Coursework  FIRST PHASE: During the first phase, students were exposed to the basic medical sciences: Human anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. This phase was run together with first year M.B.B.S. medical students who also followed the same curriculum. SECOND PHASE: The Phase II was designed to provide as broad an exposure scientific fundamentals and to various facets of research areas and basic concepts as possible. Each chosen subject matter was spread over three-to-five weeks and included lectures, tutorials (discussion sessions) and labs. THIRD PHASE: The third year was devoted to specialization in a chosen field of anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, physiology or pharmacology. It involved in-depth instruction in the chosen fields, reviews of relevant research literature, seminars and term papers. Since the first phase of the coursework was executed together with the incoming class of medical students, this program was unique in its similarity to the present day MD/PhD programs in US universities. The experience of this unique program format has inspired similar programs at Jayewerdenepura and Singapore. History  The first class graduated in 1983. However, with the establishment of new Master's level programs, such as, MSc Biotechnology in 1986, and the shifting focus of the institute in late 80s and early 90s, the undergraduate "Human Biology" program lost its core support. The last batch of students was accepted for this course in 2002. Several components of the second phase are now incorporated into the MSc or M.Biotech curriculum at AIIMS. BSc Human Biology degree program was initiated in 1994 at the Faulty of Medical Sciences with the intention of fulfilling the need to provide human resources for Medical and Health sciences faculties; to those departments finding it difficult to recruit MBBS graduates with practical skills; specially intended for Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Technology and Medical Laboratory Sciences courses. Also to provide research institutes, private sector institutions involved in food and nutrition, public and private sector diagnostic institutions and health policy making institutions with individuals with necessary knowledge and skills. The Human Biology special degree course involves 3.5 (9½ terms) years of study in the Faculty of Medical Sciences and comprises three Parts. Similar to the program at AIIMS, Human Biology students follow the Part I & Part II of their degree course with the medical undergraduates. Part I and Part II comprise 12 units from Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and four units from General Pathology, Parasitology, Microbiology and Pharmacology respectively.