Biology, M.S.

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Admission Requirements: M.S. Program

Unconditional admission to the M.S. program requires the applicant have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university, two letters of recommendation and a personal statement. Also required is that the student will have accumulated a minimum of 24 acceptable semester hours in biology plus a minimum of four semester hours of biochemistry. The Departmental Admissions Committee will base admission upon these materials and additionally, will evaluate the applicant’s science course GPA and may request a personal interview to determine the applicant’s potential for success in the program.

Conditional admission may be granted to applicants prior to the completion of the 24 semester hours of biology and four semester hours of biochemistry, but the student must complete these courses with a GPA of 3.0 or better. The student must remove conditional status by earning at least a B (3.0) average in the first nine hours of graduate courses; failure to achieve this average will result in withdrawal from the program.

Degree Requirements: M.S. Program

The Department offers both thesis and non-thesis options in the master of science degree program. A minimum of 32 semester hours of approved courses is required for the M.S. degree under the thesis option, and a minimum of 34 semester hours is required under the non-thesis option. Students who choose the non-thesis option must pass a comprehensive examination (passing score 70% or above) taken no earlier than the term in which they complete their course work. Students interested in pursuing research careers in academia, government or industry are highly encouraged to take the thesis option.

Required Courses: 23 hours in thesis option, 19 hours in non-thesis option

BIOL 5010 - Graduate Seminar I (1) CIP:
BIOL 5020 - Graduate Seminar II (1) CIP:
BIOL 5100 - Literature and Methods in Research (3) CIP:
BIOL 5110 - Research in Biology (2) CIP:
BIOL 5120 - Thesis Writing (4) CIP: (required only in thesis option)
BIOL 5180 - Cell Biology (3) CIP:
CHEM 5410 - Advanced Biochemistry I (3) CIP:
CHEM 5420 - Advanced Biochemistry II (3) CIP:
AGSC 5060 - Statistics for Research (3) CIP: or Equivalent

Elective Courses: 13 hours in thesis option, 20 hours in non-thesis option

Selection of elective courses must be made in consultation with the student’s thesis committee or non-thesis advisor. Often, depending on the career direction or research interest of the student, a student may be advised to take elective courses in other departments or at other institutions. Included in the elective courses must be a physiology and a genetics course. In addition, only three (3) semester hours of Special Problems courses will be credited toward the M.S. degree.

Program of Study: M.S. Program

The degree candidate must file a program of study after completing at least nine semester hours of graduate credit, but before completing fifteen hours of graduate credit.

The program lists the courses which will be used to satisfy degree requirements, and details how other requirements will be met. The student may later change the program of study with the written approval of the Department and the Graduate School.

Admission to Candidacy: M.S. Program

When the candidate files the program of study, he or she must also apply for admission to candidacy. The candidate must have a grade point average of 3.0 or above to be eligible for admission to candidacy and must have a grade of B or better in all required courses.