HILS Home > Programs of Study > Molecular and Cellular Biology
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Program MissionThe Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) provides students with a sophisticated and rigorous program in a multidisciplinary environment, enabling students to become independent, creative, and productive researchers. MCB hosts two interdisciplinary training programs: Molecules, Cells and Organisms (MCO) and Engineering and Physical Biology (EPB). Both programs take advantage of the university’s outstanding faculty and extensive laboratory resources to provide pre-doctoral students with a solid foundation in the concepts and scientific approaches used in laboratories today to prepare them for a future at the forefront of life sciences. MCB students in both training programs spend their first year taking courses and doing research rotations. By the end of the first year, students select a faculty thesis advisor and begin independent research.
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Entering students should have a record of introductory courses in chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. The following courses are not to be regarded as prerequisites for admission to graduate study, but most admitted students have completed them during their undergraduate years: biology (a general course in biology and two terms of biology at a more advanced level), biochemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, laboratory in biology, biochemistry, or instrumental analysis, physics (general elementary course), and mathematics (basic knowledge of differential and integral calculus).
Competence in elementary programming is also desirable.
Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.
Students should request information and an application from:
Harvard University
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Holyoke Center 350
Cambridge, MA 02138-3654
telephone: 617-495-5315, 617-495-5396
e-mail: admiss@fas.harvard.edu
The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Faculty participating in the Molecules, Cells and Organisms (MCO) training program come from the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, as well as the Center for Systems Biology, the Center for Brain Science, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
MCO training involves an initial exposure to a broad sweep of fundamental problems at every level through a set of core courses, followed by deep immersion in focused areas. Incoming MCO students are required to take three core courses during the first semester, corresponding to three track concentrations: Genetics, Genomics and Evolutionary Biology (MCB 291); Cellular, Neuro and Developmental Biology (MCB 292); and Physical, Chemical and Molecular Biology (MCB 293). The objective of these courses is to provide students with a broad foundation in the life science disciplines and prepare them for a future in science that will undoubtedly draw from many disciplines in biology. In addition, these courses will help students choose a specific track for elective courses to be taken in the second semester, and also to choose their lab rotations. A course in quantitative methods and approaches to biological problems is required in the second semester of the first year. The intent of this requirement is to strengthen the mathematical skills necessary to approach complex problems in modern biology. The formal class work and research components of the program are complemented by a rigorous advising and mentoring program, which includes a required yearly written and oral progress report, journal clubs and a permanent non-thesis advisor.
Pre-doctoral students in Molecular and Cellular Biology continue to interact with students in their cohort even after joining a laboratory. With “nanocourses,” monthly journal clubs, and annual retreats, among other activities, fellow students will continue to share in each others’ research and discovery processes, and will maintain a broad exposure to advances in life science research outside of their home laboratory.
Students may also cross-register in courses offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A shuttle bus serves Harvard and MIT.
In the first year, MCB students spend their first term carrying out experimental research in the laboratories of faculty members.
During the laboratory rotations, students are able to interact with individual faculty members and explore possible subjects for future thesis research. A minimum of three laboratory rotations are required, two of which must be with faculty participating in the Molecules, Cells and Organisms (MCO) Training Program. During these rotations, students interact with individual faculty members and explore possible subjects for future dissertation research. The first two rotation periods are in the Fall term, and the third is in the Spring. With prior departmental approval, students may choose to carry out an additional rotation during the summer preceding their first year, or additional rotations following the Spring Term.
A complete directory (searchable by research interest, name, and title) of faculty affiliated with the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology can be found at the HILS Faculty Directory's MCB listing.