Course guide
Visit ClassInfo for information on available CBS courses, or the University Catalog for additional degree requirements.
Degree requirements
Teaching
BMBB students are required to participate in two semester-length biochemistry teaching experiences (~10 hours/week). Teaching assistantships range from undergraduate or graduate instruction in laboratories to leading recitation sections associated with lecture courses.
Examinations
Each student works with his or her advisor to select a committee of at least five faculty members, with approval by the Director of Graduate Studies. This committee provides guidance and scientific expertise as they monitor the student’s progress and administer exams.
Students must pass three examinations to obtain a Ph.D. degree:
- Written Preliminary Examination: Beginning of Spring Semester, Year II
Students must conceive and write an original proposal in any field of research regarding an important and unanswered question. This proposal is graded by three members of the student review committee. - Oral Preliminary Examination: End of Spring (or Beginning of Summer), Year II
Students must defend their written preliminary proposal before all members of their committee. Students must be prepared to field general questions designed to evaluate his or her breadth of knowledge. - Final Ph.D. Oral Examination: Typically End of Year V
All members of the student’s committee serve as primary readers of the completed thesis and certify that it is ready for defense. The student must present a public research seminar and pass a private oral examination by all members of the student’s committee.
Publication of thesis research
Ph.D. theses must encompass substantial and novel research of high significance. Prior to his or her Thesis Defense, each student is required to be the first author on publication(s) in peer-reviewed journals within their research field.
Student handbook
Student seminars
BMBB student seminars are held Tuesdays at 12:20 p.m. in 2-137 Jackson Hall.
Career development resources
Core facilities
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Center For Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics
Director: Dr. Timothy Griffin
Manager: Julie Kirihara -
Minnesota Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center
Director: Dr. Kevin Mayo
Metabolomics/ Small Molecular Manager: Todd Rappe
Solid-State Manager: Gopinath Tata
Structural Biology Manager: Youlin Xia -
Biophysical Technology Center
Director: Dr. J. Michael Autry
Optics Manager: Dr. Ji Li
EPR Manager: Dr. Andrew Thompson -
Kahlert Structural Biology Lab and X-Ray Crystallography Facility
Director: Hideki Aihara
Manager: Ed Hoeffner -
Genome Engineering Shared Resource
Co-Director: Eric Hendrickson
Coordinator: Brian Ruis -
Nanoliter Crystallization Facility
Co-Director: Douglas H. Ohlendorf
Manager: Ke Shi
Research centers
- Center for Metals in Biocatalysis
The Center for Metals in Biocatalysis has been formed to foster interactions among the various groups at the University of Minnesota who are interested in metal ions and their roles in biocatalysis. - Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center
The Wellstone MDC was founded in 2003 to promote and coordinate basic and translational research on muscle.