Graduate Studies Curriculum
First Year
All first year basic science graduate students take AMC 500: Biochemistry and AMC 505: Molecular Cell Biology in the fall. These two courses are designed to cover the general principles of cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology common to all graduate programs within the institution. This curriculum will prepare the student for more specialized courses beginning in the spring semester of the first year and extending into Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC) based courses in subsequent years. Each topic area is covered from a historical perspective but emphasis is placed on current experimental research.
First year students will also enroll in AMC 502: Research Colloquium in the Biomedical Sciences during the fall that meets once each week for student presentations and round-table discussions in areas that are consistent with the IRCs at the Albany Medical College. These groups complement, yet are independent of, the lecture components of the first year program. The objective of this course is to gain sufficient skill to identify important experimental findings (or flaws) within a given specific paper.
During the spring semester, students take specialized courses within their selected training program in two eight-week modules (mid-January to late March and late March to late May). These flagship courses will be in the areas of Cell Biology and Cancer Research, Immunology and Microbial Disease, Cardiovascular Sciences, and Neuropharmacology & Neuroscience.
Course Work Beyond the First Year of Graduate Study
Following the first year of graduate study, Ph.D. and M.S. students complete a series of course requirements established by the different training programs that includes advanced coursework, student participation in research colloquia and student seminars. All Ph.D. students are required to take a minimum of 24 credit hours of didactic course work and all M.S. students are required to take a minimum of 12 credit hours of didactic course work (including the Research Topics Colloquia taken in the first year).
All full-time students must be registered for a minimum of 10 credits per semester.
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