Admissions Criteria

A graduate student in good standing in an affiliated UC Davis graduate program is admitted to the DEBVBD by completing an Application for Designated Emphasis form (GS323) available on this page or online through Graduate Studies. The form can also be requested from the Chair of the DEBVBD, Dr. Geoffrey Attardo at gmattardo@ucdavis.edu.

The affiliated graduate programs are: 

• Ecology
• Entomology
• Epidemiology
• Immunology
• Integrative Pathobiology
• Microbiology
• ​​​​Plant Pathology

DEBVBD Requirements:

• Coursework to be completed prior to the Qualifying Exam (QE)
• A single required course, ENT/PMI 214 (Changing Patterns of Vector-borne Infections) or an approved equivalent course.
• Examples of acceptable equivalent courses include MMI 215 (Medical Parasitology), VME 158/258 (Infectious Disease in Ecology and Conservation), or ENT 153 (Medical Entomology). Other course substitutions for this required course will be considered by the DEBVBD Chair.
• Two elective courses or seminars, which can be fulfilled by completing the requirements of their PhD degree programs or as approved by the DEBVBD Chair.

For the DEBVBD, the QE committee must include one member, approved by the DEBVBD Chair, to examine the student in general knowledge of the biology of vector-borne diseases and for in depth comprehension of the specialty area of the affiliated graduate program.

The dissertation topic will focus on research relevant to vector-borne diseases and the dissertation committee will include at least one DEBVBD faculty member.

DEBVBD students will participate in an annual DE research symposium with an oral or poster presentation of his/her research results.

Completion of the DEBVBD will be designation as Ph.D. in X with Emphasis in the Biology of Vector-borne Diseases, where X is the affiliated graduate program. 

Admissions Form