Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in the field of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology

s for MS and PhD Degrees in the field of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology

Upon completing the MS and PhD degrees in the field of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology, students will be able to:

1. Develop knowledge of the breadth of topics within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines that underlie the foundations of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology.
2. Demonstrate the critical thinking skills and ability to integrate knowledge from diverse STEM fields to solve biological problems.
3. Demonstrate the written communication skills required for a thesis describing independent research, published research, and external research proposals.
4. Demonstrate the effective oral and visual communication skills necessary for articulating scientific findings and significance to diverse audiences.

MS and PhD Degrees in field of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology 

MS Degree Program

MS degree is a thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Thesis Master’s Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. All students involved in research must complete Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Responsible Conduct of Research online course. Candidates for MS degree also must:

• Choose an advisor (PI) by end of first semester
• Fulfill a teaching requirement 
• Submit an original research thesis
• Complete 30 semester hours of program-approved courses (including thesis research hours)
• Defend thesis in a public oral examination. 

PhD Degree in field of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology 

PhD Degree Program

For general university requirements, please see Doctoral Degrees. regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Graduate Program in SSPB offers Master’s and Doctoral degrees. However, students will be directly admitted only to Doctoral program.  For each degree, students must fulfill university requirements set forth in General Announcements under which they entered. semester credit hour requirements may be fulfilled both by classroom hours and research hours. Students are required to accumulate at least 30 semester hours of graduate-approved courses while maintaining a GPA of 3.00 or higher.  

The English Language Proficiency Requirement may be waived for an international student who received a degree from an institution in which English is the official language of communication. Contact the admitting program for more information.

The following language proficiency tests are accepted by Rice graduate programs and will be used to assess English language proficiency. Please note the below scores are the minimum requirement, though some program requirements will be higher.

• The TOEFL IBT Home. A minimum score of 90 is required
• IELTS Indicator. A minimum score of 7 is required.
• Duolingo. A minimum score of 115 is required.

1. Find your graduate program(s) of interest and submit an interest form. Click here for a listing of schools and departments.
2. Research the cost of study and available financial support. Qualified doctoral students often receive tuition waivers and a generous stipend.
3. Look at our facts and stats on admissions, enrollment and degrees awarded.
4. Learn more about research at Rice.
5. Find out what living in Houston is like.