Timeline Progress to the Degree

4.9
YEARS TO PHD DEGREE
2
YEARS TO MS DEGREE
1.7
PUBLICATIONS PER STUDENT

Suggested Timeline and Milestones for the PhD Degree


Year 1

  • Take required graduate program core courses
  • Engage in 3 research rotations
  • Participate in Responsible Conduct in Research training workshops
  • Complete Asynchronous Individual Development Plan Workshop
  • Meet with your graduate program's Mentorship Committee
Year 2

  • Work towards completing course requirements
  • Select faculty research mentor
  • Prepare/Complete Preliminary Written and/or Oral Examinations
  • Serve as teaching assistant (TA)
  • Meet with your graduate program's Mentorship Committee
  • Career Development meeting with Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies staff
Year 3

  • Formation of thesis committee
  • Engage in thesis research under mentorship of faculty advisor
  • Participate in Department Research Seminars
  • Meet with your graduate program's Mentorship Committee
  • Career Development meeting with Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies staff
     
Year 4

  • Meet with thesis committee
  • Continue engaging in thesis research
  • Assembly manuscripts based on research for submission
  • Career Development meeting with Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies staff
     
Year 5/6

  • Working towards completing thesis research
  • Prepare/Defend dissertation
  • Submit Final Dissertation
  • Submit manuscripts based on research
  • Degree Awarding

Timeline to the PhD Degree

The average time to attaining a degree in the PhD within the Medical School is 4.9 years, with median ranges among all our graduate programs at 4.7 to 5.2 years. Comparatively, earning a PhD degree requires 6 years across the other graduate programs in Schools and Colleges at the University of Minnesota. 

Suggested Timeline and Milestones for attaining the Master's Degree


Year 1

  • Take required core courses
  • Engage in thesis research training in faculty laboratory (for research-intensive tracks)
Year 2

  • Complete required core courses
  • Complete thesis research training
  • Submit/Defend thesis

Timeline to the MS Degree

There are four graduate programs in the Medical School that offer Master's degree: Stem Cell Biology, Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Medical Physics and Gateways to the PhD. These programs serve as a great gateway to further pursue predoctoral studies or for immediate entry into the workforce. The average time to degree for Master's programs is 2 years (or 22 months).

Student Handbooks of Graduate Programs

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Student Handbooks of Graduate Programs

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Neuroscience Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Integrative Biology and Physiology Molecular Therapeutics and Pharmacology Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics Stem Cell Biology Integrated Biosciences (Duluth campus) Rehabilitation Sciences

Suggested Timelines

The suggested timelines for both the PhD and MS degrees described above are examples. Specific graduate programs within the Medical School may have slightly different requirements and/or suggested order of events. Please discuss with your program coordinator and director of graduate studies for specific graduate program details.