Graduate students studying at Iowa State University with an interest in completing a MCDB minor for their Ph.D. are required to complete the following curriculum requirements.
Students MUST be approved for the minor by the MCDB program and must follow Graduate College guidelines for POS Committee membership.
Graduate students wishing to seek a minor in MCDB are encouraged to contact the MCDB Interdepartmental Graduate Program Coordinator for further information. Inquiries can be submitted to mcdb@iastate.edu.
MCDB Minor Curriculum at the PhD level includes:
| Two semester sequence of Biochemistry (either BBMB404/405 or BBMB 501/502) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BBMB 404 | Biochemisry I | 3 credits | Fall |
| BBMB 405 | Biochemistry II | 3 credits | Spring |
| BBMB 501 | Comprehensive Biochemistry I | 4 credits | Fall |
| BBMB 502 | Comprehensive Biochemistry II | 4 credits | Spring |
One course from two of the following three areas: A) Cellular Biology, B) Developmental Biology, and C) Molecular Biology.
| A) Cellular Biology Course Options | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| GDCB 528 | Advances in Molecular Cell Biology | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Even Years |
| BMS 575 | Cell Biology | 3 credits | Fall |
| BBMB 645 | Molecular Signaling | 2 credits | Alt. Spring, Odd Years |
| GDCB 545 | Plant Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology*See Footnote | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Odd Years |
| B) Developmental Biology Course Options | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| GDCB 533 | Advances in Developmental Biology | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Odd Years |
| GDCB 545 | Plant Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology*See Footnote | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Odd Years |
| C) Molecular Biology Course Options | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| MICRO 502 | Microbial Genetics & Genomics | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Even Years |
| GDCB 511 | Molecular Genetics | 3 credits | Spring |
| VMPM 608 | Molecular Virology | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Even Years |
| GDCB 545 | Plant Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology*See Footnote | 3 credits | Alt. Fall, Odd Years |
*Footnote: GDCB 545 - Plant Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology may be used to fulfill any one of the required component areas. This course may only be used once.
| In addition to the above course requirements, MCDB graduate minors are required to register once for: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| MCDB 698 | Seminar in Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology | 1-2 credits | Spring |
Journal Discussion/Student Presentations MCDB 698 is a student seminar series. Students present their research to the other students in the class. The purpose of MCDB 698 is to help you develop formal oral and visual communication skills that you will use at scientific conferences, for teaching, and for job interviews after you graduate from the program. In addition, other members of the class are expected to participate and gain experience in thoughtfully critiquing the presentation and asking questions. Students in the audience are encouraged to ask questions to foster thought-provoking discussion on the speakers’ research. The audience consists only of other students and the instructor so that students will not be intimidated by senior faculty or other scientists. Students should feel free to ask any question at all, no matter how basic it is. First or second year students may present a journal paper or other research that is not their own, if they do not have enough of their own data to present. If a journal paper is used, the other students in the class will read the paper before participating in discussion. The presenter is expected to present a brief review of the background material and then discuss the material presented in the paper.
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