Brandeis' Biophysics and Structural Biology program trains Ph.D. students to carry out independent research using quantitative approaches to the structures, dynamics, and mechanisms of biological macromolecules. This flexible, individualized graduate program is specifically designed for students with strong quantitative undergraduate backgrounds (e.g., in physics, chemistry, engineering, biophysics, mathematics) who desire to bring these skills to bear on biological problems.

Students in this program are trained for careers in basic biochemical research through:

• a rigorous curriculum of formal courses
• four laboratory rotations during the first academic year
• intensive thesis research in laboratories operating on the edge of discovery
• practice in conveying scientific information via expository writing and public speaking
• specialized informal seminars, discussion-groups, and journal-clubs

The interdepartmental Graduate Program in Biophysics and Structural Biology, leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, is designed to develop the student's capacity for independent research. The program is focused on the application of the physical sciences to important problems in molecular and cellular biology. It offers opportunities for study and research in a variety of fields, including protein crystallography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, molecular microscopy, biophysical chemistry, neuroscience, sensory transduction, and chemo-mechanical energy transduction. Applicants are expected to have strong backgrounds in the physical sciences with undergraduate majors in any related field, such a