Molecular Biology and Genetics Bogazici University

Overview

Of these courses, 12 credits comprise required courses and the remaining 9 credits are made up of elective courses to be chosen with the approval of the student’s advisor. Students of the Bogazici University entering from other disciplines may be granted up to two additional semesters to take undergraduate Biology courses to strengthen their backgrounds in Molecular Biology and Genetics.

Laboratory Rotation

Must be done in the student’s first semester in the program. The purpose is to introduce students to several members of the faculty and the experimental approaches, techniques, and styles of their laboratories, and to help students select a thesis advisor. The rotations also provide an opportunity for the faculty to evaluate the students as well.

At the beginning of the Fall semester, members of the Biology faculty give presentations to describe their research interests. Students then select three faculty research laboratories in which they will work under the direction of the faculty member for a period of about one month. Work done in all three labs will count towards the required Bio 500/Bio 601 course work and a consensus grade will be given by all three faculty members. The students who have already worked for at least 3 months in a certain laboratory in the Department and would like to continue working towards their thesis work in the same laboratory are exempted from lab rotation. Their Bio 500/Bio 601 course work will be evaluated by the faculty member in charge of the particular lab.

Specific requirements and expectations for each of the rotations should be arranged at the beginning of each lab rotation in consultation with the faculty member in charge of each lab. At the end of each rotation, the professor will certify in writing that the student has successfully completed the assigned work and give a grade reflecting the students work.

Students are required to complete their lab rotations prior to chosing a mentor, even if they enter the program with a particular laboratory and faculty mentor in mind; this permits changes in a student’s selection without prejudice. It also provides an opportunity to ‘test the waters’ in different fields, learn a variety of techniques and approaches, and make personal contacts with faculty and fellow students.

Thesis Presentation

No later than the completion of their course work (typically within the first two semesters) with a grade point average of at least 3.00, a thesis advisor must be appointed and a thesis title should be defined and the Graduate Institute should be informed. Once the thesis subject is decided the student should prepare a powerpoint presentation approximately 30 to 45 minutes and present it orally during the third semester. This presentation is open to all department members. Following the presentation, there will be no oral defense.

Thesis and Defence

Subsequent to the thesis presentation and approval, the student is required to carry out a supervised research project that culminates in a Master’s thesis. The maximum time allowed to complete this work is 6 semesters with the approval of the Executive Council of the Institute for Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering. The thesis should be distributed to the advisory committee members and a copy should be placed at the departmental office at least one week prior to the presentation date. The thesis oral presentation should be 40 to 50 minutes in duration and is open to all department members. The student must defend the thesis. The thesis committee should be made up of 3 (thesis advisor, 1 faculty from the Department, 1 faculty from outside of the department/university). The selected thesis committee will be approved by the Institute for Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering.