Abstract:

Background:
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology offers MS graduate programs in Infectious Disease, Molecular Medicine, and Immunology. Each program is taught both traditionally and online, with an identical curriculum regardless of teaching modality. The programs are designed for those currently employed or considering a career in the field of biomedical research in an academic, clinical, government or industrial setting. Online Course Description: As most enrolled students are employed within the biomedical industry projects; they may get involved in the performance of a unique research project under the guidance of the supervisor of the laboratory in which they are employed. In other cases, students identify research opportunities by volunteering in laboratories within academic or industrial institutions near their homes.

Project Formats:
Regardless of course modality, there are four types of experiential learning projects. The first is an experimental research project, involving bench research conducted during a 16-week semester. Under certain circumstances, students are not able to undertake laboratory research. If so, a second project type involves the acquisition of data from a participating laboratory, with the student performing data analysis and interpretation of the provided information. A third project type involves the preparation of a review of the current research literature in an area that is of interest to the student and to the broader scientific community. A fourth project is for those students with online teaching/Course development interests, offering an opportunity to design a mock graduate level relevant course of their choice. All projects require the preparation of a manuscript for publication and an oral presentation describing the project, the results obtained, the analysis and interpretation of the data, and the design of future studies. Each project is assessed by a three-member panel of faculty members who assess the quality of the research report and oral defense before assigning a final grade.

Discussion:
In this presentation, the challenges faced in establishing these courses, including finding appropriate laboratories for the conduct of the research, intellectual property issues arising from the reporting of research findings from the sponsoring laboratories, and the time constraints of completing a project within an academic semester will be discussed. The parameters of the success of the courses, including the number of projects completed as well as student success in terms of publications and promotions arising from the research will also be discussed. These methods have resulted in numerous successful students who met their respective career goals.

Keywords:

Experiential Learning, Research Internship, Graduate Education.