The programs offered by the department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry are planned for students interested in the molecular and chemical basis of biological processes and are well suited to students hoping to attend medical school or pursue graduate studies in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics (prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and viruses), or biophysics (including structural studies, energetics, molecular design, computational chemistry, and genomics).

Degree programs in MB&B challenge the traditional disciplinary boundaries among the experimental sciences. MB&B majors first acquire a broad foundation in chemistry, mathematics, physics, and biology, and then, in the sophomore or junior year, focus intensively on biochemistry and biophysics. Students are eligible to choose among a wide range of opportunities: independent research projects, courses at the Graduate School or the Medical School, part-time or summer jobs in a professor's lab, and advanced elective classes in Yale College.

Designed for students with a strong commitment to research, the B.S. degree program provides an intensive introduction to laboratory techniques in biochemistry and biophysics; students in this program usually carry out research projects in faculty laboratories during their junior and senior years. The B.A. degree requires 3 and 1/2 fewer courses than the B.S. and provides the intellectual discipline of biochemistry and biophysics for students who also wish to have sufficient time to pursue in-depth studies outside the major or who are interested in molecular biology as a liberal education. They too may engage in research during their junior and senior years. The four-year B.S./M.S. degree is increasingly popular among undergraduates planning to pursue a Ph.D. in graduate school or as part of an M.D./Ph.D. program in medical school. The diversity and rigor of these MB&B degree programs are sure to challenge the most ambitious student.

Of the seniors majoring in MB&B each year, about two-thirds go to medical school. Of the remaining third, some enter graduate school while others seek employment in university labs or in the growing biotechnology industry.