Courses

Developmental Biology DEV 9000

Description:

a required course for all first year M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in the collaborative Developmental Biology program. This course will replace first year commitments in Anatomy & Cell Biology and Biochemistry courses as well as replace one required course in Biology, Physiology, Pharmacology or Microbiology and Immunology. In addition, all supervisors will be required to attend their student’s first and third presentations (see outline below).

Course Objectives:

  1. To provide a broader perspective in the area of Developmental Biology. This will be at the molecular, cellular, organ and whole animal level, and include a variety of organisms including, but not limited to, Xenopus laevis, Arabidopsis thaliana, zebra fish, mice and humans.
  2. To foster communication and interaction between students and PIs within the Developmental Biology Graduate Program.
  3. To allow students to develop skills in presenting, critically analyzing journal articles and preparing research reports.
  4. To allow students to interact with national and international leaders in the area of Developmental Biology.

Components of the Course:

The DEV 9000 graduate course will be a full credit, two term course with, at most, one two hour session of classroom time/week. The time commitment will vary depending on the number of students within the program. The evaluation for this course will be based on four criteria:

  1. Lecture on the developmental aspect(s) specific to their project (25%)
  2. Review of a journal article provided by external speakers as part of the Developmental Biology Lecture Series (25%) The students will also meet with the speakers informally to discuss their work.
  3. Presentation of progress in your project in preparation for your first advisory committee meeting (25%)
  4. Participation in all student presentations and mandatory attendance at all lectures in the Developmental Biology Lecture Series (25%)

DEV 9100

This half course is to be taken in the second year of the progression based on current research topics identified by the program faculty. Students will be expected to provide the necessary background information on the topic in order to generate discussion. The topics will vary from year to year.