Students who began the program in summer 2020 or before must follow the curriculum listed in the course catalog of the year that they entered.
Students who began the program in fall 2020 can either be grandfathered into the curriculum of the 2020-2021 course catalog or choose to follow the new curriculum.
Students who began the program in spring 2021 or after should follow the new curriculum below.
Option 1: MS in Biology (General Track)
Core: 11 Credit Hours
- 8 Credit Hours of Core Biology Courses (2 classes from a select list) *
- 1 Credit Hour of Grad career development class (New)
- 2 Credit Hours of Biology Seminar
Electives: 17 Credit Hours**
- Biology 6000 & 8000 courses
- Internships: up to 4 Credit Hours (2 Credit Hours each)
- Outside of Biology: Up to 9 Credit Hours (~3 courses)
- Examples: Chemistry, Public Health, Policy, Business, Law, Criminal Justice, etc.
Capstone: 4 Credit Hours
- Project, Internship or Literature-Based Review
Option 2: MS in Biology (Research Concentration without thesis)
Core: 5 Credit Hours
- 1 Credit Hour of Responsible Conduct in Research class
- 2 Credit Hours of at least one concept or two topic classes
- 2 Credit Hours of one Biology seminar
Electives: 15 Credit Hours**
Research: 12 Credit Hours
- Directed Research: 8 Credit Hours
- Non-Thesis Paper: 4 Credit Hours
Option 3: MS in Biology (Research Concentration, with Thesis)
Core: 5 hours
- 1 Credit Hours of Bioethics/RCR
- 2 Credit Hours of Biology seminar
- 2 Credit Hours of at least one concept, two topic classes or student seminar class (new)
Electives: 7 Credit Hours**
- Graduate-level class per Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Research & Thesis: 20 Credit Hours
- Research courses + Thesis defense, 20 Credit Hours
- Core Biology Courses Options
Non-Research concentrations will have a set of core courses required of all students in that concentration ( e.g., Bioinformatics, Biotechnology and Medical Sciences). The MS in Biology (without concentration) will require 2 Core Classes chosen from the following list. These courses represent foundational concepts in Biology and align with the discipline focus of the Biology Department.
- BIOL 6074 Developmental Biology
- BIOL 6100 Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- BIOL 6240 Endocrinology
- BIOL 6248 Cell Physiology
- BIOL 6278 Immunology
- BIOL 6458 Microbial Ecology and Metabolism
- BIOL 6580 Microbial Pathogenesis
- BIOL 6564 Advanced Genetics
- BIOL 6575 Virology
- BIOL 6800 Principles of Cellular Biology
Visit the catalog for curriculum details.