PhD Program Home Academic Program Courses Training Grants Laboratory Rotation Academic Program First-year students who have not had the equivalent of a full year's course in biochemistry are required to take two courses referred to as the BMBB core. This BMBB core is taught by six members of the graduate program in two successive semesters. (The academic year is based on the semester system.) The two courses provide all students in the program with a strong foundation in molecular biophysics, molecular biology and cell signaling. In addition, students select courses, typically five, from a wide array of topics from around the University to complete their course work requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Elective courses may be chosen from those offered by the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics or selected from any number of scientific disciplines such as genetics, cell biology, pharmacology, chemistry, microbiology, plant biology or neuroscience.