Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs

The Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB) program provides cross-disciplinary research education and training, leading to a doctoral degree that prepares graduates for careers in academia, government, and industry. The program’s purpose is to provide students with a high-quality education that incorporates both breadth and depth in interdisciplinary training, as well as access to contemporary technology and facilities.

The interdisciplinary Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Ph.D. program prepares students to be college faculty. Graduates of the program will have a strong foundation of skills and knowledge to conduct research on teaching and learning at the collegiate level and will be ready to teach both undergraduate and graduate levels in their selected STEM discipline.

The graduate program in Environmental and Conservation Sciences (ECS) can culminate in a master’s or doctoral degree. Our integrative curriculum and our multidisciplinary team approach emphasize the common ground shared by all sciences, and seek to bridge methodological and philosophical boundaries that might hinder interdisciplinary communication and cooperation.

The Genomics, Phenomics, and Bioinformatics (GPB) program at NDSU is an interdisciplinary graduate program offering Ph.D. and M.S. degrees. It focuses on functional genomics, phenomics, and bioinformatics.

This program equips students with the skills and knowledge to conduct research using a systems-wide approach to study life's organization, gene expression, and regulation. Students will engage in advanced study and research in functional genomics, high-throughput phenotyping, and computational analysis of genomic and phenomic data, mastering multi-omics approaches. The curriculum, which includes modern techniques, instrumentation, and computational and statistical methods, prepares graduates for careers in both industry and academia.

GPB faculty research spans diverse areas such as plant and human growth and development, reproduction, defense against stresses, and computational and statistical methodologies.

The Materials and Nanotechnology (MNT) program spans several colleges and centers at NDSU. Both PhD and MS degrees are offered.

Areas of focus include:

• Nanoparticle/polymer synthesis
• Optical and electronic sensing
• Flexible electronics
• Nanocomposites and coatings
• Sustainable materials
• Biomedical engineering
• Targeted drug delivery

Roughly 30 faculty members from a range of departments across campus contribute to the MNT program as advisors, mentors, and professors.