Program Requirements::
Program requirements for Ph.D. and MD/Ph.D. are identical except that MD/Ph.D. students receive credit for medical school coursework and rotations completed prior to entering the CBMP program.

University of Pittsburgh guidelines dictate that a minimum of 72 credits is required for the PhD over a minimum of 6 full-time terms. Full-time student status requires 9 to 14 credits in the fall and spring terms and 3 credits is considered full-time for the summer term.

A minimum of 32 of the required 72 credits will come from coursework of which, 16 credits are received for coursework completed during the first two years of medical school.

A minimum of 40 credits must be earned for dissertation research that begin to accumulate after passing the doctoral comprehensive examination.

List of Required Courses::

Typical Course Load :

Course Title	Credits
Transfer credits from medical school curriculum	16
Cell Biology of Normal and Disease States	3
Cell Physiology	3
Membrane Traffic	2
Journal Club (Spring and fall terms after passing comp exam)	4+
*Electives (at least two courses)	4+
TOTAL	32+

A Typical MSTP Career in the CBMP Program :
Year 1
Rotation(s), CBMP core coursework, initiate dissertation research
Year 2
Comprehensive exam, dissertation research, elective courses, journal club
Year 3
Dissertation research, journal club
Year 4
Write and defend dissertation, journal club


Structure of the course and how you will be evaluated:
The course is a mixture of lectures, class discussions of assigned papers, and formal tests. The formal tests will be take-home exams and will occur at the midpoint and at the end of the course.

Participating Faculty:

For more details contact William H. Walker, Ph.D.