Microbiology Courses at Rutgers

Required Core Courses

1. 16:682:501 (F) Microbial Life (3)
   

   Molecular aspects of the origin of life, microbial evolution, properties and synthesis of the major biological polymers, transport phenomena, metabolic pathways and regulation, cellular control mechanisms, virology, pathogenic microbiology, and food and industrial microbiology. Haggblom, Kerkhof

2. 16:682:502 (F) Microbial Biochemistry (3)
   

   Biochemical activities of microorganisms, emphasizing the similarities and differences between bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes; consideration of the genetic regulation and practical importance of these biochemical capabilities. Topics include methanogenesis, toxins, biodegradation, microbial transformations, and secondary metabolites. Chase, Dismukes, Kahn

3. 16:682:503 (S) Microbial Physiology (3)
   

   Metabolic diversity and regulation in bacteria, archaea and eukarya. Microbial responses to environment with particular emphasis on nutrition and biochemistry. Enzymology and metabolic pathways of microorganisms. Prerequisites: 16:682:502 or equivalent. Boyd

4. 16:682:504 (S) Microbial Genetics and Molecular Biology (3)
   

   Genetics of bacteria and phage, focusing on replication, repair, transcription, translation, gene regulation, genetic networks, microbial and phage interactions, and different types of phage and their lifestyles. Prerequisite: 16:682:501 or permission of instructor. Zylstra

5. 16:682:521 (F) Seminar in Microbial Biology (1)
   

   Introduction to the breadth of microbiology research at Rutgers. Note: This course should be taken once only. Only one credit of this course will count toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degree in Microbial Biology. Zylstra and others

6. 16:682:522 (S) Seminar in Microbial Biology (1)
   

   Informal discussion of student research projects and of current microbiology literature. Note: This course should be taken the first year by M.S. students and every year for the first four years by Ph.D. students. The course can be taken by students outside the program with permission of the instructor. Zylstra

7. 16:682:523 (F,S) Microbial Biology Seminars (1)
   

   Exposure to current microbial biology research performed by investigators outside of Rutgers by attending microbiology seminars offered by different departments. Note: This course should be taken three times by Ph.D. students in their second, third, or fourth years. M.S. students may take this course as an elective but only one credit will count toward the M.S. degree. The course can be taken by students outside the program with permission of the instructor. Haggblom

8. 16:682:530 (F) Scientific Conduct and Ethics (1)
   

   Current issues in microbiology from the perspective of scientific and ethical conduct and integrity. Open to students in the program or by permission of the instructor. Keddis

Lab Rotation Courses (Ph.D. Students Only)

1. 16:682:611, 612, 613, 614 (F/S) Laboratory Rotation in Microbial Biology (1 cr each)
   

   Eight week research projects of interest to the student in faculty laboratories. Open only to Ph.D. students in the Microbial Biology Graduate Program. 16:682:611 (F), 612 (F/S), and 613 (S) are required of all first year Ph.D. students. 16:682:614 (S) is optional.

Research Courses (M.S. Students Only)

1. 16:682:641, 642 (F/S) Advanced Special Problems in Microbial Biology (1 to 3 cr)
   

   Library research for nonthesis M.S. students. Only 3 credits will be counted toward the M.S. degree. Zylstra

2. 16:682:691, 692 (F/S) Nonthesis Study Microbial Biology (1 to 3 cr)
   

   Laboratory research for nonthesis M.S. students. Up to 6 credits will be counted toward the M.S. degree. Zylstra

Research Courses (M.S. and Ph.D. Students)

1. 16:682:701, 702 (F/S/Su) Research in Microbial Biology (1 to 9 cr)
   

   M.S. or Ph.D. thesis laboratory research.

Elective Courses

1. 16:682:524 (F) Applied and Industrial Microbiology (3)
   

   Principles of applied and industrial microbiology. The course provides a detailed overview on the utilization and application of microbes in different products and industrial processes. Prerequisite: 16:682:501 or permission of the instructor. Haggblom

2. 16:682:531 (F,S,Su) Basic Biochemistry (3)
   

   This course is a one semester survey of biochemistry, including (1) enzyme structure, function, and kinetics, (2) carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid, and nucleotide metabolic pathways, and (3) replication, transcription, translation, and gene regulation. Prerequisite: email Dr. Zylstra for a special permission number. Murphy, Zylstra

3. 16:682:532 (S) Structural Biophysics: Advanced Methods for 3-D Structure Determination of Biomolecules (3)
   

   Survey of advanced techniques for biomolecule structure determination including cryo-EM, NMR, and X-ray crystallography. In addition to lectures and assignments students will have the opportunity to visit the state-of the-art cryo-EM and NMR facilities and determine a high-resolution cryo-EM structure using a high-performance computing Linux cluster. Kulczyk

4. 16:682:534 (S) Fundamentals of Microbial Genomics (3)
   

   Overview of genomic technology with real-life examples in the life sciences with a particular focus on microbial biology and evolution. Bhattacharya

5. 16:682:572 (F) Microbial Ecology and Diversity (3)
   

   Qualitative and quantitative methods for the study of microbial communities. Ecological determinants. Characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Biogeochemical cycles and energy flow. Microbial interactions and community structure. Vetriani

6. 16:682:576 (S) Microbiome and Health (3)
   

   Overview of the role of microbiome in human health and disease, focusing on conceptual framework and technologies for understanding how microbiome, particularly gut microbiome, impact human physiology. Topics covered include the concept of human superorganism; microbiome evolution and ecology; microbiome and food, nutrition, pharmacology, and human society; experimental design; and general bioinformatic and statistical tools. Zhao, Bello

7. 16:682:550, 551, 552, 553 (F/S) Special Topics in Microbiology (1-3)
   

   Journal club-styled courses covering current and special topics in the field of microbiology offered by faculty members of the program. Offered on an occasional basis.

8. 16:682:651, 652 (F/S/Su) Practical Training in Microbial Biology (1-9)
   

   Practical training in microbial biology through off campus internships or employment in a microbiology related position.

Any graduate level Life Science course may be taken as an elective. Non-Life Science graduate courses taken as an elective require written permission of the Program Director. Certain upper level undergraduate courses may serve as elective courses with written permission of the Program Director and MUST be registered with a G prefix. Examples of possible elective courses include:

9. Environmental Sciences

   16:375:510 Environmental Microbiology (3)
   16:375:529 Biodegradation and Bioremediation (3)
   16:375:531 Biological Waste Treatment (3)
   16:375:563 Geomicrobiology (3)
   

10. Earth & Environmental Science (Rutgers-Newark)

    26:375:550 Symbiosis and Host-Associated Microbiomes
    (online hybrid course for RU-NB students, new course draft syllabus)
    

11. Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

    16:681:543 Current Concepts in Immunology (3)
    16:681:555 Molecular Virology (3)
    16:681:603 Adv Topics MMG – Seminars in Microbiology (1)
    16:681:606 Teaching of Microbiology (2)
    16:681:607 Teaching Techniques (2)
    

12. Plant Biology (Graduate)

    16:765:515 Fungi and Human Health (3)
    16:765:531 Principles of Plant Pathology (3)
    16:765:533 Advanced Mycology (3)
    16:765:537 Plant Pathogenic Bacteria (3)
    16:765:538 Plant Pathogenesis (3)
    16:765:585 Bioinformatics (3)
    

13. Plant Biology (Undergraduate - requires Program Director approval)

    11:776:485 Functional Genomics for Research (3)
    11:126:407 Comparative Virology (3) (under Biotechnology courses, taught every 2nd year))
    

14. Food Science

    16:400:511 Food Enzymology (3)
    16:400:535 Beneficial Microbes in Food and Health (4)
    16:400:605 Microbial Food Safety (3)
    

15. Ecology & Evolution

    16:215:550 Advanced Evolution (1)
    16:215:554 Molecular Ecology (3)
    16:215:575 Quantitative Ecology and Evolution (3)
    16:215:587 Urban Ecology (3)
    16:215:600:02 Special Topics: Mathematical and Computational Methods in Theoretical Biology
    

16. Entomology (Graduate)

    16:370:501 Case Studies in Vector Borne Diseases
    16:370:503 Medical and Veterinary Entomology
    16:370:504 Mosquito Biology
    

17. Entomology (Undergraduate - requires Program Director approval)

    11:370:355 Applied Acarology
    

18. Marine Science

    16:712:525 Molecular Microbial Oceanograpy (3)
    16:712:560 History of the Earth System (3)
    16:712:561 Professional Science Writing and Presentation (3)
    

19. Civil & Environmental Engineering

    16:180:565 Biogeochemical Engineering (3)
    16:180:591 Sustainable Environmental Biotechnology (3)
    16:180:593 Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment & One Health Engineering (3)
    

20. Statistics (Graduate)

    16:960:501 Statistical Theory for Research Workers I (3)
    

21. Statistics (Undergraduate - requires Program Director approval)

    01:960:401 Basic Statistics for Research (3)
    01:960:484 Basic Applied Statistics (3)
    

22. Other Statistics Courses

    16:125:578 Interdisciplinary Biostatistics Research Training (3)
    16:115:557 Statistics in Biomedical Sciences (3)
    

23. Business & Science

    16:137:552 Python Methodologies (3)
    16:137:563 Basics of AI for Science Professionals (3)
    

24. Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics

    Interdisciplinary Boot Camp in Quantitative Biology (January and Summer Courses)
    

Special Zero Credit Free Courses on College Teaching and Writing

1. TA Project

   16:186:855 Introduction to College Teaching
   16:186:856 Designing Your Own Course
   16:186:857 Introduction to Online and Hybrid Teaching
   

2. Graduate Writing Program

   16:355:500 Prose Style
   16:355:502 Graduate Writing
   16:355:504 Writing Grants and Proposals
   16:355:506 Writing for Publication
   16:355:508 Writing the Dissertation
   

3. Intensive English @RELI Program courses

   Various courses on improving English anguage skills for foreign students.
   (Credits do not count toward the degree.)