THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Degree Types: PhD

The Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS) Program provides the resources and training environment necessary to promote the development of Ph.D. students into independent, creative research scientists and teachers. The program includes approximately 55 training faculty from diverse science and engineering departments on Northwestern's main campus, who are linked by common interests in addressing fundamental questions in the biological and biomedical sciences.

Increasingly, the life sciences require interdisciplinary approaches in order to make essential progress in understanding normal cellular processes, diseases such as cancer, and the development of complex systems. With closely connected faculty from the departments of Molecular Biosciences, Biomedical Engineering, Neurobiology, Chemistry, and Chemical and Biological Engineering, and with strong ties to numerous interdisciplinary centers including the Center for Cell and Developmental Systems Biology, the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, the Center for Structural Biology, and the NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, IBiS promotes innovative research that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.

IBiS students also benefit from a close-knit scientific community, a supportive advising structure, an active and involved student organization that sponsors scientific and social activities, and a multifaceted professional development program that further prepares them for a broad range of post-degree career options in academia, industry, teaching and other areas.

Additional resources:

• Program website
• Program handbook

Degree Requirements

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.

Total Units Required: 11

Required Courses

• IBIS 411-0 Fundamentals in Biological Sciences: Biochem, Molecular Biology, and Genetics
• IBIS 412-0 Fundamentals in Biological Sciences: Genomics, Cell Bio, and Developmental Bio
• IBIS 432-0 Statistics for Life Sciences
• IBIS 499-0 Independent Study  - one unit for each lab rotation for 3 total units
• Electives or additional core courses: 1 additional core course of choice, 2 electives and 2 special topic courses

Non-credit Required Courses

• IBIS 421-0 Rigor & Reproducibility in Research
• IBIS 423-0 Ethics in Biological Research
• IBIS 462-0 Seminar in Biological Sciences

Other PhD Degree Requirements

• Examinations: qualifying examination: part 1 during second year of study, part 2 during third year
• Research/Projects: laboratory research based on dissertation proposal
• PhD Dissertation: written dissertation; annual presentation of research-in-progress to thesis committee
• Final Evaluations: defense consisting of written dissertation, oral defense of dissertation to thesis committee, and public presentation of research accomplishments
• Publication: acceptance of at least one first-author data paper or two co-first author papers before defense
• Teaching: two quarters as a teaching assistant
• Other: three graded, 1-credit, laboratory rotations in first year, intended to assist student in selecting thesis advisor; regular participation in seminars, journal clubs, and annual scientific retreat