More than fifty laboratories, equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation for research training, are supported by several multidisiplinary core facilities including the Flow Cytometry Core, the Mass Spectrometry Core, the Primate Research Laboratory and the Transgenic Animal Core.

All students entering the Ph.D. program receive a stipend of $20,000 per year and qualify for additional financial support. Loans are available from conventional sources through the University Financial Aid Office.

All students admitted in the Ph.D. program are granted a waiver of tuition. There is a University fee of approximately $100 per semester. Health insurance is available through a group policy. Students in the M.D./Ph.D. program are granted a tuition waiver during their Ph.D. work.

Located in southwest Alabama on the Mobile Bay, Mobile presents an ideal location for study. White-sand beaches are within a one-hour drive. The city, with a population of about 400,000 is one of the nation's largest seaports. The climate is temperate with an average temperature of 70 degrees F. Mobile is served by interstate highways and major airlines. The city is two hours east of New Orleans by car.

The 1,200-acre main campus is located in the western section of Mobile. Included on the main campus are research laboratories in both the Cancer Center/Clinical Building and the Basic Medical Sciences Building. The University owns and operates fours hospitals; the USA Medical Center, USA Children's and Women's Hospital, USA Knollwood Park Hospital and USA Knollwood Park Long Term Care Hospital. In addition, the University also owns the USA Brrokley campus on Mobile Bay which houses the Educational Research and Development Center, the USA Springhill campus and the USA Baldwin County Campus.

The University of South Alabama was created by an act of the Alabama state legislature in 1963. It comprises the Colleges of Allied Health, Arts & Sciences, Mitchell College of Business, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Medicine, the Schools of Computer & Information Sciences and Continuing Education & Special Programs and the Graduate School. The total enrollment is about 12,000 and the number of students in the health related professions of nursing, allied health, medicine, and the graduate program in basic medical sciences is approximately 2,800. The total number of faculty employed by the University is approximatley 950, with 250 in the College of Medicine. Fifty members of the College of Medicine faculty are also members of the graduate faculty in cancer biology.

Applications are accepted year round. Classes begin in August. Requirements for consideration include a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, certified transcripts of all university work, official score on the GRE General Test, and recommendations from 3 persons qualified to evaluate the student's academic performance and potential. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of all international applicants.