While graduate training in a BMBB laboratory involves first-year coursework and associated preliminary examinations, the focal point for graduate education is thesis research. Laboratory-based exploration coupled with journal clubs, seminars, scientific meetings and retreats, career counseling and scientific ethics constitutes the major components of the program. Support for graduate education comes from a variety of sources but is augmented by several NIH and NSF-based training grants. Ph.D. graduates from Minnesota obtain full-time employment immediately after graduation or pursue advanced training in academic or corporate postdoctoral positions. Students can apply directly to the BMBB Graduate Program or to Graduate Studies in Molecular, Cellular and Structural Biology (MCSB), which offers a Ph.D. in either Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics (BMBB) or in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics (MCDB&G). In cooperation with the BMBB program graduate studies leading to a Ph.D. degree may also be pursued at the University of Minnesota Duluth Campus.