Toxicology, PhD

About the Program

Toxicologists investigate the effects that chemical, physical or biological agents have on individuals, animals and the environment to determine if they are harmful. Toxicology is multidisciplinary, applying knowledge and techniques from biochemistry, chemistry, physiology, molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, and other disciplines.

Graduate students in toxicology typically come from a variety of chemical and life sciences backgrounds. The graduate program is designed to prepare students for positions in academia, government and military, consulting, and industry (for-profit and nonprofit). Many of these roles include basic, applied, and clinical research, spanning topics on mechanisms of toxicity, applications to safety evaluation of both new and existing chemicals, risk analysis to characterize and predict chemicals’ potential to produce acute and chronic illness in human populations, and more. Students will be able to select courses in accordance with their research needs and career goals.

Program Website

Program Requirements

90 Credits Required

(30 credits from a Master’s may be applied.)

Concentrations

Interdisciplinary concentrations:

• Computational Life Sciences Concentration (GR)  
• Purdue University Interdisciplinary Life Science (PULSe), MS or PHD 
  • Biotechnology
  • Integrative Neuroscience
  • Molecular Signaling and Cancer Biology

Additional Information

A full-time student has a minimum of 8 credit hours each semester (6 in the summer); doctoral students are strongly encouraged to take research credits in addition to any coursework to ensure enrollment in at least 12 credit hours per semester. In addition to the core course listed in the student’s plan of study, the student’s course load can be supplemented by electives and/or additional research credits.

GPA Requirements

Graduate courses taken while registered as a graduate student at Purdue University may be considered for fulfilling the plan of study requirements only if the student has received grades of C or better. For courses at the 300/400-level taken as a graduate student or courses that represent either undergraduate or graduate excess credit or transfer credit, grades of B or better are required for fulfilling plan of study requirements.

A total of 90 credit hours is required for the PhD degree. These residency hours may be any combination of course credit hours or research credit hours. Up to 30 hours may be credited for an MS degree upon recommendation of the PhD graduate student’s advisory committee and this may include all required coursework and the clinical internship if the equivalent has recently been taken. No more than 6 credit hours of coursework at the 300/400-level is allowed to form part of the student’s PhD degree plan of study.

Graduate Programs Disclaimer

• The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Students should consult with their advisor/department for more information.
• Not all graduate programs may be actively recruiting students and course modality availability may vary. 
• Please refer to the Explore Graduate Programs website for a list of currently available graduate programs.
• Transfer credit policy: Credits earned for graduate study at other universities (both domestic and international) may be applied toward an advanced degree. Only credit hours associated with graduate courses for which grades of B- or better were obtained will be eligible for transfer. Any additional conditions under which credit transfers may be made are determined by the various departments.
• Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.