Courses & Lab Rotations

The Yale Microbiology Ph.D. Program provides individualized course selection for students to tailor the curriculum to their research and training needs. Most students fulfill graduate-level course requirements in their first year.

Graded as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory:

• MBIO 670, 671, 672 3 Laboratory Rotations
• MBIO 700 Seminal Papers on the Foundations of Modern Microbiology
• MBIO 703, 704 Microbiology Seminars
• MBIO 701, 702 Research-in-Progress Seminars
• MBIO 601 Fundamentals of Research (year 1) and Responsible Conduct of Research Refresher (year 4)

Graded as Honor, High Pass, or Pass:

• At least four graduate-level courses, including at least three courses out of the 6 microbiology-related courses below, with at least one of these courses being MBIO 686, MBIO 686, or MBIO 734.

Fall semester

• MBIO 686 Biology of Bacterial Pathogens I
• CBIO 602 Molecular Cell Biology
• MBIO 530 Biology of the Immune System
• PATH 690 Molecular Mechanism of Disease

Spring semester

• MBIO 685 Biology of Bacterial Pathogens II
• MBIO 734 Molecular Biology of Animal Viruses

• CBIO 701 Illuminating Cellular Function
• GENE 760 Genomic Methods Genetic Analysis
• EMD 550 Biology of Insect Disease Vectors
• E&EB 729 Microbial Ecology and Evolution
• EMD 517 Infectious Diseases I
• EMD 518 Infectious Diseases II
• EMD 531 Genomic Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases

All first-year students are required to carry out research rotations in at least three separate laboratories. This exercise is formally listed as MBIO 670, 671, and 672 Laboratory Rotations. Each rotation typically lasts 7-8 weeks, in sync with other tracks in the Yale BBS Program. Students are expected to actively participate daily in a research project under the direction of the faculty member. Rotations are graded Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, and the faculty sponsor provides the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) with a brief written evaluation of each student's performance. At the end of the rotation, each student gives a 10-12 min rotation talk. All first-year students and the DGS will attend the talks, and all rotation advisors and lab members are invited.

A primary purpose of lab rotations is to identify a laboratory in which to conduct dissertation research. Rotations allow students to learn about different laboratories and faculty members and help faculty assess how well their lab fits the needs and interests of each student. Rotations also introduce students to various techniques and approaches that complement the laboratory selected for dissertation research. Therefore, the three-rotation requirement will not be waived if a student has already made a final decision concerning a dissertation laboratory.

The following questions may be used by students and advisors, particularly at the beginning of the advising relationship, to facilitate conversations about how to work together most effectively.

1. What is each party’s preferred mode of communication (e.g. email, phone call, video chat, in person, text)?
2. What are each party’s expectations for the student’s weekly work schedule (e.g. days, times of day)?
3. What are the expectations for responses to messages?
4. Does the advisor want/expect the student to serve as a teaching fellow for them and, if so, when during the student’s time at Yale?
5. What is each party’s expectation of the student’s timeline to complete the degree?
6. What are each party’s expectations regarding the student’s conference attendance and funding?
7. Is the student expected to seek a secondary advisor or other mentor within or outside the department?
8. When the student collaborates on work with others, what is the advisor’s expectation regarding the advisor’s role in that work and subsequent authorship?
9. What is the advisor’s approach to authorship?
10. What are the student’s expectations for authorship?
11. How many publications does the advisor/department expect from the student before graduation?
12. What is the advisor’s expectation for the student’s research during semesters when the student has other requirements (e.g. classes, teaching, qualifying exams)?
13. What are the advisor’s or program’s expectations regarding the student’s mentoring of more junior graduate students or undergraduates recruited by the advisor?
14. What are the student’s expectations for opportunities to mentor more junior graduate students or undergraduates?
15. What training (e.g. institutional review board, lab safety) is the student required to complete before beginning to work with their advisor or embarking on their own research?
16. What professional development programs (e.g. writing, teaching, outreach) is the student interested in participating in?
17. Which career paths can the student approach the advisor about for support, and when should the student seek career support elsewhere?