Ph.D. in HNFE

The department offers a Doctor of Philosophy in HNFE degree in Behavioral and Community Science, Clinical Physiology and Metabolism, and Molecular and Cellular Science.

For information about faculty affiliated with each track, please refer to the Graduate Program Faculty page.

Degree Requirements

Ph.D. Credits:
90 total credits
27 course credits
30 research and dissertation credits (HNFE 7994)

Research Ethics and Integrity Requirements:

• Human Subjects Protections Tutorial Institutional Review Board (IRB)
  OR
  Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) related training
  
• ALS 5324 Research Ethics in Agr & Life Sciences (Fall only) (1 cr)
• ALS 5984 Building Multicultural Competence in Agriculture and Life Sciences (1 cr) for students whose initial enrollment is Spring 2022 or beyond.
• GRAD 5014 Academic Integrity & Plagiarism (2 cr)
  

Required Courses

• HNFE 5204 Translational Science in HNFE (4 cr)
  
• Graduate Statistics 6 credits required for Ph.D. (See course offerings page for potential options.)
  

Milestone Requirements for Ph.D. Degree:
See specific details in the Doctoral Graduate Handbook.
Use this one-page checklist to track your progress.
View this PowerPoint presentation for an overview of the milestones.

• Convene an advisory committee.
  
• Submit a plan of study (due by the end of the second semester).
  
• Complete all coursework on plan of study.
  
• Submit a progress report (due every spring).
  
• Take and pass qualifying exam (due semester 4).
• Take and pass preliminary exam (due semester 6).
  
• Take and pass final exam (due semester 8-10).
  
• Submit electronic dissertation.

Helpful Information:

• Plan of Study Form
• Plan of Study Worksheet
• Description of courses: VT Graduate Catalog
• Course offering times: VT Timetable of Classes
• Admissions information