Ph.D. Requirements
To earn the Ph.D. degree, a Rockefeller student must complete a thesis comprising a coherent body of novel scientific work. In consultation with the dean and research advisors, students must plan course work and tutorials to support and complement their thesis research. Students must balance their need for a broad basis of scientific knowledge with the requirements for greater depth of understanding in the particular area of science in which their thesis research will be focused. Students in the life sciences are required to participate actively in courses, discussions, and tutorials, and to fulfill designated qualifying requirements. Most courses are scheduled on a two-year cycle, during the fall, winter and spring quarter, but some are offered annually. Additional information about course offerings and participation and qualifications requirements appears on the following pages. Should a specialized course that is essential for a student's research be unavailable at the university, the Dean's Office may arrange for enrollment in a course at another institution. Students are encouraged to arrange tutorials with appropriate faculty members, if they feel the need.

Curriculum
There is no required core curriculum for the Ph.D. In consultation with the dean of graduate studies, students choose a flexible combination of courses totaling seven academic units. Courses are grouped into six major areas (biochemistry, structural and chemical biology and biophysics; cell, molecular and developmental biology; genetics; microbiology and immunology; neurosciences; physics and mathematical biology). Courses toward qualification should be relevant to the intended area of thesis research and completed by the end of the second year.

View schedule of courses  »

Selecting a laboratory
Selecting a laboratory is one of the most important decisions you will make. The laboratory is the center of life at the university, and the relationships you develop with your Rockefeller mentors and associates could last a lifetime. The close, collegial nature of a laboratory environment also links younger students to previous "generation" from the same lab. A shared area of scientific interest keeps researchers in touch with each other even after they leave Rockefeller to pursue their own academic appointments.

While students are encouraged to develop their research programs early during their careers at Rockefeller, they may rotate through several laboratories during the first months to gain exposure to different areas of research being done at the university. Students who arrive with a particular mentor or project in mind may immediately join the laboratory. The student needs only to obtain the approval of the lab head. Ideally, students choose a laboratory by the end of the first year, and they present a thesis proposal for review before the end of the second year.

With 69 laboratories on campus, students have a broad range of choices. Once they begin research in a laboratory, students quickly discover that "working with" does not mean "working for" a mentor. Many collaborations produce exceptional results leading to publication in prominent journals.

Students may also conduct clinical research at The Rockefeller University Maurice R. and Corrinne P. Greenberg Hospital in such areas as immunology and infectious disease, genetics and metabolic disease, cancer and developmental biology, and neurodegenerative disease.

At the conclusion of their investigations, students lecture to the full Rockefeller community as part of their thesis defense.