility in preparing a plan of study within the program. An acceptable thesis and a final oral examination are also required. The candidate should generate sufficient data from the thesis research to write at least two full-length manuscript (not a note, brief communication, or review suitable for publication in a refereed journal in the field of specialization. This manuscript must be submitted for consideration prior to the final examination, unless this is waived by agreement of the student's mentor and Graduate Advisory Committee.

 
Elective Coursework

Beyond the few required courses, each student will work with his research mentor and graduate committee to develop a curriculum tailored to individual needs. The following list includes courses that have been taken by current/former students in the program. Note: course offerings may be in flux – please refer to the course catalog to make sure that specific courses in the following list are still being offered.

 

STATISTICS & COMPUTATION 

BE 513 Applied Biostatistics 3 units

PSY 510 Statistics Fundamentals 3 units

BIOS 576A Biostatistics for Public Health 3 units

MCB 516A Statistics Bioinfo and Genomic Analysis 3 units

RNR 620 Working with Ecological Data with R 2 units

 

MICROBIAL GROUPS 

MIC 520 Pathogenic Bacteriology (online/hybrid) 3 units

PLP 527R General Mycology (in-person/online) 3 units

PLP 611 Comparative Virology 3 units

MIC 533 Medical and Molecular Virology 4 units

MIC 503R Biology of Animal Parasites 3 units

 

GENETICS, CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 

PLP 528R Microbial Genetics (in-person/online) 3 units

MCB 573 Recombinant DNA Methods and Techniques 4 units

BIOC 568 Nucleic Acids, Metabolism, and Signaling 4 units

MCB 539 Methods in Cell Biology and Genomics 3 units

MCB 577 Principles of Cell Biology 4 units

MCB 572A Cell Systems 4 units

 

FOCUSED COURSES FOR SPECIFIC ACBS MICROBIOLOGY LABORATORIES 

MIC 530 Food Microbiology & Biotechnology 3 units

MIC 530L Advanced Food Science & Microbiology Laboratory 2 units

ENVS 525 Environmental Microbiology 3 units

ENVS 526 Environmental Microbiology Lab 2 units

MIC 550 Veterinary Microbiology 3 units

ACBS 556 Aquaculture 3 units

ACBS 543 Research Animal Methods 3 units

 

MICROBES, IMMUNITY & DISEASE 

MIC 519 General Immunological Concepts  4 units

PLP 552 Antibiotics- A Biological Perspective 3 units

IMB 501 Medical Microbiology and Immunology 4 units

IMB 548 Basic and Advanced Immunology 3 units

IMB 565 Principles and Molecular Mechanisms of Microbe-Host Interactions 3 units

IMB 605 Medical Immunology & Infectious Disease (hybrid) 4 units

ENTO 532 Comparative Immunology 3 units

ACBS 566 Principles of Disease 3 units

 

EPIDEMIOLOGY & PUBLIC HEALTH 

EPID 573A Basic Principles in Epidemiology (in-person/online) 3 units

EPID 573B Epidemiologic Methods 3 units

HPS 529 Project Design & Implementation in Global Health (online) 3 units

PHPM 574 Public Health Policy and Management 3 units

EHS 575 Environmental and Occupational Health (online) 3 units

ENTR 548 Healthcare Entrepreneurship 3 units

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES 

ENVS 508 Scientific Writing for Environmental, Agricultural and Life Sciences 3 units

SLHS 649 Survival Skills and Ethics  3 units

CMM 696B Research Seminar 1 unit

CHEM 595A Professional Development 1 unit

 

OTHER SPECIALIZED COURSES 

ABS 593A Internship in Applied Bioscience 1-6 units

BIOC 548A Plant Biochemistry and Metabolic Engineering (online) 3 units

ENVS 564 Environmental Organic Chemistry 3 units

ACBS 570 Animals and Ecosystems (hybrid) 3 units

ACBS 571 Risk Assessment, Management, and Communication 3 units

NSC 696B Nutrition Seminar 3 units

MCB 696E Science, Society and Ethics 1 unit

 
Additional Requirements

None

 
Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program

Selection of at least one minor is required. It may be in another graduate program, or in the MGP. Minor coursework should present a unifying theme to the remainder of the student's program. Dissertation work in absentia must be recommended by the GAC and ACBS Director and approved by petition to the Graduate College.

A Minor in the MGP will consist of nine hours of graded coursework with one member of the graduate student’s committee being part of the MGP. Students considering a Minor in MGP should first schedule a meeting with the MGP director. 

 
Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

 

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate 30.43%
Med. Time-to-degree (years) 4.50
 
Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male 27.27%
Enrollment Percent Female 72.73%
Enrollment Percent International 18.18%
Enrollment Percent URM 18.18%

Back to statistics
  • All application, admit, and enrollment data are from Fall 2020.
  • Median Time to Degree calculates how long graduates in the last 5 years (2015-2019) took to complete their degrees, counting back to the first semester entering their program. This measure uses the methodology established in the 2011 Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs by the National Research Council.
  • Underrepresented Minorities (URM) includes domestic students of ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders.

Persistent link: https://grad.arizona.edu/catalog/programinfo/MICRPHD
Last revised 28 Sep 2020
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