Coursework specific to the TPMB program will consist of a comprehensive, three quarter course sequence (4 units per quarter) for second year students, Perspectives in Marine Biotechnology, a required course on Scientific Ethics, and various courses designed by for each students specific needs. The Core Course, Perspectives in Marine Biotechnology, will be team-taught by program faculty from different disciplines, and it will be designed to introduce all students to uniform subject material. This core course will integrate disciplines and educate students in the core areas of marine biotechnology. The first quarter will be an overview of marine science. The second quarter, Tools of Biotechnology, will ensure that all students are familiar with the state of the art technologies and approaches available to biotechnologists. The third quarter will introduce the focus areas of the training faculty and conclude with a examination of practical issues. Most faculty will participate in the third quarter, fostering links among the subject areas and introducing students to research opportunities. For the first two quarters, students will be evaluated by two midterm and one final examination. For the third quarter, students will be evaluated by an oral presentation accompanied by a white paper. Students will choose a topic within one of the six subject areas and analyze and present the technological opportunities, current research and possible obstacles to success. The content of this core course will be reviewed annually, both internally and by our External Advisory Committee, and modified as biotechnology science evolves.

Other Instruction
The first year is generally devoted to courses required by the students home department, TPMB research rotations, and selection of a thesis advisor. TPMB students will do three rotations, in a minimum of two subject areas. A three-person faculty committee, assigned to each new student and including representation from a minimum of two subject areas, will oversee this phase. At the end of the first year (occasionally in the second year, depending on home department) the student must have chosen his/her faculty advisor. Subsequent to this, the student passes a departmental examination designed to determine the retention of basic knowledge. In the second year, students in the program will complete the core year-long TPMB course Perspectives in Marine Biotechnology (12 total units), described above. The second year is also the optimum time for the industrial internship. By the third year, a thesis project is well under way, and a doctoral committee has been formed and approved by the UCSD Office of Graduate Studies and Research. Students next advance to candidacy by passing the qualifying examination. Ordinarily, at least three of the five committee members will be participants in the TPMB, representing a minimum of two subject areas. Thesis research is completed and presented in a dissertation, prepared and defended in the fifth or sixth year.