MCP-PHD - Molecular and Cellular Physiology (PhD)
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Program Overview
The Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology is in the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine.
A central goal of physiology in the post-genomic era is understanding how thousands of encoded proteins bring about the highly coordinated behavior of cells and tissues. Research in the department approaches this goal at many levels of organization, ranging from single molecules and individual cells to multicellular systems and the whole organism. The faculty share common interests in the molecular mechanisms of cell signaling and behavior, with a particular focus on structure/function analysis of ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors and their roles at the cellular, organ, and whole-organism levels; the molecular basis of sensory transduction, synaptic transmission, plasticity and memory; the role of ion channels and calcium in controlling gene expression in neural and immune cells; and the regulation of vesicle trafficking and targeting, cell polarity, and cell-cell interactions in the nervous system and epithelia. Research programs employ various approaches, including molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, biophysics, x-ray crystallography, solution NMR, electrophysiology, and in vitro and in vivo imaging with confocal and multi-photon microscopy.
The department offers required and elective courses for students in the School of Medicine and is also open to other qualified students with the consent of the instructor. Training of medical, graduate, and postdoctoral students is available. The program offers a course of study leading to a PhD degree. No BS is offered, and an MS is offered only in the unusual circumstance where a student completes the coursework, rotation, and the written section of the qualifying exam but cannot meet the requirements for the PhD.
Admissions Information
Advisors and Advisory Committees
A graduate advisory committee, currently professors Feng, Lewis, Maduke, and Madison, advises students during the period before the formation of their qualifying committees.
Financial Aid
Students may be funded by their advisors' research grants, training grants, department funds, or extramural funds. Students are encouraged to obtain funding from outside sources such as NIH and NSF.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Candidates for Ph.D. degrees at Stanford must satisfactorily complete a program of study that includes 135 units of graduate course work and research.
Study toward the Ph.D. is expected to occupy five years, including summers.
Courses taken to meet program requirements must be taken for a letter grade and students must earn a minimum grade of at least a 'B' in every individual required course. Students must also maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 by University policy. Failure to maintain the required grades and grade point average is taken as evidence of unsatisfactory progress in the program.
Students should complete their required courses within the first two years of study. Exceptions may be made in cases where it was impossible to schedule courses because they were not offered within a student’s first two years. Students may petition the MCP graduate committee for variances in the specific courses required, and such petitions may be granted in special circumstances, in cases where a student’s progress is otherwise exemplary.
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Students should have basic competency in molecular biology.
This requirement can be met based on undergrad curriculum/research. If not met, then the Stanford undergrad course BIO 83 can be taken to meet the requirement.
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Students should complete the equivalent of 2 elective courses.
Of the elective course options listed below, BIOC 241 and MCP 222 are considered 'full-value' courses, where each counts as 1 course.
The other elective course options ( BIOS 202, BIOS 294, NEPR 201, and NEPR 204) are considered 'mini-courses,' and each counts as half (½) a course. 2 minicourses count as 1 'full-value' course.
Student can choose from one of the three sets of options below to complete the Electives requirement.
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Advanced graduate courses or minicourses for a minimum of 6 units total. These courses do not need to be MCP courses but must be in a relevant scientific topic and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Description of Basic MCP Service expectations for MCP Graduate Students:
Every scientist is expected to provide service to the profession. As a result, we expect all graduate students in the MCP program to participate in a service activity. Before graduation, you are expected to have performed a minimum of 40 hours, and you will be asked to document this before your 5th year in the program.
In addition to the course requirements detailed above, a student is expected to complete laboratory rotations during the first year - completing MCP 299, or an equivalent course.
While students typically explore three rotations, a student may opt to do a greater number of shorter rotations, as long as the rotation process is completed by May 15 of the first academic year of study.
The first two of these rotations must be in a laboratory within the Department, while subsequent rotations may be in any laboratory within the Stanford Biosciences Program.
The first rotation should last 8 to 10 weeks and each subsequent rotation shall last no longer than 8 weeks. Shorter rotations are encouraged, as long as the total length of the rotations is between 20 and 26 weeks.
MCP requires a lab rotation evaluation to be completed by faculty member and student at the end of the rotation. Continuation of rotations beyond May 15 will require the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Additional rotations and/or time for rotations will be considered in special circumstances, but in all cases, students should plan to join a dissertation lab no later than the beginning of Fall Quarter of the second year. Dissertation and University Oral Examination
The results of independent, original work by the students are presented in a dissertation. The oral examination is largely a defense of the dissertation.
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All students in the program must pass a qualifying examination to advance to candidacy for the Ph.D. It is expected that students take the qualifying examination by the end of the Autumn Quarter in the second year of study. Failure to take the qualifying exam by the end of Autumn Quarter of the second year of study is taken as evidence of unsatisfactory progress in the program. In any case, where a student thinks they need additional time to schedule and take their exam, a request must be submitted in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) by November 15 of Autumn Quarter. The DGS may opt to grant additional time in compelling circumstances that do not indicate poor progress or may refer the matter to the graduate committee for further action.
Students are given two chances to unconditionally pass the qualifying examination. Failure to achieve an unconditional pass of the qualifying examination by the end of the Spring Quarter of the second year is grounds for dismissal from the program.
Students form a qualifying examination committee consisting of at least 3 faculty members (members of the academic council, including the dissertation advisor), at least one of whom must be a member of MCP. This committee should be formed by the end of Spring Quarter of the first year of study. The composition of this committee should be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students should also check with the department's student services office to make sure to file all required paperwork by the end of Spring Quarter. The University maintains certain deadlines for filing for candidacy, and it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of these deadlines.
Proposal should be submitted by the 3rd year of study.
Students should complete any additional courses required by their training grant or Qualifying Committee.
A graduate advisory committee, currently professors Feng, Lewis, Maduke, and Madison, advises students during the period before the formation of their qualifying committees.
Students may be funded by their advisers' research grants, training grants, department funds, or extramural funds. Students are encouraged to obtain funding from outside sources such as NIH and NSF.