Dean's Message

On July 1, 2018, the Jefferson College of Biomedical Sciences of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) entered a new and exciting phase of our continuing growth and development as we became the Jefferson College of Life Sciences, incorporating together for the first time education and training programs that include both our Jefferson Center City and East Falls campuses.  This latest evolution of our College continues a story that began in 1949, 125 years after the founding of the Jefferson Medical College (JMC), when at that time the six basic science departments of the medical college formed the “Board for the Regulation of Graduate Studies”, and JMC formalized training toward MS and PhD degrees in the biomedical sciences.  Twenty years later, in 1969, Thomas Jefferson University was established, with the Jefferson College of Allied Health (later renamed the Jefferson College of Health Professions (JCHP)) and the Jefferson College of Graduate Studies (JCGS), joining together with JMC as the three founding colleges of the university. These colleges represented at that time, respectively, the undergraduate and graduate divisions of the university offering degrees other than the MD provided by JMC.

In 2005, the University amended its bylaws to permit both JCGS and JCHP to offer graduate degrees, providing a focus for JCGS on laboratory, research-based education and training, and for JCHP on practice-based education and training.  By 2017, Jefferson had further grown to comprise six colleges, respectively offering degree and certificate programs focused in the fields of medicine, health professions, nursing, pharmacy, population health and biomedical sciences.  By this time, JCGS had further evolved to become the Jefferson College of Biomedical Sciences, having added additional MS and PhD training areas, as well as our Postbaccalaureate Pre-Professional Program and oversight of Jefferson’s Postdoctoral training, to our portfolio of academic programs.  On July 1, 2017, Jefferson grew to add a second major campus when Philadelphia University and its colleges merged with Jefferson, and following a year of collaborative effort and planning that spanned both campuses, the newly organized Jefferson College of Life Sciences was established on July 1, 2018.

We are very excited at the expanded opportunities afforded to our students and faculty under our newly organized College, with the common mission across all of our programs to provide the highest quality undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral education and research training in the life sciences.  Our programs are “Training Tomorrow’s Scientific Leaders Today” by preparing our students and fellows to make significant contributions to the progress of life science, and engage in its application to improvement of the human condition, through a broad spectrum of careers including academia, industry, government, and in the research lab, classroom and clinic, and beyond.  Whether through our undergraduate division of the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences based on our East Falls campus, or our Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences based on our Center City campus, you will find certificate as well as BS, MS and PhD degree programs, complemented by opportunities for advanced study through graduate non-degree coursework and postdoctoral training, all supported by an outstanding and dedicated faculty, to help you reach the next stage of your professional development and prepare you for your future careers.  We welcome and encourage prospective applicants to learn more about our college and programs by perusing our Jefferson College of Life Sciences website and explore the many opportunities that await you.

Gerald B. Grunwald, PhD
Dean
Jefferson College of Life Sciences
Thomas Jefferson University