Admission requirements of the Graduate Council of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, apply. In addition, all applicants must furnish three letters of recommendation from individuals who are familiar with their scholastic or professional records.
Applicants generally will be expected to have a professional degree in one of the medical sciences (e.g., MD, DDS, DVM) or a master’s degree in one of the biomedical sciences and a Graduate Record Examination score of at least 1,000 for the quantitative and verbal sections (300 if taken after August 1, 2011).
An individual having a baccalaureate degree with a strong background in the physical and biological sciences may be admitted upon presenting evidence of exemplary performance on the Graduate Record Examination.
Exceptional veterinary students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, may be admitted to the comparative and experimental medicine graduate program but will be enrolled officially as veterinary students. During summers such students may take advantage of registering for graduate courses to be counted as elective courses in the veterinary program.
Students with professional degrees (e.g., MD, DDS, DVM) or master’s degrees in a program-related biomedical science must complete at least 24 hours of course work and 24 hours of Dissertation CMMD 600 or CMVM 600 .
Comparative and Experimental Medicine CMVM 504 , CMMD 541 , and CMVM 542 are required, as are 6 hours of 600-level graduate journal clubs. In addition, students must take at least 3 hours of 500- or 600-level statistics and a minimum of 8 hours of course work in a specified discipline. Areas of emphasis may include hematology, oncology, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, immunology, genetics, infectious disease, epidemiology, metabolism, or other areas of medicine. Exceptions to accommodate students with specific interests must be approved by the Joint Graduate Coordinating Committee after application, in writing, to the director. The doctoral committee is chosen during the first year. At least one member must be from the College of Veterinary Medicine and at least one member from the Graduate School of Medicine.
A comprehensive examination must be passed before the end of the third year of the program. In addition, students must prepare and defend a prospectus outlining their proposed research projects before the end of their third year in the program. Exceptions to these requirements are provided for medical residents pursuing doctoral degrees who must successfully complete the comprehensive examination and research prospectus before the end of their fourth year in the program.
