Microbiology Multidisciplinary Training Area

The MIC curriculum fulfills all of the requirements of the Mount Sinai Graduate School of Biological Sciences. For a detailed description of the Graduate School's rules, please consult the Graduate School Handbook.

Partial List of Course Offerings

• Typical Curriculum for Microbiology Training Area
• Core III: M320 Introduction to Microbiology
• G340 Fundamentals of Immunobiology ¹
• G620 Advanced Virology
• G425 Journal Club in Microbiology
• G445 Journal Club in Oncogenes and Virology
• G530 Seminar in Microbiology
• MIC Research Seminar
• G750 Tutorial: MIC (by special request only, please contact individual preceptors)

All MIC graduate students take the core curriculum (Core I and Core II), seminars, and journal clubs. While MIC students do not register for Seminar in Microbiology, JC in Microbiology, and JC in Oncogenes and Virology after completion of their Qualifying Exams, they are encouraged to participate in each of these courses each semester.
Note: ¹This course is only 1 credit for MIC students.

MIC Core Requirements

Completion of the MIC Training Area Core Courses requires satisfactory performance in (i) Core I, (ii) Core II, (iii) MIC Core III, and (iv) at least two laboratory rotations.

Laboratory Rotations

Students are required to complete two apprenticeships, which are encouraged to be in MIC laboratories, in order to diversify and extend their exposure to research techniques and approaches. It is hoped that students in the training area will choose a preceptor before the completion of their first year so that they may begin their dissertation research as soon as possible.

MIC Core III

• Students have several options in order to fulfill the MIC Core III course requirement.
• Traditional: Take all modules of Introduction to Microbiology (M320) to receive classical Microbiology training.
• Flexible: Take two modules of Introduction to Microbiology (M320), preferentially Bacteriology (Module 1) and Virology (Module 2), and any other module of Core III or Fundamentals of Immunology (G340).
• Per case: Successful performance in an approved Core III course from another training area will be considered on an individual basis.

Advanced Elective Courses

In addition to the core courses, MIC students are required to complete 6 credits of advanced elective course(s) chosen in consultation with the student's Advisory Committee. Examples of recommended courses include: Advanced Virology (G620); Fundamentals of Immunobiology (G340); Advanced Molecular and Cellular Immunobiology (G615); Advanced Signal Transduction (G610); Advanced Topics in Gene Therapy (G630); Advanced Topics in Cancer Biology (G625).

Qualifying Exam

The MIC training area Qualifying Exam is generally completed in two parts: (i) predoctoral proposal exam and (ii) a thesis proposal exam. The exam committees for both parts of the Qualifying Exam are composed of members of the student's First Year Advisory Committee with additional faculty included as needed. The MIC Training Area does not have a standing exam committee that tests all students. Each exam committee is designed independently for each individual student.

Advisory Committee Meetings

All MIC students are expected to meet with their Advisory Committee at least two times each year. Students are encouraged to hold these meetings as frequently as possible in order to keep their research project on track. Progress reports that acknowledge these meetings must be filed with the Graduate School office.

Thesis Defense

To complete the research requirements of the MIC Training Area, a public presentation of the thesis must occur. Students must then pass a closed thesis defense exam immediately following their presentation.

Graduate School Course Catalog

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