University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Biochemistry
We look forward to receiving your application to our graduate program. The Department of Biochemistry offers graduate work leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and the Master of Science (M.S.) degrees. Complete applications (see Checklist) should be submitted by January 15 for entrance in the Fall semester. Fellowships and Traineeships are awarded on a competitive basis. For fellowship or traineeship consideration, completed applications should be submitted as early as possible and no later than January 15. All other applications should be submitted by February 15 or as close to this date as possible. Financial need is not a factor in awarding fellowships, traineeships, or graduate assistantships. All applicants to the department are asked to apply directly to the Departmental Graduate Admissions Committee, and not to individual faculty members.
Application forms and detailed departmental information may be obtained by:
submitting an electronic form: Biochemistry Information Request Form
downloading (PDF files): Graduate Program Application Forms
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Biochemistry
University of Illinois, U-C
420A Roger Adams Lab., B-4
600 South Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801 U.S.A.
Phone: (217) 333-7149
or E-mailing:
biochadm@scs.uiuc.edu
Please do not send attachments with your email. This is for
security reasons due
to computer viruses. Emails with attachments will be deleted without being read.
You can speed the application process by applying via the world wide web using the University of Illinois web-based application system for graduate admission called Grad Connect. We would like to encourage you to apply using the web application system, which will allow you to track your admission progress and conduct most of the admission process electronically, including credit card payment of the application fee. You can also apply on-line and pay the application fee by check or money order.
The Department seeks promising students interested in careers in biochemical research. Most students who are admitted to the program have obtained an undergraduate degree in biochemistry, chemistry, or biology, and have compiled at least a "B" average for the last 2 years of undergraduate study in addition to any graduate study. Applicants should have a strong basic science education and motivation or aptitude for research, suitable letters of recommendation from faculty who can comment on your potential for research, and competitive Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Both the General GRE test and the Subject GRE test in either biochemistry, chemistry, or biology are required. Only in the case of exceptionally strong applicants are admission decisions able to made without these scores.
A high score (260 or 620 preferred) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for applicants whose native language is not English (see English Proficiency Requirement). One year of teaching is a requirement in the Biochemistry Graduate Program and Illinois State law requires that all non-native speakers of English demonstrate their ability to speak English by passing (minimum score 50) the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Students whose native language is not English are required to pass the TSE in order to be appointed as a Teaching Assistant.
All students accepted into the Biochemistry Ph.D. program receive full financial support through fellowships, traineeships, or graduate assistantships, which provide a generous stipend as well as a full tuition and partial fee waiver. Financial support is guaranteed as long as students are making satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D. degree. Applicants are also encouraged to apply for outside support (NSF, Howard Hughes, Ford Foundation, and other fellowships, foreign government scholarships, etc.).
Biochemistry Graduate Application Checklist - complete list of all application materials required.Graduate degrees are earned through a combination of graded courses, oral and written examinations, and independent research. These degrees prepare students for positions in industrial laboratories, research institutes, and government agencies, or for teaching, research, and administration in colleges and universities. In consultation with faculty advisors and based on the student's academic background, individual programs are fashioned from the following courses:
352 General Biochemistry I
353 General Biochemistry II
355 Biochemistry Laboratory
356 Lectures on the Biochemistry Laboratory
452 Experimental Techniques in Biochemistry
455 Analysis of Biochemical Literature
494 Advanced Topics in Biochemistry
Fall 2001: Post-transcriptional (non-genomic) Actions of Steroid Hormones
495 Biochemistry Seminar 2000/2001 Schedule
346 Physical Biochemistry
480 Research Ethics and Responsibilities
320 Molecular Biophysics
338 Plant Molecular Biology
450 Biomolecular Physics
340 Principles of Physical Chemistry
499 Thesis Research
In addition, students choose advanced elective courses in related areas such as
Biophysics,
Cell & Structural Biology,
Chemistry, Microbiology, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Physics, Physiology, etc.
Students may earn a Master's (M.S.) degree either by completing coursework or by doing research and writing a thesis. Students are required to maintain a "B" average. Financial support is not guaranteed for M.S. applicants.
Course-work Master's degree: normally requires a minimum of one full-time year and
involves 8-8.5 graded units (1 unit = 4 hours) of course work. At least 3 of the required
units must be in 400-level courses, and 2 of these 3 units must be in the major field. The
course-work option allows students to increase their knowledge of biochemistry and
prepare for Medical School, jobs in industry, etc.
Specific degree requirements include the successful passage of a core of Biochemistry courses. In addition, advanced elective courses in related areas are chosen by students in consultation with their faculty advisor and vary with the research interest and background of the individual. Because the emphasis of this program is largely on training in research, elective course selection is defined on the basis of individual needs, enabling students to choose from the wide range of courses offered. There is no foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry. Students are required to maintain a "B" average. In addition to courses, numerous seminars covering special topics in Biochemistry are offered. Research seminars are an important facet of the intellectual climate in the Department and an integral part of the Ph.D. program. Seminars are given on a regular weekly schedule by graduate students, faculty and visiting lecturers. Because teaching is considered an integral component of Ph.D. training, a minimum of 1 year of teaching in lecture or laboratory courses is required. Students must complete a minimum of 24 units (1 unit = 4 hours) at the University of Illinois and pass written or oral examinations, including various forms of faculty review of a student's progress (graded coursework, student seminars on individual research, literature examinations, etc.). At the end of the program leading to the Ph.D., each student presents the result of his/her research to an open meeting of faculty, students, and his/her supervisory committee. The doctoral dissertation is then submitted to the Graduate College to fulfill the requirements for the degree. Most students complete their Ph.D. training in 4-5 years.
In order to acquaint students with the research opportunities, new students attend a series of evening presentations, given early in the Fall semester, in which the Biochemistry and other MCB faculty describe their ongoing research projects. In addition, students are encouraged to attend weekly seminars and talk with advanced graduate students about their research in order to better understand the various programs. New students also participate in a laboratory rotation program, involving 3 five-week rotations in laboratories of Biochemistry and other MCB faculty. The laboratories are chosen on the basis of the information presented in the Faculty Research Presentations as well as informal interactions with the faculty. The laboratory rotations are intended to provide students with a "wet lab" experience where they will learn and perform laboratory procedures. Rotations also allow the new students to interact closely with the faculty and advanced graduate students and postdoctoral associates through attending regularly scheduled group meetings; through these interactions the students can better understand the ongoing research projects in these laboratories. The faculty believe these laboratory rotations are essential by helping the new students become more rapidly integrated into the department and learning more about the operations of the laboratories they may wish to join. This experience will also be important in the selection of graduate students to laboratories, since it will provide the new students with an excellent opportunity to interact with the faculty. Students select a research advisor at the end of the first semester in the program.
The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology consists of the Departments of Biochemistry, Cell & Structural Biology, Microbiology, Molecular & Integrative Physiology. These Departments have affiliated themselves into a single school in order to provide their graduate students with a broad range of training and research opportunities. Students admitted to any of the participating Ph.D. programs can select faculty research advisors from over 60 faculty in the School. All entering Ph.D. students are fully supported financially during the first semester without any teaching requirement. This enables students to participate in laboratory rotations and take a Core Curriculum, designed specifically for entering graduate students. This course work emphasizes advanced molecular biochemistry and genetics and provides a solid foundation for research in all areas of contemporary biology. Students join a permanent thesis lab at the beginning of the second semester and pursue specialized courses offered within that program. First year students also take courses in Bioethics and Bioinformatics, recognized as being important for all students within this broad field of interdisciplinary research. All students who are making satisfactory progress toward the Ph.D. degree are guaranteed full financial support throughout the remainder of their program.
The Biochemistry Department is a participating member in the Medical Scholars Program (MSP) existing jointly between the Graduate College and the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois, U-C. The MSP is a rigorous program that leads to two degrees without academic shortcuts. Applications to the MSP are reviewed by the College of Medicine, the MSP, and the departmental admissions committees. To be considered, applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens. Upon acceptance to all three, students begin their first year of Ph.D. studies. All students are supported during their Biochemistry Ph.D. work by graduate assistantships which provide a stipend as well as a tuition and partial fee waiver. For an application to this program, complete the MSP Preliminary Application form or write to: MSP Coordinator, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign, 190 Med. Sci. Bldg., 506 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801.
The goal of the Cell & Molecular Biology Training Program is to promote interdisciplinary research training for Ph.D. students interested in biochemical or molecular problems in cell science, genetics, physiology, biophysics, and microbiology. The program encompasses all of the departments in the School of Life Sciences, as well as the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics. Although the student experience is interdisciplinary, admissions are made through individual departments and degrees are awarded by the sponsoring units. Trainees are selected and recruited for appointments when they apply for admission to participating departments. Departments submit candidates for admission into this program, and students are selected on a competitive basis. To be considered, applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens. Students admitted to the program are supported on the National Institutes of Health-funded Cell & Molecular Biology Training Grant. Trainee stipends are equivalent to top offers made to other incoming students. Trainees are supported for two years on the training grant; the sponsoring department then provides a graduate assistantship for the student for the full term of graduate training. For a program brochure, please write to: Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program, School of Life Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 393 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801.
The goal of the Molecular Biophysics Training Program is to promote interdisciplinary research training for Ph.D. students interested in the broad area of macro-molecular structure and the analysis of macro-molecular function through modern biophysical approaches including X-ray crystallography, NMR, spectroscopies, and computational biology. Although the student experience is interdisciplinary, admissions are made through individual departments and degrees are awarded by the sponsoring units. Trainees are selected and recruited for appointments when they apply for admission to participating departments. Departments submit candidates for admission into this program, and students are selected on a competitive basis. To be considered, applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens. Students admitted to the program are supported on the National Institutes of Health-funded Molecular Biophysics Training Grant. Trainee stipends are equivalent to top offers made to other incoming students. Trainees are supported for up to three years on the training grant; the sponsoring department then provides a graduate assistantship for the student for the full term of graduate training. For a program brochure, please write to: Molecular Biophysics Training Program, School of Life Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 393 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801.
The Biotechnology Center Placement Office provides an active and successful Job Placement Office to assist students in locating jobs.
The University also offers a Business Certification Program to provide training for those students who seek industrial/business employment after the Ph.D.
