The objectives of the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology are to:
- Provide an educational program leading to the M.S. and/or Ph.D. degrees in toxicology.
- Foster excellence in research in toxicology within the participating schools and departments.
- Offer students an in-depth curriculum in toxicology and the opportunity for in-depth study in specialty areas of their choosing.
- Make available relevant research topics for the original thesis project, which is a core requirement for the degrees. It is essential that these topics address significant problems in mechanistic toxicology and that they are performed at the highest possible level of scientific scholarship.
- Achieve these aims in a collegial, multi-disciplinary atmosphere which includes public health, occupational medicine, epidemiology, risk assessment and public policy.
M.S. and Ph.D. students spend the first year of the program performing three research rotations (each lasting ~3 months) and taking required classes. At the end of the third rotation, students will select a laboratory for completing their thesis research. In the second year, students continue required and elective coursework and prepare for the Ph.D. qualifying exams, which are held during the summer between the second and third years. M.S. students are not required to take the qualifying exams. Students spend the subsequent years performing research and preparing their dissertation full time. All students are required to present in the seminar course each year. In every third year, all students participate in a drug discovery and development course that is taught by scientists from Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical company.