May 16, 2025  
Fall 2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
Catalog Navigation
  Catalog Home
  Graduate Education
  General Information


  The Graduate School
  School of Professional Development


  Master’s Programs
  Doctoral Programs
  Graduate Certificates
  Course Descriptions


  Academic Calendars
  Career and Program Explorer
  Financial Aid
  Tuition and Costs


  Bulletin Archives
HELP
Fall 2025 Graduate Catalog

Genetics, PhD

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Doctoral Programs

Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics

Graduate Program Director: Martha B. Furie, Centers for Molecular Medicine, Room 248 (631) 632-4232
Graduate Program Coordinator: Jennifer Jokinen, Life Sciences Building 130 (631) 632-8812

Department Website
 

Students in the Graduate Program in Genetics enjoy superb opportunities for training that reflect the ever-expanding role of genetics in modern biological and biomedical research. The Program is inter-institutional, combining the strengths in genetics at both Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. With over 100 faculty, the Genetics Program encompasses research that ranges from fundamental studies on classical animal, plant, and microbial model systems to translational investigations of human disease. The expertise of the faculty underscores the central importance of genetics in delineating the connections among genes, their biological functions, and the evolutionary processes that shape life on earth. Additionally, their research gives practical insights into how defects in genes contribute to disease, as well as how gene products and genetic engineering can be used to improve the human condition.

The breadth of the Graduate Program in Genetics draws trainees from throughout the world with varied backgrounds and research interests, and the Program provides the options and flexibility to meet each student’s particular needs. All students who are accepted into the program receive full support in the form of an annual stipend, tuition and fees scholarship, and subsidized health insurance.

Admission Requirements

Application Website

The Graduate Program in Genetics requires the following in addition to the minimum Graduate School admission requirements:

  1. Superior undergraduate performance, which should include some formal training in genetics
  2. Three letters of recommendation, ideally from previous research mentors and faculty
  3. The program does not require, but strongly prefers to see, substantial research experience as an undergraduate and/or after receiving a bachelor’s degree.
  4. Acceptance by the Graduate Program in Genetics and by the Graduate School

Degree Requirements

In accordance with Graduate School policy, the Program in Genetics requires a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 for degree completion. Students also must obtain a grade of B or better in each of BGE 510, MCB 503, and MCB 656, as well as an overall average of B (3.0) or better in their elective courses.

Required Courses

  • 3 credits
  • 3 credits
  • 3-4 credits *
  • 1 credit
  • 0-1 credits (must be taken each semester)
  • (taken for two semesters)
  • During their first year, Genetics students rotate in the laboratories of three different faculty members (BGE 530 ), with the goal of selecting a mentor and environment for their dissertation research. The specific laboratories are selected by students based on their interactions with individual faculty. Rotation selections must be approved by the Graduate Program Director.
  • Two semesters of Readings in Genetics (BGE 691 ) are required. These “Journal Clubs” are typically taken during the first and second years of study. Students select from thematic journal club topics that are organized each semester by faculty at the different institutions. This exercise provides important training in critical analysis of the literature while also allowing students to broaden their knowledge base on selected topics of interest.
  • Each student must take two or more elective courses, for a minimum total of 6 credits. Electives must be approved by the Program Director.Typically, these courses are in the biological sciences (e.g., MCB 657 - Principles of Development ; HBP 533 - Immunology ; HBM 640 - Molecular Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis ), but courses may also be taken in other relevant areas (e.g., computer sciences, bioengineering).
  • (GRD 500 - Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship ) is required of all Life Science graduate students. This half-semester course on ethics is typically taken in the Fall semester of the student’s first year.
  • Requirements for any specific student, in addition to those enumerated above, that will be beneficial due to a student’s prior training and/or area of specialization will be determined by the program director and executive committee in conjunction with the student and appropriate advisory committee.
  • Students must attain a grade of B or better in each of BGE 510, MCB 503, and MCB 656, as well as an overall average of B (3.0) or better in their elective courses.

    •  

    *PhD students are required to enroll in 4 credits of MCB 656

Electives

Each student must take two or more elective courses, for a minimum total of 6 credits. Electives must be approved by the research advisor and the Graduate Program Director. Often, these courses are in the biological sciences (e.g., MCB 657 - Principles of Development ; HBP 533 - Immunology ; HBM 640 - Molecular Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis ), but courses may also be taken in other relevant areas (e.g., applied mathematics and statistics, computer sciences, bioengineering).

Qualifying Examination

At the beginning of the fourth semester, students take a qualifying examination that tests each student’s ability to use the scientific literature to prepare and defend a short grant proposal. Students are aided in preparing for this examination by enrolling in BGE 693 - Research Proposal Preparation in Genetics.

Dissertation Proposal Examination

After successful completion of the qualifying examination, each student prepares a written proposal for the dissertation research project. This written proposal is orally defended before a dissertation proposal examination committee. This committee does not include the student’s dissertation advisor but is selected by the student in conjunction with his or her advisor and the Program Director. The dissertation proposal defense should occur during the fifth semester of graduate study. Generally, the faculty who participate in a student’s proposal examination committee then join with the advisor to form the student’s dissertation advisory committee, which meets with the trainee at least annually.

Advancement to Candidacy

After successful completion of all required and elective courses, the qualifying examination, and the dissertation proposal examination, the student will be recommended to the Graduate School for advancement to candidacy.

Teaching Requirement

Students in the Genetics Program serve as teaching assistants (BIO 600) in undergraduate biology courses for two semesters. Assignments may include leading a section of a laboratory course or assisting with a lecture course by holding office hours and grading examinations. 

Publication Requirement

To be eligible for graduation, each student must submit as first author at least one manuscript of original research to a suitable peer-reviewed journal (as determined by the Program’s Executive Committee). Moreover, the journal’s editors must deem the paper of sufficient quality to merit evaluation by external reviewers.

Residence Requirement

The University requires at least two consecutive semesters of full-time graduate study. The demands of the course of study necessitate a longer period of residence.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Doctoral Programs