The Department of Toxicology offers the Ph.D. degree as well as two M.S. options (thesis or non-thesis). Students typically receive graduate assistantships upon admission, generally at the beginning of the Fall or Spring semesters. The Ph.D. and the thesis-option M.S. require the student to engage in basic or applied toxicology research resulting in the production of an original manuscript in the form of a dissertatioin or thesis, respectively. The research project is conducted in the laboratory of the student's major professor. The non-thesis option M.S. requires the student to engage in a limited research project resulting in the production of a paper. Department of Toxicology graduates have generally hand an outstanding history of obtaining high-profile postdoctoral positions, academic, industrial and/or government employment.

Prerequisites for Toxicology Graduate Students

Core Courses for Toxicology Graduate Students

Additional Requirements for Ph.D. Students

Other classes will be decided between the student, the major professor and the advisory committee. The student will select a major advisor (if not admitted specifically to a faculty member's program) and, no later than the second semester of enrollment, select an advisory committee. For the Ph.D. student, the committee will consist of a minimum of 4 members (including the major professor), at least 3 of which must be from the Department of Toxicology. For the M.S. student, the committee will consist of a minimum of 3 members (including the major professor), at least 2 of which is from the Department of Toxicology.

A comprehensive written examination will be administered after the student has completed approximately 80% of his/her coursework. For the majority of candidates, this turns out to be approximately two years after they have been in the toxicology graduate program. The examination is divided into two sections: Core and Advanced.

The Core examination is administered during the first day of the Comprehensive Examination to all graduate degree candidates (M.S. and Ph.D.) This is the only Comprehensive Examination required of the M.S. degree candidates. In general, the Core examination is intended to test competency in graduate educational enrichment offered through various formal courses. Factual and conceptual areas of competency are tested in this examination.

The Advanced examination is administered to the doctoral (Ph.D.) candidates during the second day of the two-day Comprehensive Examination. In this section, in addition to testing the candidate's competency in the conceptual areas of learning enrichment, the candidates are tested for their competency in synthetic, analytical, data interpretation and critical conceptualization skills as future researchers.

Graduate School Hour Requirements:

For more information about the Toxicology Graduate Programs, contact:

For application information and to learn more about the graduate program, please visit the ULM Office of Graduate Studies and Research website or contact: