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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BIOLOGY
Admission Requirements

Applicants for the Master of Science in Biology program must have an undergraduate major in biology with an overall minimum 2.5 average for all undergraduate work or a minimum 2.75 average in the last 60 hours of study, which may include no more than 12 hours of graduate study. Applicants must provide a score on the general section of the Graduate Record Examinations taken within the last five years and submit two letters of recommendation from persons qualified to evaluate their ability to pursue graduate study in biology. In addition, applicants must also submit a two (2) page Personal Statement describing the applicants’ interest in biology, their long-term goals, any previous research
experience, current research interest and what they hope to accomplish with a Master of Science degree in Biology.

Program Requirements 34 Credits

Based on an applicant’s academic background, an individualized course of study will be planned by an assigned advisor in consultation with the student. Students’ programs of graduate study will be composed of graduate courses at the 500 and 600 level. Students with deficiencies in their science background may be required to take additional undergraduate courses without credit toward the master’s degree. The following courses are part of the inventory from which selections may be made for a master’s degree program in biology:

Core Courses (10 Credits)

  • BIOL 620 Seminar
  • BIOL 630 Topics in Biology
  • BIOL 690 Research

Other Discipline Courses (24 Credits)

Choose eight courses from the following courses in consultation with an advisor:

  • BICH 610 Advanced Biochemistry
  • BIOL 610 Endocrinology
  • BIOL 640 Comparative Physiology
  • BIOL 650 Communities and Ecosystems
  • BIOL 660 Evolution
  • BIOL 670 Physiology
  • BIOL 680 Radiation Biology
  • BOTN 620 Advanced Botany
  • BOTN 630 Plant Development
  • BOTN 640 Advanced Microbiology
  • ZOOL 570 General Entomology
  • ZOOL 585 Introduction to Parasitology
  • ZOOL 610 Advanced Genetics
  • ZOOL 630 Advanced Developmental Biology

Other Requirements

  1. An undergraduate course in computer science is strongly recommended and a course in statistics is required of those who do not have an adequate background in statistics.
  2. Students in this program are required to complete a thesis.
  3. A written comprehensive examination and an oral defense of thesis are required.
  4. Research activities should begin as early as spring semester of the first year. Literature searches relative to the proposed research should be started during the first semester of the initial year of graduate study.