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 2015.

Hal S Alper Jeffrey E Barrick R Malcolm Brown Jr Clarence Shiu Man Chan Lydia Maria Contreras Bryan William Davies Arturo De Lozanne Jaquelin P Dudley Lauren Ilyse Richie Ehrlich Andrew Ellington George Georgiou Vernita Gordon 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 Nancy A Moran Theresa J O'Halloran Howard Ochman 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 Blerta Xhemalce

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 395G, 395H, 395J, 395M, and 698, and three hours in related fields outside the microbiology program. He or she must earn a grade of at least B- in Biology 395G, 395H, 395J, and 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 395G, 395H, 395J, and 395M, and at least three 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.