Overview

As of Summer 2023, the Endocrinology Graduate Group has put a hold on our admissions for at least the next two years. We will not be accepting any applications in the near future.

The Endocrinology Graduate Group is a small graduate program that is not currently associated with a department on the UC Berkeley campus and is cross disciplinary in nature. The faculty involved in the group are mainly from the Nutritional Sciences Department, but we also have representatives from other biosciences departments at Berkeley (see our faculty list here). Students are directly admitted into a particular faculty lab, and graduate students focus on guided laboratory research projects to obtain their PhD. Outside of the laboratory research., students may engage in the interdisciplinary aspects of the field of endocrinology through seminars and courses in the various bioscience departments across campus (see our course requirements). Our program also has a mandatory Endocrinology Seminar where each of our graduate students present on their research progress every Spring semester. There is ample opportunity for engaging with teaching as well -- many of our graduate students serve as graduate student instructors (GSIs) for the majority, or all of the semesters they are in the program. Recent graduates from our endocrinology program predominantly enter into industry settings after obtaining their PhD, but our program has been on the Berkeley campus for many decades, and over the years, some of our alumni have transitioned into careers in a variety of fields including education, medicine, research in both academic and industry settings, and private business.

Students who plan to obtain higher degrees in Endocrinology at Berkeley will be mainly guided by their faculty mentor, who will supervise their research projects and guide them in their course selection and other aspects of program requirements. Their faculty mentor may provide funding for the lab research projects, and employment as a graduate student researcher (GSR), but funding may also come from the student's teaching positions they obtain on campus. There are also program faculty advisors and a program faculty chair that can be a resource for students who have questions are are having difficulty navigating a particular challenge while in the program. Because the program is small and Endocrinology graduate students are not all located in the same building on campus, we recommend that students endeavor to engage in the departmental activities of their faculty mentor's home department to broaden their community and opportunities on campus.

To advance to candidacy for the Ph.D., students must complete all requirements, including passage of an oral qualifying examination. All details of our program requirements can be viewed on our website. Students may also view our program by-laws and policies on our website.