Graduate Program Overview
The Graduate Program in Animal Biotechnology & Biomedical Sciences (ABBS) provides rigorous and comprehensive training at the graduate level through the Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences. The general requirements for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in ABBS are those of the Graduate School.
The ABBS Graduate Program offers research opportunities that foster creative excellence, technical mastery, intellectual independence, and recognition within the field of molecular and cellular biology. Our graduate faculty research encompasses various areas of immunology, infectious disease, developmental biology, reproductive biology and toxicology. Research topics focus on issues directly relevant to humans and agriculturally important animals. The strong commitment of our faculty to quality graduate education is evidenced by the continued placement of graduates in excellent career and post-doctoral positions.
The ABBS Graduate Program is housed primarily in the Integrated Sciences Building, a newly built, state-of-the-art research facility that houses laboratories equipped for tissue culture, micro-manipulation of cells and embryos, protein purification, genetic engineering/molecular biology, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry.
karcaro [at] vasci [dot] umass [dot] edu (Program Director)
Kathleen Arcaro, PhD
240 Thatcher Road
LSL 1 Room N529
Amherst, MA 01003-9298
413-577-1823
karacaro [at] umass [dot] edu
Veterinary and Animal Sciences Department Head
Rafael Fissore, PhD, DVM
427A Integrated Sciences Building
413-545-5548
rfissore [at] vasci [dot] umass [dot] edu
The 2021 Snoeyenbos Award was presented to Xiaosu Miao by Dr. Wei Cui. The Snoeyenbos Award is to be awarded annually to honor an outstanding ABBS graduate student based upon the student’s grade point average, research progress, presentations at meetings and faculty recommendations.
The Frances and Chou-Chu Hong graduate student fellowship in the Veterinary and Animal Sciences Department was established in 2014 by the Hongs’ sons. The following is the criteria for judging by a selection committee:
- A letter of recommendation from the Major Professor.
- The student’s CV that includes all authorships and meeting presentations as well as attendance and completion of specific technical or methodological trainings related to their studies.
- A statement (1 paragraph) from the student about how they feel they have demonstrated ‘good citizenship by participating in the Veterinary and Animal Science department and ABBS Graduate Program activities’ which could include, among other activities, specific training of other graduate or undergraduates in the labs (for example for a specific technique or machine operation), organization of retreats, workshops, poster sessions, stewardship of a particular shared instrument/equipment, acting as a judge at undergraduate events, etc.
Degrees Offered
The Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences graduate program, a part of the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences offers the following degrees:
- Master of Science (MS)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Program Goals
- To prepare scientists for future careers in academia or industry in the areas of animal biotechnology and/or biomedicine by providing them with experience in hypothesis formulation, problem solving and experimental design.
- To provide research opportunities in areas of immunology, infectious disease, developmental biology, reproductive biology and toxicology.
- To instill in students an understanding of hypothesis-driven experimental design and the desire to deepen scientific knowledge.
The core of the graduate program is the deep commitment of the active research faculty to provide a quality graduate education. The collaborative environment of our research groups strengthens the learning environment for graduate students. The involvement of faculty within interdisciplinary programs brings a wide variety of students to our laboratories and seminars and promotes interactions across campus. The faculty attract post-doctoral fellows from around the world and their presence invigorates the research enterprise, thus students do not work in isolation but are part of both the departmental program as well as interdepartmental research communities including the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program and the Collaborative Biomedical Research Program.
Research in the Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences graduate program is supported by a variety of sources. Faculty hold grants from the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development as well as from private industry, foundations and the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station. Our graduates are continually placed in excellent career and post-doctoral positions, nationally and internationally.
Program Requirements
See the ABBS Graduate Handbook for details on program requirements, courses, rules and milestones.
The main emphasis of the graduate program is hands on laboratory research. Students supplement lab work with a variety of coursework as well as research seminars and journal clubs. Required courses provide a strong foundation in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, immunology and infectious diseases, as well as genetics and developmental biology. Doctoral students must pass written and oral comprehensive qualifying exams and both Ph.D. and M.S. students must pass a final oral defense of their thesis research. All graduate students form a thesis committee of faculty members who meet regularly with the student to provide guidance and assess progress.
The Fifth Year Masters is for students who are undergraduates in the department and begin research in a laboratory during their junior year. During their senior year they develop their research skills and take 6 credits of coursework towards their Masters degree. To complete the Fifth Years Masters requires 12-15 months after the B.S. degree and includes a combination of research work for independent study credit plus 6-8 additional coursework credits.
Application & Admission to the Program
Our program accepts new students on a rolling basis but rotating PhD students are only accepted for the Fall semester; we generally accept 1- 4 per year. The application deadline is January 15th. Generally, Ph.D. students and Masters with thesis students are accepted by individual faculty members directly into their laboratories, that is, students generally do not undertake laboratory rotations. Students are encouraged to directly contact individual faculty members about the research they are currently conducting and the availability of space and financial support for new graduate students in their laboratories.
Research Faculty
Immunology
Applications can also be obtained from the address below. Frequently asked graduate school admission questions can be viewed here, For general information, visit the UMass Graduate School web site.
To check on status of your application, please click here.
Graduate Admissions
Phone: 413-545-0722 (8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Mon-Fri)
Email: gradadm [at] grad [dot] umass [dot] edu
For other inquiries about the program itself:
Graduate Program Director
Kathleen Arcaro, PhD
240 Thatcher Road
LSL 1 Room N529
Amherst, MA 01003-9298
413-577-1823
karacaro [at] umass [dot] edu
Financial Aid
Students (U.S. citizen and foreign) are eligible for research or teaching assistantships. Except for non-thesis masters students, graduate students accepted into the program are provided with financial support from individual faculty members (that is, the research supervisor). Research assistants and teaching assistants receive full-time renumeration in addition to having tuition and medical insurance paid for. Students admitted to the program are responsible for finding their own transportation to and from Amherst, Massachusetts. International students must remain registered as full-time students during their stay to maintain visa status. In addition to the research and teaching assistantships, students may apply for competitive pre-doctoral fellowship at:
- UMass Graduate School
- National Science Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship (GRFP)
- National Institutes of Health NRSA Pre-doctoral Training Fellowship (F31, selected NIH componenets)
- Grantsnet (search for more fellowships)
- Grant Search for Graduate Students
Interdepartmental Graduate Programs
Students admitted through other graduate programs on campus may join the research groups in our department if the major advisor (PI) is a member of that program. Interdepartmental programs which our students may be interested in include:
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program