Master of Science in Biological Sciences

Master of Science students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate, which must conform to the following requirements:

1. A maximum of 6 credit hours of Thesis Research (BIOS 7000).
2. A minimum of 6 credit hours of 6000-level lecture or lecture/laboratory courses.
3. A minimum of 4 credit hours of graduate seminar courses (which may include Scientific Communication, BIOS 6022).
4. The remaining 14 credit hours must be at the 4000G or 6000 level and may not include more than four credit hours of Biological Problems (BIOS 6090).
5. A minimum of 12 of the 24 non-thesis credit hours must be in the Department of Biological Sciences.
6. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in graduate coursework, and a maximum of three credit hours of graduate coursework with the grade of C may be applied toward the degree requirements.

Up to 12 hours of graduate-level credit taken previous to admission into the M.S. program may be applied towards the 30 hours required for the M.S. degree, subject to approval by the student’s advisory committee, the graduate coordinator, and the Graduate School.

Advisory Committee: Each M.S. student has an advisory committee that directs the course work and research. In the first semester in the M.S. program, the student selects a faculty member from the Department of Biological Sciences to serve as chair of the advisory committee. By the end of the second semester, the advisory committee is expanded to a minimum of three members. Members of the advisory committee must be members the graduate faculty, and at least half must faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Thesis: The Master of Science degree requires a thesis embodying original research in a specialized area. The thesis must be presented in a public seminar and approved by the student's advisory committee in an oral thesis examination.