The Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics is an administrative division of the School of Medicine and a member of The Graduate School. The graduate program offers instruction and research opportunities leading to the Ph.D. degree. Although the department offers the M.S. degree, the graduate program is not designed as a terminal master's curriculum. Applicants are offered admission with the expectation that they will complete their doctorate.

Modern research in biochemistry and biophysics is designed to address mechanism and function; it utilizes the paradigms of molecular biology but is influenced by chemistry, physics, and genetics. The philosophy of the department and its graduate program is to provide students with broad training in modern approaches to the field and unique opportunities for multidisciplinary training.