Curriculum

The Office of Graduate Affairs (OGA) interacts with trainees in the summer prior to matriculation to facilitate acquisition of Columbia sponsored housing. Off campus housing is available and facilitated by realtors who have long-standing working relations with Columbia housing administration.  The OGA holds a series of orientation events to acclimatize the students to the campus and the city, including an overnight camping and hiking trip, which gives the incoming students a good bonding experience. Following the retreat, you will have a number of lectures/mini-courses on Experimental Design, Research and Data Integrity, Laboratory Safety, Student Conduct, including sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention and response.  There will also be a poster session from current students in the graduate programs to give you a chance to find out more about the research that is being conducted by our students.

At orientation, the program director meets with the students to discuss the basics of the program, including course requirements, laboratory rotations, qualifying examinations, student seminars and any other requirements that they might have during their tenure as graduate students.  The program director is responsible for most of the direct advising of the students during the first year regarding coursework, rotations and any other issues that arise.  The program director also discusses possible mentors for their rotations.  The director meets with the first-year students for formal meetings three times a year, once at the beginning of the year and then at the end of each semester.  The program director is always available for any additional meetings at the student’s request.

Laboratory rotations provide an opportunity for each student to participate actively in ongoing research projects at Columbia, allowing the student to become familiar with techniques, literature and current questions in a variety of research areas.  Rotations also provide the opportunity to identify a mentor with whom to pursue thesis work.  Each graduate student will undertake 3 laboratory rotations (3–4 months in duration) during the first year. In late August/early September students discuss with the Program Director possible lab rotations for approval. The first rotation goes until winter break (third week in December), the second rotation goes from January-March and the third rotation from April-June. Occasionally, it is necessary for a student to

• First year fall semester:  Principles of System Pharmacology, Advances in Pharmacology, Pharmacology Techniques, Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology
• First year spring semester: Molecular Pharmacology, From Membrane Nucleus, Advances in Pharmacology, Pharmacology Techniques
• Second year fall semester: Advances in Pharmacology, Backgrounds in Pharmacology, Mechanisms in Human Disease
• Second year spring semester: Advances in Pharmacology, Statistics for Basic Sciences, Responsible Conduct for Research, Responsible Conduct for Research/Discussion, Structure & Function of Membrane Channels

During the Late Spring/Early Summer semester, second year students take the Qualifying Exam. The student meets with the Director of program to discuss the program requirements and the selection of the faculty serving on the Qualifying Exam Committee. This examination is used as a formal evaluation of the student’s potential as a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. It is designed to assess the student’s ability to develop a sophisticated, in-depth understanding of their thesis project and it also serves as a tool for identifying deficiencies in the students’ background that could be remedied by further coursework or additional reading. The student along with his/her thesis advisor proposes three possible committee members who will serve as examiners.  The program director reviews the proposed committee members and if they approve the committee, will select one of them as chair who has been registered in this graduate program faculty members.  After the students submit their proposal, an oral examination is scheduled.  The exam consists of two parts: a written proposal and an oral defense of that proposal before an Examination Committee. 

Students present a written research proposal on their thesis topic. The proposal is written in the format of an NIH F31 pre-doc fellowship and consists of description of the background and significance of the topic, specific aims and research approaches to address the aims. The student will then deliver a 20 minute “chalk talk” presentation of the written proposal to the Examination Committee with an open panel discussion following. Though questions by the Examination Committee may initially focus on the proposal itself, this is a comprehensive examination where the student is expected to demonstrate an appropriate background in Pharmacology and an understanding of underlying principles.

The Director of the program meets with the student to discuss the selection of the Thesis Committee faculty.  The student, the thesis advisor and program director select a Thesis Research Advisory Committee of at least three members, including the advisor. The function of the Thesis Research Advisory Committee is to follow the student's research progress until its completion. Students usually schedule their first Thesis Committee Meeting during the late Fall or Early Spring of their 3^rd year. Thesis Committees meets at least every 9 months. In case that committee meeting cannot be held in 9 months, student and thesis advisor will need to explain reason of the delay and request an approval of the program director. This Committee provides scientific expertise related to the student's projects and monitors thesis research. For the first Committee meeting the student presents a short written report that contains the Specific Aims of their proposal and any progress they have made since the qualifying examination.  The Committee discusses with the student the progress to date and the priorities for the order in which the work will proceed, as well as the chosen design of experiments. It is possible that the Committee may recommend changes to the experimental design or priorities. The Committee also decides when to have the next meeting, which can be in 6-9 months, but no longer than one year. For these subsequent meetings, the student prepares a 1-2 page report outlining their progress on the previous aims and presents their timetable for finishing their thesis work. The Committee can and should recommend improvements to experimental strategies and alternative plans for difficult or risky experiments.

After the thesis committee gives its approval for the student to finish writing the thesis, the defense is scheduled. The final thesis committee consists of the mentor, two existing program faculty members, and two additional examiners (one must be outside of the department and program). If the additional examiner is outside the University, they must be approved by the Program and the Dissertation Office as a competent examiner. The thesis should be submitted to the committee two weeks before the scheduled defense. A public seminar is given immediately before the closed defense. At the time of the closed defense, the student may be asked to make additional revisions that will then need to be approved by the mentor and one other member of the committee (assigned at the time of the defense).  On rare occasions, the student may be required to do additional experimental work, extensive thesis revisions or a second dissertation defense.  Students are expected to publish a first-author paper before their thesis is completed (at least, submit a first-author paper before their defense). 

Students participate in a bi-monthly journal club, where they present and critically analyze a recent paper to the department. This ongoing activity sharpens their presentation skills, enhances their critical thinking, and keeps them updated with the latest advancements in their field.