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Education / Graduate Education / PhD Programs / Translational Biomedical Science / Curriculum

Curriculum

Translational Biomedical Science (TBS) PhD Program of Study

We have designed the PhD TBS curriculum to provide fundamental knowledge of translational science and skills, basic science, biostatistics, and public health. TBS trainees emerge from the program ready to pursue productive research careers in academia, government, and industry. 

PLEASE NOTE: This is the current curriculum, which is applicable for all trainees enrolled in the program from Fall 2022 onward. For current PhD TBS trainees who commenced program enrollment prior to Fall 2022, please contact your Graduate Coordinator with your year of enrollment for a copy of your specific curriculum.

TBS Core Curriculum

Translational Skills Core (6-7 credits) – must complete all courses in this core

  • IND501 Ethics & Professional Integrity (1 credit) – fall
  • PM403 Research Team Science Seminar (1 credit) – spring
  • IND436 TBS Student Seminar (1 credits) – each semester
  • IND439 Leadership Management for Scientists (2 credits) – spring
  • IND417 Workshop in Scientific Communications (1 credit) – spring
     

Translational Science Core (7 credits) – must complete three courses

  • Choose one of the following:

    • PM488 Experimental Therapeutics (3 credits) – fall
    • PM485 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credits) – fall
    • BST465 Design of Clinical Trials (3 credits) – spring
  • Choose two of the following:
    • BME431 FDA & Intellectual Property (2 credits) – fall
    • BME432 Navigating FDA Regulatory & Commercialization Landscapes (2 credits) – spring (prerequisite: BME431)
    • MBI403 Drug Discovery (2 credits) – spring

Public Health Core (6 credits) – must complete PM415 and one other course
  • PM415 Principles of Epidemiology (3 credits) – fall or spring
  • Choose one of the following:
    • PM426 Social and Behavioral Medicine (3 credits) – spring
    • PM445 Introduction to Health Services Research (3 credits) – fall
    • PM458 Qualitative Health Care Research (3 credits) – spring
    • PM493 Health Policy Lab (3 credits) – fall

Biostatistics Core (3-4 credits) – must complete one course

  • BST463 Intro to Biostatistics (3 credits) – fall
  • BST467 Applied Biostatistics (3 credits) – spring
  • BST430 Introduction to Statistical Computing (4 credits) – fall
  • DSCC462 Computational Introduction to Statistics (4 credits) – fall
     
First-year Laboratory Rotations (9 credits) – complete rotations during first two semesters
  • Fall semester (5 credits) – ~ 15 hours per week in lab
  • Spring semester (4 credits) – ~ 12 hours per week in lab

NOTE: 1 credit hour = approximately 3 hours per week

Concntration Selection (8-12 credits)
  • Bioinformatics Concentration (8-9 credits) – see below
  • Clinical Research Methods Concentration (9 credits) – see below
  • Computational Science Concentration (11-12 credits) – see below

General Electives (9-12 credits)
  • General electives (three (3) courses of 3-4 credits each, not taken as part of TBS core curriculum) (consider choosing modules from foundation)

Concentrations

The PhD in Translational Biomedical Science offers three degree concentrations to choose from. Electing a concentration is not required; however, if you do complete a concentration, it will be listed on your diploma upon graduation.

Bioinformatics Concentration (8-9 credits)
  • REQUIRED – IND484 Current Topics in Bioinformatics Research (1 credit)
  • Choose one of the following:
    • IND419 Introduction to Quantitative Biology (3 credits)
    • BCH521 Bioinformatics for Life Scientists (4 credits)
    • BIO457 Applied Genomics (4 credits)
    • PM410 Intro to Data Management & Analysis (3 credits)
    • STAT476 Statistical Computing in R (4 credits)
  • Choose one of the following:
    • BST432 High Dimensional Data Analysis (4 credits)
    • BST434 Genomic Data Analysis (4 credits)
    • PM477 Advanced Programming in SAS and R (3 credits)
    • One (1) concentration-related, four-credit course at Program Director's discretion
Clinical Research Methods Concentration (9 credits)
  • Choose three of the following:
    • PM413 Field Epidemiology (3 credits)
    • PM416 Advanced Epidemiologic Methods (3 credits)
    • PM419 Recruitment and Retention of Human Subjects in Clinical Research (3 credits)
    • PM445 Introduction to Health Services Research (3 credits – if not taken as public health core course)
    • PM458 Qualitative Health Care Research (3 credits)
    • One (1) concentration-related, three-credit course at Program Director's discretion
Computational Science Concentration (11-12 credits)
  • Required
    • CSC440 Data Mining (4 credits)
  • Choose two of the following:
    • CSC442 Artificial Intelligence (4 credits)
    • CSC444 Machine Reasoning (4 credits)
    • CSC446 Machine Learning (4 credits)
    • CSC447 Natural Language Processing (4 credits)
    • One (1) other concentration-related course at Program Director's discretion (3-4 credits)