General Format
The Integrated Ph.D. Program (IPP) provides the most direct route to a Ph.D. degree in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBMS). In this program, students enter GSBMS without initially declaring an academic discipline. Graduates receive a Ph.D. in one of our existing programs – biochemistry & molecular biology, cell biology, microbiology & immunology, pathology, pharmacology, or physiology.
Student Support
Qualifying students receive a financial aid package that includes a full tuition scholarship, stipend, medical and hospitalization insurance (annual premium paid by the GSBMS), and a waiver of the Student Health Services fee. Be advised, due to funding limitations and budgetary restraints for international travel, the GSBMS will only accept applications to the PhD program from international students if they are currently undergraduate or graduate students in the U.S. with an F1 visa.
Ph.D. Degree Timeline
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Subsequent Years |
Students take a common set of courses (the core curriculum) in the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters, along with elective course options that may differ for each student. First-year students also participate in three different laboratory rotations – one in each academic term. At the conclusion of the first year, each student declares his/her program and joins the lab of the Dissertation Advisor. |
Students continue formal coursework towards an overall minimum of 32 didactic (i.e., letter-graded) credits. This includes both core and program-specific requirements and electives. Coursework should be complete or very nearly complete by the end of the second year. Students begin working in their dissertation laboratory and form an advisory committee. At the end of the second year, each student will attempt to pass a qualifying exam that tests the student’s integrated knowledge of the core curriculum and the discipline-based curriculum. |
During the third year, the student presents a formal dissertation proposal to the advisory committee. The student is required to engage in an approved teaching activity at least once during their enrollment in the program. Students may undertake various approved teaching activities within the GSBMS, other academic units of NYMC, or academic institutions external to NYMC. |
The student keeps the dissertation committee apprised of the progress of the research project and, when its major goals and objectives are achieved, the student writes a scholarly dissertation on the work and defends it publicly before the faculty and scientific community of the College. Most students complete their Ph.D. requirements in five to six years. |
Read about Tim's journey to research at NYMC and hear what our alumni have to say about our Ph.D. program.