Anatomy and Cell Biology : IUPUI Bulletins

Graduate Programs

Student Learning Outcomes

Anatomy and Cell Biology

Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ph.D. - Biomedical Research Track

Students enter the track in August through the Indiana University School of Medicine BioMedical Gateway Program (IBMG) and take the IBMG core courses and complete three lab rotations before selecting the program and lab they will ultimately join. During the second year, students take the major anatomy core courses plus foundation courses of a minor discipline (such as physiology, biochemistry, etc). Students establish an Advisory Committee, headed by the Research Advisor at the end of their first year.

This committee aids the student in preparation for the Qualifying Examination (given at the end of the second year), which typically includes the writing and presentation of a Thesis Research Proposal (extramural grant format). The Qualifying Examination has two aims:

to assess the student's competency in the Anatomical subdisciplines and chosen minor, and
to determine if the student is prepared to begin thesis research.

Upon passing the Qualifying Examination, the student is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. The student's Committee advises the student throughout the conduct and completion of the doctoral research project, including the writing and defense of a Dissertation.

Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ph.D. - Education Track

The goal of this track is to produce a cadre of doctoral-level anatomy educators who are capable of teaching all of the anatomical disciplines to undergraduate, graduate, or professional students, and who are capable of producing the high-quality educational research and other scholarly work necessary for promotion and tenure.

Designed as a five-year program, the Education Track requires a total of 90 credit hours, which includes 64 credits in required coursework and 26 credits in dissertation research. The coursework is divided into two "core" areas, as well as statistics courses and electives:

Anatomy Core (31 hours) - will provide rigorous training in the major anatomical disciplines of Gross Anatomy, Histology, Neuroscience, and Cell Biology, as well as supervised and mentored teaching experiences with medical students and graduate students.
Education Core (18 hours) - will provide fundamentals of pedagogy and assessment, including educational research and scholarship.
Statistics (6 hours) - will provide the statistical tools needed to properly design and evaluate educational research projects.
Electives (9 hours) - will provide the opportunity for further training in the biomedical sciences, education, or statistics.

After completing the coursework, students will be required to pass a Qualifying Examination that tests their knowledge of anatomy, grasp of relevant literature, and the ability to form educational research hypotheses and design studies to test these hypotheses. Students must successfully complete a doctoral research project, including the writing and defense of a Dissertation.

Master of Science in Anatomy and Cell Biology

The master degree in Anatomy & Cell Biology is offered as an independent degree, and is not required as a prerequisite for the doctoral degrees. Requirements are 30 credit hours, including D850 (Gross Anatomy), D851 (Histology), and D852 (Neuroscience and Clinical Neurology), along with two years of D861 (Seminar). Applications will be considered only after the potential student has reached a mentoring agreement with the faculty member in whose laboratory the research work will be done. This is a two-year, full-time program. A masters candidate will prepare a written document (paper or thesis) based on original research work, and successfully defend it before the advisory committee, which will consist of the mentor and two other faculty members.