ITEM 110-1006-R0301������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ����������������������� March 22-23, 2001
FULL PROPOSAL AND BUDGET
New graduate degree (M.S. and Ph.D.)
option in Microbial Ecology
�����������������������
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
1.������ Brief description of proposed new
program.�
���������
We are
proposing a new option for the Ph.D. and M.S. degree in
Biochemistry/Microbiology. The Biochemistry/Microbiology Program currently
offers M.S. degrees in Biochemistry and in Microbiology. The doctoral degree is
in Biochemistry/Microbiology with options in Biochemistry, Microbiology, and
Molecular Biology available. This proposed change would offer a Microbial
Ecology option for the existing M.S. in Microbiology and a Microbial Ecology
option for the existing Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Microbiology. These are not
new degrees, but rather new options for existing degrees in the
Biochemistry/Microbiology Program.� The
new options will serve students interested in ecological, applied, and
environmental aspects of microbiology. The current program structure does not accommodate
students with these educational goals very well. This is not a cooperative
effort with another institution, business, or industry. It is, like all other
existing options in these degrees, an on-campus program.� This program combines faculty and existing
or restructured curricula from the existing ecology and microbiology
programs.� No additional courses or
faculty are proposed or needed.
2.������ Summary of a needs assessment conducted
to justify the proposal.�
Microbiology
programs throughout the United States traditionally emphasize themes of medical
microbiology and general microbiology (centered on structure and
function).� These areas are sometimes
complemented with applied aspects such as Food Microbiology or Environmental
Microbiology.� An evident emerging
microbiology theme across the U.S. and other countries (e.g. Sweden and
Denmark) is the field of Microbial Ecology.�
As the eminent scientist and �Father� of conservation biology, E. O.
Wilson, said three years ago when he delivered a Presidential Address at the
University of Montana �If I had to do it all over again I would be a Microbial
Ecologist�.� The world of microbes is
essentially undiscovered (only 5,000 of the predicted 100,000 species are
currently known).� The microbial ecology
field is emerging and gaining importance and prominence, we propose to carve a
niche at the forefront.� In doing so, we
expand the repertoire of the Biochemistry/Microbiology Program and complement
an already strong and internationally recognized Ecology Program housed in the
Division of Biological Sciences and the School of Forestry.
Evidence of need in
Microbial Ecology can be found in the form of the increasing number of jobs
advertised in the Microbial Ecology area, increased funding at the national
level, and an increase in student inquiries and interests.� In the last year, 20-40% of the Microbiology
related jobs advertised in the American Society for Microbiology Trade Journal
were in the field of Microbial Ecology.�
Of the last 7 hires in the Microbiology/Biochemistry program (UM), three
were in the field of Microbial Ecology. In addition, for the last two years,
almost half of the incoming graduate students in the Microbiology/Biochemistry
Program have opted for research programs in or related to Microbial Ecology.� The new options would provide coherent,
supporting and relevant coursework to complement their research.� This will make University of Montana
students more competitive for numerous Microbial Ecology-related positions.
Although
several institutions offer courses or minors in microbial ecology, only one
major university in the U.S. (Univ. Pennsylvania) offers a degree option in
microbial ecology.� The option at UP is
in �Ecology with a Microbiology side�.�
The program option proposed here is in �Microbiology with an Ecology
side�.
For the
above reasons we believe that this program will attract new students.� These students will graduate with timely
skills necessary to address key regional and national environmental issues in
coming years.� In an effort to notify
potential students of the program, we will:�
a) Develop a web page specific to the program, b) Author and distribute
a brochure to 2 and 4 year schools in the region and elsewhere describing the
strengths of program, and c) Promote the program at key regional and national
meetings and events related to the discipline of microbiology.
3.������ Explain how the program relates to the
Role and Scope of the institution as established by the Board of Regents.
The
proposed graduate degree option is fully consistent with and strongly supports
institutional mission and purpose at the levels of the university system, The
University of Montana, and The University of Montana-Missoula.� The proposed program offers a more refined
and focused option for graduate study in microbial ecology (compared to current
degree options), with emphasis on application and relationship of microbiology
to ecology and the environment.� As
such, the program enhances university values and goals of providing strong,
modern graduate (including doctoral) programs and opportunities.�� The proposed program will support
UM-Missoula aspirations of national and international recognition as a
research-oriented, doctoral-granting institution. Coupling this new graduate
specialty with a parallel undergraduate degree option is aligned with
university aspirations of sustaining a healthy balance between
research/graduate education and undergraduate education. The program will
contribute to growing research focus and emphasis in microbial ecology,
including molecular-level approaches and problems, that relates closely to
issues and problems of significance to Montana and the nation.� Thus, the program supports university goals
of addressing and reflecting state and regional issues and problems.� The program will enhance and diversity
opportunities for graduate student research, enhancing university values for
close professional interactions among students and faculty, and providing
students with key skills, perspectives, and abilities to address complex
problems in this expanding discipline.
4.������ Please state what effect, if any, the
proposed program will have on the administrative structure of the
institution.� Also indicate the
potential involvement of other departments, divisions, colleges, or schools.
This
program, along with other degree options within the Biochemistry/Microbiology
graduate program, will be administered within the Division of Biological
Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.�
This program will not alter the administrative structure of the
institution at any level.�
5.������ Describe the extent to which similar
programs are offered in Montana, the Pacific Northwest, and states bordering
Montana.� How similar are these programs
to the one herein proposed?
To our knowledge, there are
no established graduate programs offering degrees with an option in the area of
microbial ecology in Montana, the Pacific Northwest, or states bordering
Montana.� Indeed, the only such
established program in this area that we have identified is in
Pennsylvania.� This is in spite of the
fact that there is increasing interest in this area from businesses, government
agencies and universities and the number of microbial ecology positions
available in all of these sectors continues to rise.
As mentioned above, the
microbial ecology option at the University of Pennsylvania is in �Ecology with
a microbiology side�.� The program that
we propose for The University of Montana is in �Microbiology with an Ecology
side�.� Thus, we will be uniquely
situated as one of the few providers of an formally acknowledged advanced
degree option in the area of microbial ecology.
6.������ Please name any accrediting agency(ies)
or learned society(ies) that would be concerned with the particular program
herein proposed.� How has this program
been developed in accordance with the criteria developed by said accrediting
body(ies) or learned society(ies)?
There is
no official national accreditation for Microbiology Degree Programs.� The American Society for Microbiology,
however, sets National Standards for degrees in Microbiology.� These standards were used in the development
of the curriculum proposed below.
7.������ Outline of the proposed curriculum
showing course titles and credits.�
Applicants for a graduate degree with an option in microbial
ecology must have completed as an undergraduate or complete as a graduate
student the following courses:
General Microbiology
General Ecology
Introductory Statistics (or
Experimental Design)
Four credits of professional seminar shall be required as
will one credit in introduction to research, one credit in training seminar and
two credits in grant writing. Additional professional seminar credits will not
count toward degree requirements. In addition, all students are required to
participate in the seminar �Microbial Ecology� (1 credit, offered every
semester) for at least two semesters (no more than 4 credits may be counted
toward degree requirements), and to take the core class �Advanced Microbial
Ecology� (2 credits) in their first semester, or as early as possible.
All students are required to take at least two of the
following microbiology graduate courses:
MICB/ BIOL 595 Soil/ Fungal Ecology, MICB 595 Molecular
Microbial Ecology, MICB 595 Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Physiology (all 3
credits). Students must take at least one class from the blocks �Microbial
Processes/ Biogeochemistry�, �Environmental/ Quantitative Microbial Ecology�,
and �Microbial Diversity and Interactions�, detailed as follows.
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Microbial Processes/Biogeochemistry |
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MICB |
595 |
AQUATIC MIC. ECOL./
PHYSIOLOGY (3) |
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CHEM |
541 |
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
(3) |
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FOR |
511 |
SOIL CHEMISTRY/
BIOCHEMISTRY (3) |
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GEOL |
515 |
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY (3) |
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GEOL |
531 |
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
(3) |
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GEOL |
571 |
ADVANCED GEOCHEMISTRY (3) |
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Environmental/Quantitative Microbial Ecology |
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MICB |
595 |
SOIL/ FUNGAL ECOLOGY (3) |
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BIOL |
512 |
POPULATION ECOLOGY (3) |
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BIOL |
513 |
COMMUNITY ECOLOGY (3) |
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BIOL |
517 |
PLANT ECOLOGY (3) |
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EVST |
560 |
ENVIRONM. IMPACT ANALYSIS
(3) |
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FOR |
532 |
FOREST ECOSYST. ANALYSIS
(3) |
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WBIO |
580 |
POPULATION DYNAMICS (3) |
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WBIO |
540 |
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN (3) |
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Microbial Diversity and Interactions |
||
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MICB |
595 |
MOLECULAR MICROBIAL
ECOLOGY (3) |
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MICB |
520 |
MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY (3) |
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MICB |
540 |
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS (3) |
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MICB |
510 |
MICROBIAL STR. AND FUNCT.
(3) |
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MICB |
509 |
VIRUS ECOLOGY AND
EVOLUTION (3) |
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BIOC |
584 |
NUCLEIC ACIDS (3) |
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BIOC |
595 |
ADVANCED MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(3) |
For the M.S. degree in addition to the
courses listed above other undergraduate courses listed in the catalog as
"UG" may be taken for graduate credit. Of the twenty credits of
course work which are required for the degree no more than 10 credits may come
from 300 (only 6 can be at the 300 level) and 400 level courses. Ten credits,
or a minimum of 50% of the course work required, must be at the 500 level and
above.
For the Ph.D. degree the requirements are described in The
University of Montana Graduate catalog. These include a total of 60 semester
credits, of which a minimum of 40 must be course work (as opposed to research
and dissertation) credits. The course work program for the Ph.D. degree will be
prepared by the student and permanent advisor in consultation with the
student's advisory committee and must be approved by the advisory committee.
The 60-credit requirement is only a minimum and may be exceeded when the
advisory committee considers it appropriate in developing the programs of
individual students.
Ph.D.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
Comprehensive Exam for Microbial Ecology Option:
The examination committee will consist of at least 5 faculty
members. For the written exam, each member of the committee will submit
questions designed to probe both depth and breadth of knowledge in microbial
ecology and cognate areas. The written exam will take place over a two-day
period. Each day the student will be given 7 questions and asked to choose 5 to
answer. (Before giving the student the written exam, the Examination Committee
Chair will consult with the other members of the exam committee to insure the
exam is relevant and fair to the student.) A total score of 80% will be needed
to pass the exam. If the student fails, they can take the exam one more time.
After passing the written exam, an oral exam, that will last no longer then 3
hours, will be conducted to orally examine the student's depth and breadth of
knowledge in microbial ecology (including basic concepts in microbiology,
ecology, and statistics). The student can pass with no more then 2 no-pass
votes. If the student fails the exam, they can take it one more time.
FACULTY
AND STAFF REQUIREMENTS
1.������ Name and rank of current faculty who will
be mainly involved with the core program:
��������� Dr. James E. Gannon, Professor
��������� Dr. William E. Holben,
Associate Professor
��������� Dr. Matthias C. Rillig,
Assistant Professor
2.������ Please project the need for new faculty
over the first five-year program.� Include
special qualifications or training.� If
present faculty are to conduct the new program, please explain how they will be
relieved from present duties.
No new
faculty will be needed in support of this new microbial ecology option.� This is possible because a significant
portion of the required curriculum combines existing courses in various
programs into a different configuration that produces the appropriate knowledge
base for success in the area of microbial ecology.� Where courses are being restructured to meet the needs of the
option, the above-named faculty will be responsible for those courses.� This is being accomplished as follows: Rillig�s
position was created and filled in support of microbial ecology education and
research. As such, his assigned duties are totally in line with the microbial
ecology option.� Gannon retains
responsibility for the microbial physiology course which is a key component the
general microbiology degree and the new option.� His other assignments, environmental microbiology and food and
industrial microbiology are being cancelled and the information restructured
and combined into the new full-year microbial ecology course series which will
serve both the general microbiology requirements and the microbial ecology
option.� Holben retains
responsibility for his lower division undergraduate course, elementary
microbiology.� His graduate teaching
assignment, molecular microbial ecology, is a required course in the new
curriculum and he has been reassigned from teaching molecular genetics in to
new assignments within the microbial ecology option.�
3.������ Need and cost for support personnel or
other required personnel expenditures:
None
required for the proposed option.
CAPITAL
OUTLAY, OPERATING EXPENDITURES, AND PHYSICAL FACILITIES
1.������ Please summarize operating expenditure
needs.
The
proposed program will rely on existing courses, and new courses that are either
1) modifications of existing courses, 2) replacing others being eliminated (and
taught by current faculty), or 3) being developed as part of the regular
teaching assignment of a new faculty member hired to support the growth and
development of this disciplinary focus within our programs.� In addition, the program will build on formalizing
student and faculty group meetings, discussions, and seminars that currently
are ongoing but not organized into formal courses.� We anticipate only modest increase in enrollment in particular
courses.
2.������ Evaluation of library resources.�
The
proposed program combines elements of two graduate programs (microbiology and
ecology) that have been in existence for many years.� As such, current library resources will be as adequate as they
are for the existing programs.
3.������ Special clinical, laboratory, and/or
computer equipment that will be needed.�
List those pieces of equipment or computer hardware presently available
in the department.
None
required for the proposed option.
4.������ Facilities and space required for the
proposed program.� Are current
facilities adequate for the program?� If
not, how does the institution propose to provide new facilities?
Current
facilities are adequate for the proposed option; no additional facilities or
space is required.
EVALUATION
OF PROPOSED PROGRAM
1.������ Faculty committees or councils that have
reviewed and approved the program herein proposed.
��������� The proposal has been reviewed by the
following committees:� Microbiology
Curriculum committee, DBS curriculum committee, DBS student advising staff,
ASCRC Science Subcommittee, ASCRC full committee, The University of Montana
Graduate Council science subcommittee, University of Montana Graduate Council
(full committee) and the University of Montana Faculty Senate (pending, Nov 29,
2000).
2.������ If outside consultants have been
employed, please list the names of these consultants, their current positions,
and titles.� Append copies of their
written reports (this is required of new doctoral programs).
��������� Not applicable to this proposal.
FISCAL
IMPACT AND BUDGET INFORMATION
On this
form, indicate the planned FTE enrollment, estimated expenditures, and
projected revenues for the first three years of the program.� Include both the reallocation of existing
resources and anticipated or requested new resources.� Second and third year estimates should be in constant dollars.
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FY 02 FIRST YEAR |
FY 03 SECOND YEAR |
FY 04 THIRD YEAR |
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FTE |
HEADCOUNT |
FTE |
HEADCOUNT |
FTE |
HEADCOUNT |
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I. PLANNED STUDENT ENROLLMENT |
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A. New Enrollment |
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0 |
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4 |
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7 |
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B. Shifting Enrollment |
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8* |
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7 |
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5 |
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*currently 8 of about 25 students
in the Biochem/Microbiology graduate program work and study in microbial
ecology |
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GRAND TOTAL PLANNED STUDENT
ENROLLMENT |
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8 |
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11 |
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12 |
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FIRST YEAR |
SECOND YEAR |
THIRD YEAR |
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FTE |
COST |
FTE |
COST |
FTE |
COST |
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II. EXPENDITURES |
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A. Personnel Cost |
program is built on existing counts
and faculty/staff resources |
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1.
Faculty |
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2.
Administrators |
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3.
Adjunct
Faculty |
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4.
Graduate/Instruc/Assistants |
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5.
Research
Personnel |
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6.
Support
Personnel |
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7.
Fringe
Benefits |
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8.
Other
(������������� ) |
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Total
Personnel FTE |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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B. Operating Expenditures |
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1.
Travel |
most operating expenses reflect research
costs, which will be borne primarily by external grant funding and
student-generated resources |
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2.
Professional
Services |
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3.
Other
Services |
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4.
Communications |
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5.
Utilities |
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6.
Materials
& Supplies |
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7.
Rentals |
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8.
Repairs
& Maintenance |
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9.
Materials
& Goods for Manufacturing 10.
&
Resale |
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11.
Miscellaneous |
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Total Operating Expenditures |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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C. Capital Outlay |
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1.
Library
Resources |
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2. Equipment |
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Total
Capital Outlay |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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D. Physical
Facilities |
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1.
Construction
or Major Renovation |
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E. Indirect Costs (Overhead) |
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GRAND TOTAL EXPENDITURES |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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II. REVENUES |
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A. Source of Funds |
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2.
Appropriated
Funds-Reallocation |
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3.
Appropriated
Funds-New |
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4.
Federal
Funds |
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5.
Other
Grants |
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6.
Fees |
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7.
Other
(����������� ) |
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Total
Source of Funds |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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B.
Nature of Funds |
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1.
Recurring |
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2.
Non-Recurring |
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GRAND
TOTAL REVENUES |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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