Immunology and Infectious Diseases Concentration | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree Programs

Immunology and Infectious Diseases (IID): The Immunology and Infectious Diseases concentration is designed for those students who wish to pursue research-oriented positions in academia or the private sector following graduation. Graduates are well-trained professionals who possess the necessary background and experience for a career in an academic institution or as a research scientist in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry. In addition, graduates are competent to teach immunology and microbiology to undergraduate and/or graduate students, as well as train graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows. Students interested in pursuing positions in clinical/regulatory laboratories may take additional coursework in Medical Microbiology, and are eligible to take the national certification exam offered by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Successful completion of the certification exam allows graduates to work in clinical microbiology laboratories associated with hospitals and health care facilities, commercial and reference facilities, and federal and state organizations (e.g. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Disease Control, etc.) Learn more here. 

MD/PhD Program

If you are interested in a career in academic medicine as a physician scientist, this program may be ideal for you. It will prepare you to become a medical practitioner and faculty member at a university medical center where you will teach medical and graduate students, and, as a scientist, will be involved with biomedical research. After completion of the program, you will receive both the MD and PhD degrees.

Funding Your Education

Scholarships

All applications to the graduate program are submitted online.

Graduate school provides college graduates with the opportunity to pursue and fulfill both their scientific and creative interests in a field of biomedicine that has well-documented relevance to medicine and healthcare. With the transformation of medicine and the resulting emphasis on patient care, it has become apparent that most of all new scientific and drug discoveries will be made by biomedical research professionals. Thus, the future for a young person with a PhD degree in Immunology and Molecular Microbiology is indeed, very promising. An advanced degree from our graduate program will greatly enhance your career options and marketability.

  • As a graduate with a PhD degree from our department, you can expect to begin your career with a substantially higher starting salary when you enter the workforce and with a higher lifetime earning potential than college graduates holding a Bachelor’s degree alone.
  • For example, the most recent salary survey released by the Association of American Medical Colleges states that the average salaries for PhD level faculty at state university medical schools range from approximately $85,000-90,000/year for Assistant Professors to greater than $150,000/year for Professors.
  • It should be noted that these salaries may be significantly greater for biomedical scientists who are employed by pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies.

Applications must be submitted and all supplemental items received by the application deadline to be considered complete. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Due to the volume of applications, we are unable to extend application deadlines or make exceptions.

WARNING â€“ no changes can be made to the application after submission.

Additional information and general application instructions can be found here.

Required supplemental items are applied to an application AFTER application submission.

  • Log into your account and scroll down to see the supplemental items and status of those items.
  • All required supplemental items must be received before an application is considered complete.
  • Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Most new student scholarships do not require a separate application process, and generally students offered admission are automatically considered for such scholarships. For additional information please visit the Scholarships page. 

Most PhD students receive a research assistantship (RA), and applicants will be notified of RA award upon admission offer.

Assistantships for master's programs are limited, please check the specific program's pages.

International students can visit the GSBS Application Information page for additional information.

Students seeking the following information, within the Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, should contact the graduate advisor:

Got Questions?

We're here to help. Contact us if you have questions.

Student Affairs Advocate

Sophia Pena

806.743.2206

Sophia.Pena@ttuhsc.edu

Department Information

Julie Forrest-McDonald
806.743.1053
Julie.Forrest@ttuhsc.edu

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

General Information

806.743.2556

graduate.school@ttuhsc.edu