Skip to Content

This is an archived copy of the 2013-14 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Microbiology

Master of Arts
Doctor of Philosophy

For More Information

Campus address: Norman Hackerman Building (NHB) 2.632, phone (512) 471-4181, fax (512) 232-3699; campus mail code: A6500

Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Coordinator for Microbiology, 100 East 24th Street A6500, Austin TX 78712

E-mail: jgilmore@austin.utexas.edu

URL: www.icmb.utexas.edu/microbiology

Areas of Study

Microbiology offers a focused program of study encompassing disciplines in bacteriology, virology, immunology, genetics, and biochemistry, using both prokaryotic and eukaryotic model systems. 

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2013.

Jeffrey E Barrick
Henry R Bose
R Malcolm Brown Jr
Clarence Shiu Man Chan
Lydia Maria Contreras
Arturo De Lozanne
Jaquelin P Dudley
Lauren Ilyse Richie Ehrlich
Andrew Ellington
George Georgiou
Vernita Gordon
Ellen Gottlieb
Rasika M Harshey
David L Herrin
Jon M Huibregtse
Vishwanath R Iyer
Makkuni Jayaram
Arlen W Johnson
Robert M Krug
Alan Lambowitz
Andreas T Matouschek
Richard J Meyer
Kyle M Miller
Ian J Molineux
Theresa J O'Halloran
Tanya T Paull
Shelley M Payne
Bob G Sanders
Sara L Sawyer
Scott W Stevens
Christopher S Sullivan
Michael Stephen Trent
Haley Tucker
Jason Upton
James R Walker
Marvin Whiteley

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts

The microbiology graduate program does not accept applications for the master’s degree. However, a student accepted into and in good standing with the doctoral program may, at the discretion of the graduate adviser, be permitted to pursue a master’s degree in lieu of the PhD. The student must complete thirty-six semester hours of coursework, including Biology 395F or 395G395H395J, 391R or 395M, 698, and 398T, and six hours in related fields outside the microbiology program. He or she must earn a grade of at least B- in Biology 395F or 395G, 395H, 395J, and 391R or 395M. Each long-session semester, he or she must register for a weekly journal club that is offered by a member of the Graduate Studies Committee or approved by the graduate adviser. No more than nine semester hours of upper-division coursework may be counted toward the degree, and no more than six of these nine may be in any one field of study. In addition to the above requirements, a master’s degree student must pursue original research under the direction of a faculty member and submit an approved thesis.

Doctor of Philosophy

To be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must complete during the first three years a two-part preliminary examination. Part A, taken in the spring of the student’s second year, consists of a presentation and defense of a mock National Institutes of Health grant proposal. Part B, taken within twelve months of Part A, consists of a presentation of a proposal for dissertation research. Individual programs of study are tailored to the student’s interests, but each student must earn a grade of at least B- in the following coursework: Biology 395F or 395G, 395H, 395J, 391R or 395M, 398T, and at least six additional hours in graduate lecture courses approved by the graduate adviser. He or she must attend a weekly journal club each long-session semester. The student must also pursue independent, original research under the direction of a faculty member; the results of this research constitute the dissertation, which fulfills the requirements of the required courses Biology 399R and 399W. Each student must serve as a teaching assistant for one long-session semester; two six-week summer terms are considered equivalent to a semester. A well-qualified student can usually complete the doctoral degree program in five to seven years.


What Starts Here Changes the World