AREAS OF RESEARCH AND PROGRAMS

[Selecting Your Research Area]

AREAS OF RESEARCH CONCENTRATION AND PROGRAMS

The organization of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is different from most graduate schools in the country. The difference stems from the fact that the GSBS Faculty is drawn from over 90 departments and units in the Health Science Center and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Accordingly, the Faculty is viewed administratively as a single large department and students are admitted to the Graduate School as a whole rather than to a particular subunit.

Once admitted, students have access to a wide range of training options. They may choose to be part of the general interdisciplinary program, follow the GSBS academic requirements, and work under the direction of any of the nearly 400 members of the GSBS Faculty. Alternatively, Ph.D. students may affiliate with one of the thirteen Programs of Study and follow a curriculum that is appropriate for a specific discipline.

During the first year of study, students who are awarded financial support by GSBS are encouraged to gain a breadth of research experience by selecting three tutorial laboratory rotations from a variety of research areas and institutions. On the other hand, students funded by specific faculty members, Programs, or departments, are expected to complete three tutorial rotations in the laboratories of the sponsoring units or faculty members.

Areas of Concentration

Whether they choose to affiliate with a Program or not, all GSBS students are asked each Fall to identify themselves with a particular area of concentration. These Areas of Concentration are approved by the State of Texas Coordinating Board for GSBS/Houston and are used by the Graduate School to characterize and report on the academic interests of our students.

Programs

In several of these areas of concentration, faculty members have established formal Programs of Study for students who desire a more structured curriculum within a traditional area of research. These Programs provide students with a recommended series of courses appropriate for the area, collective advice on research training from the faculty members of the Program, and an opportunity to interact with students and Faculty who have similar research interests. Approximately seventy-five percent of our students have chosen to affiliate with a Program.

The curricular recommendations developed by the Programs provide sufficient flexibility to permit students to develop an individualize program of study within the Program's framework. For those students who wish to develop their Ph.D. programs independently of a Program, the curricular recommendations serve as useful guidelines. A list of the recommended courses for the Programs are listed in Program Course Requirements.

HOW TO NARROW THE FIELD: SELECTING YOUR RESEARCH AREA

The GSBS currently has over 400 faculty members from various institutions in the Texas Medical Center, as well as the UT Science Park/Research Division in Smithville, Texas. To get a grasp of the ongoing research in areas of interest to you, and to focus your choice of tutorial projects, we suggest you do the following:

1. Review the GSBS Tutorial Laboratory Descriptions.
   
2. Talk with the Faculty Advisors in the areas of interest to you.
   
3. Talk with current graduate students -- Students can be a very good source of practical, first-hand information. In addition, we maintain in the Office of Academic Affairs a file, by instructor, of student evaluations of tutorial experiences.
   
4. Talk with your Dean's Office Advisor.
   
5. Talk with several members of the GSBS Faculty whose research seems germane to your interests -- Find out in some detail what these faculty members are doing now, what they plan to do in the next year or so, and how you might fit in.