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Biochemistry Degree Information

Coursework

  • You must register for nine hours each semester, with credits available from graded courses, research hours and teaching credits (CH 398T).
  • You must register for 398T (Supervised Teaching) once during your graduate career, preferably the first semester of the first year.
  • Beyond these basic rules, coursework choices are subject to approval by the supervising professor and the graduate adviser.
  • New students will meet with their appropriate division coordinator or supervising professor for assistance with course selection.
  • You must maintain a "B" average.
  • A typical course schedule is as follows:
    • Year 1:
      • Fall:
        • CH 395G (Biochemistry)
        • CH 387D (Physical Methods Biochemistry)
        • CH 398T (Supervised Teaching)
      • Spring:
        • CH 395J (Molecular Biology)
        • CH 394 (Enzyme Kinetics)
        • CH 192G (Current literature student seminar)
    • Year 2:
      • Two elective courses
      • CH192G (Current literature student seminar: Fall only)
      • Research
      • Qualifying exams occur in the spring
    • Year 3: (through completion of degree. The average is five years)
      • CH192G (Fall and Spring). CH192G is taken for a total of six semesters

Selection of supervising professor

  • Choosing a research adviser and completing a thesis research project will be the most significant activities of your graduate years.
  • You may join the group of any faculty member in the Biochemistry Graduate Studies Committee.
  • There are no formal deadlines, but popular groups fill up fast.
  • To help make your decision:
    • attend seminars by faculty members.
    • meet individually with faculty members.
    • consult with other graduate students.
    • 2-3 research rotations (~2-3 month duration) during the first year are strongly encouraged.

Qualifying exam (taken in the spring of the second year)

The Qualifying Examination represents the final hurdle for admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree. It consists of an original research proposal written as an abbreviated NIH grant application. You will present and defend your proposal orally to a committee of 3 faculty on the Biochemistry Graduate Studies Committee. The examination is designed to test whether you are ready to plan and carry out independent research.

Advancement to doctoral candidacy

After you pass your qualifying exam and complete all required graded courses, you will be eligible for advancement into doctoral candidacy. Each grad student would normally expect to reach this point by the end of the third year. Doctoral Candidacy will allow you to focus solely on research and register each semester for Dissertation coursework.

Advancement into candidacy requires an application and approval by the student’s supervising professor, the departmental Graduate Adviser, and the UT Graduate Dean.

The first part of the application procedure is completing the departmental candidacy paper application. This consists of listing all graded courses, certifying the TA service for two semesters, selecting the dissertation committee, and obtaining signatures of all faculty who will serve on the dissertation committee. Application packets can be obtained from the Graduate Office, Welch 2.218.

After completion of the departmental application and approval by the Graduate Office, then the online UT doctoral candidacy application is undertaken. The name and rank of each person serving on the doctoral committee and an abstract of the doctoral research are submitted. The doctoral abstract can be broad and is changeable as the student progresses in the program. Once the on-line portion is submitted, it must be approved through UT Direct by the student's supervising professor, the Graduate Adviser, and the Graduate Dean.

PLEASE NOTE: The Graduate Advisor will not approve the on-line portion of the application unless the student completes all the paper forms in the application packet required by the Department. If you have questions about this process, please contact the Graduate Office.

Graduation requirements

  • Completion of doctoral research, compilation of dissertation
  • Scheduling of final doctoral defense with committee members
  • Submission of paperwork to Graduate School
  • Final oral examination with committee members’ signatures
  • The UT Office of Graduate Studies lists graduation guidelines, deadlines and downloadable forms that are needed for graduation.

Financial support

All qualified first-year students are offered a teaching assistantship. After the first year, graduate students who are making satisfactory progress are typically appointed as a teaching assistant (TA) or research assistant (GRA), at the discretion of their supervising professor, or may be supported by a fellowship. Neither TA nor GRA appointments are guaranteed; they depend on the progress of the student, the availability of funds, and the assessment of teaching performance. Teaching assistants receive tuition assistance that covers most of their tuition expenses, and many research assistant positions will also help pay tuition. A student must be registered full-time in order to maintain a TA or GRA appointment.

The University and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department offer a wide array of fellowships awarded on the basis of teaching performance or academic excellence. A large number of these are full fellowships that allow for full-time research. Funding for travel to professional conferences is also available.

Research programs are supported by grants that are awarded to individual faculty members by the federal government, private foundations, and other outside sources.
Further useful information on financial assistance for graduate students is provided by the Office of Graduate studies.

Teaching responsibilities

  • Our degree program has a requirement that all students serve as teaching assistants for a minimum of two semesters for at least 10 hours per semester.
  • A variety of teaching positions are available; some involving lab sections, discussion sections, tutoring, lecturing, grading, etc.
  • Students are matched to teaching positions based on their backgrounds, performance, and individual and faculty preference
  • A 20-hour TA position will involve a variety of activities both in and out of the classroom.
  • Attendance at office hours, lab hours, TA meetings, etc., is mandatory.
  • Poor performance will not be tolerated.
  • Three Golden Rules for Teaching Assistants:
    • All contact with undergraduates, staff and faculty involves a high degree of responsibility, diplomacy and courtesy
    • Your reputation in the department is partially established by your teaching performance
    • The Graduate Office reserves the right to refuse any graduate student an assignment as a teaching assistant
  • TA tips is a collection of advice from our graduate students designed for new graduate students.
  • "On being a TA" is a presentation given during orientation week (coming soon).
  • All graduate students are required to take CH398T a pedagogy course designed to help you become an effective teaching assistant during your graduate career and to prepare you for teaching and presentations later in your careers.
  • The TA Handbook produced by the undergraduate course office is primarily written for TAs teaching general chemistry lecture classes, but contains information that may be useful to any TA.