About the Program
In 1988, a small group of faculty at Baylor College of Medicine set out to design the ideal biomedical graduate program--from a student's perspective. What we came up with is a multidisciplinary environment that provides the brightest and most ambitious students with the skills needed to navigate multiple scientific disciplines--the Interdepartmental Program in Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB).
Our goal is to prepare the next generation's pioneers in biomedical science. Rigorous courses, careful mentoring, and the resources of the largest medical center in the world enable us to meet that goal. And being in Houston, which has all the versatility you'd expect of the fourth largest city in the United States--but with a cost of living well below that of every other major city--allows you to enjoy an occasional break from all that training.
Our multidisciplinary program gives you the edge you need for success in your scientific career. We've kept the best things about traditional graduate programs--depth of focus and stellar faculty--while eliminating departmental boundaries along with rigid curricula and restricted choices. We've coupled rigor with creativity, breadth of choice with intimate scale: intensive academic training in a small seminar format and freedom to design your own curriculum with personal guidance from our co-directors.
What makes us unique is that--unlike other interdisciplinary programs--we only accept 10 to 12 carefully selected students each year. This means that your training, particularly during your first year, involves one-on-one interactions with some of the best scientists in the country, in an intimate environment that teaches you how to think like a scientist, and yet, you can choose from more than 90 internationally recognized faculty for your doctoral research.
Throughout your graduate studies, you will be able to keep up to date with the research in other CMB labs, maintaining CMB's interdisciplinary theme even after you join a specific lab. By the time you graduate, you will have built a solid foundation in the concepts and techniques of modern biology and gained an appreciation of the interdependence of diverse approaches and systems.
Training in our program rests on the same foundation as your future scientific career: rigorous scholarship and intensive research, combined with one-on-one mentoring. The CMB program is supported by a competitive training grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM 08231).