Microbiology

Head of the Department: John E. Cronan, Jr.
B103 Chemical and Life Sciences Lab
601 South Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-1737
E-mail: mcbinfo@life.uiuc.edu

Graduate Degree Programs

The Department of Microbiology offers graduate programs leading to the master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees. For both degrees, the program provides a strong basic background in microbiology, microbial physiology, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and molecular biology. Students completing the program are qualified for positions in academic, industrial, or government laboratories and particularly for further specialization in a chosen discipline of microbiology and related fields.

Major areas of research interest are gene expression and regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; viral function and development including virus host-cell interactions; membrane biogenesis, including protein insertion; fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis; bacterial pathogenesis and bacteria-host interactions; DNA replication, recombination, and repair; anaerobic microbiology; the biochemistry and physiology of methane formation; mechanisms of oxygen toxicity; prokaryote phylogeny, genomics, and evolution; and archae.

Please note: Students interested in this program must apply directly to the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (www.life.uiuc.edu/mcb/graduate). During the first semester, students perform three laboratory rotations, choosing from any laboratory in the School. Students select a laboratory for their thesis research in December and formally join the appropriate graduate program at that time.

Admission

Students electing microbiology as a major for an advanced degree should have had a total of at least 15 credit hours of physical or biological sciences, including general biology or microbiology, chemistry through organic chemistry and biochemistry, and mathematics through calculus. Admission requirements include: a bachelor’s degree with coursework in biological sciences, chemistry, and physics; Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores; international students must attain a minimum paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 590 (243 on the computer-based test) and Test of Spoken English (TSE) score of 55.

Graduate Teaching Experience

Experience in teaching is considered to be a vital part of the graduate program and is required as part of the academic work of all Ph.D. degree candidates.

Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy

Study programs are flexible and are dependent upon the experience, interests, and goals of each student.