Approximately 100 faculty members in the Graduate Group in Comparative Pathology (GGCP) represent most of the departments that make up the Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. With such a broad range of interests represented, students have the opportunity to receive a uniquely diverse education in terms of course materials and a great variety of research areas that are supported by major instrumentation.
Graduate groups facilitate interdepartmental and interdisciplinary programs. Among the more than 80 graduate programs administered by the Office of Graduate Studies at UC Davis, more than half operated as such groups.
Successful completion of the GGCP program leads to either a master of science (MS) or doctor of philosophy (PhD). Students applying to this program have varied backgrounds. Some hold professional degrees (i.e., DVM, MD or DDS) while other individuals apply after completion of their undergraduate degree. Students without a professional degree are admitted if they have exceptionally strong interests and backgrounds in basic biomedical sciences.
Although the graduate program may follow and overlap slightly with residency training, individuals with professional degrees should note that graduate education in comparative pathology is separate from any residency training program that is offered by the university.
GGCP is designed for students interested in studying mechanisms responsible for the development of disease at the organismal, cellular or subcellular level. Students interested in cell biology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, physiology, immunology, or genetics should apply to the graduate programs in those subjects. Such students may, however, find that some courses taught by the faculty in comparative pathology to be of great interest.
