Doctorate Degree Details

Minimum requirements for a PhD degree

The minimum requirements for a Doctoral degree include 18 credits of thesis research, written and oral comprehensive exams, and an oral and written defense of the dissertation. Although there is no formal minimum number of required course credits, almost all Ph.D. students complete some coursework.

Prior to the start of classes

• Participate in our New Graduate Student Orientation and Teaching Assistant (TA) training (if you are a TA your first semester) as well as the orientation and TA training offered by the Graduate School (although the Graduate School events are optional, we do recommend them). Complete required safety trainings.
• Students without previous research experience are expected to take Research Design (BIOL/WLF F602) in their first semester.

Departmental Reporting Requirements

At the end of each academic year and after successfully defending your dissertation you must complete the Supplemental Annual Report. Log in to the B&W/IAB restricted website and access the report from the Students menu. The information requested in the report is used by the department to track and report on graduate student accomplishments.