2024-2025 Graduate Catalog
Pathobiology (PhD)
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The Pathobiology Graduate Program is an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary program with a mission to provide a broad based graduate education to students seeking a PhD degree in the areas of infectious and non-infectious diseases of animals, food safety, security, and policy, and production animal medicine and management. The research activities of the graduate faculty, primarily in the Departments of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology and Clinical Sciences are in specialized areas of Infectious Diseases, including Zoonotic Diseases and Transboundary Diseases, Bacteriology, Epidemiology, Immunology, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Virology, Companion Animal Health, Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Food Animal Health and Management, Food Safety and Security, and Translational Medicine. The program is also served by faculty from other departments or units at K-State, which include Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Biology, Biosecurity Research Institute, Entomology, and the Olathe campus. The faculty in the Pathobiology Program have national and international reputations in areas of transboundary diseases, swine viral diseases, bacterial diseases, vaccine development, vector-borne diseases, parasitic diseases, epidemiology, and food safety and security.
The research activities and discovery strengths of the faculty in the program are organized and focused in Centers and Institutes, which include the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI), Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD), Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (CEZID), Center of Excellence for Translational and Comparative Oncology Research (CETCOR). In addition, graduate students in the program have opportunities to work with scientists in the federal research institutes, such as the Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit (ABADRU), a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) institute in Manhattan, KS to study vector borne diseases and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility), formerly Plum Island Animal Disease Center, a USDA laboratory to study transboundary diseases.
The graduate faculty in the program have established programmatic requirements, within the overall policies of the Graduate School, for admission, supervision, and completion of the degree and provide both the course instruction and the research training essential to complete the PhD degree. The graduate training is provided in a vibrant multidisciplinary environment, exposing students to a variety of disciplines and research areas. The program offers opportunities for DVM students to concurrently work on a dual degree program (DVM/PhD).
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Admission Requirements
The Pathobiology Graduate Program in the College of Veterinary Medicine has the following requirements:
- A cumulative grade point average of 3.0/4.0 in the baccalaureate degree, DVM/VMD or in the M.S degree. In special circumstances, students with a 2.8 or 2.9/4.0 will be considered for a probationary admission. A majority of the admitted students have a degree in Veterinary Medicine, but DVM is not a requirement.
- Applicants are required to take the General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and submit the scores with the application.
- International students from countries where English is not the native language must provide English language proficiency test scores , such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Pearson Test of English (PTE).
- Sufficient training and background in biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry are important requirements.
In order to be considered for admission, the applicant must FIRST identify, contact, and be accepted by a graduate faculty member in the Pathobiology Graduate Program.
Students with a BS Degree
At least 90 semester hours of credits, including a minimum of 15 hours of formal course work (800-level or higher), and 30 hours of research credits (DMP 999 - Ph.D. Research in Pathobiology) for the dissertation, successful completion of a preliminary examination and approval of candidacy for the doctoral degree, completion of the research requirements and a written dissertation, and a satisfactory defense of the dissertation at the final oral examination.
Students with a MS Degree
Students already holding an applicable master’s degree upon admission can count 30 credits toward the 90 credits required for the doctorate. In addition, at least 60 semester hours of credits, including a minimum of 15 hours of formal course work (800-level or higher), and 30 hours of research credits for the dissertation (DMP 999 - Ph.D. Research in Pathobiology); successful completion of a preliminary examination and approval of candidacy for the doctoral degree; completion of the research requirements and a written dissertation; and a satisfactory defense of the dissertation at the final oral examination.
Students with a DVM Degree or in a Dual DVM/PhD Degree Program
At least 90 semester hours of credits, including a minimum of 15 hours of formal course work (800-level or higher), and 30 hours of research credits for the dissertation (DMP 999 - PhD Research in Pathobiology), successful completion of a preliminary examination and approval of candidacy for the doctoral degree, completion of the research requirements and a written dissertation, and a satisfactory defense of the dissertation at the final oral examination. Students who hold a professional doctorate degree (DVM, MD, etc.) degree or enrolled in a dual DVM/PhD program may transfer a maximum of 30 graduate credit hours from a professional doctorate degree toward the PhD program of study. For students who do not have a bachelor’s degree or not yet earned a bachelor’s degree and are enrolled in the dual degree (DVM/PhD) program, the doctoral degree shall be awarded concurrently with the DVM or after the completion of the DVM degree.
Total Hours Required for Doctorate: 90
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