Biological Sciences, M.S.

Additional Information

A maximum of six credit hours of the 4000 level courses listed above, taken as foundation required for admission, may be applied toward the M.S. degree.

The GRE score is not required if GPA is a 3.0 or greater. If GPA is below a 3.0 the GRE score is required with an overall (verbal + quantitative) minimum score of 290 points, with a minimum quantitative score of 150, verbal score of 140. As a condition of admittance to the graduate program, students who do not meet school GRE and/or GPA standards will be required to meet additional performance criteria, such as past performance in critical courses, withdrawal and drop history, letters of recommendation, personal knowledge of past performance, improvement on repeated courses, work and/or life experiences and individual faculty support as a mentor in the research laboratory.

For students pursuing the Pre-Health Specialization only, MCAT or DAT scores will be considered as grounds for waiving the GRE requirement. A copy of the official MCAT/DAT test score report must be provided.

All graduate students in the Biological Sciences program must complete a Candidate Plan of Study (CPS) with their assigned faculty adviser before they complete nine hours of graduate credit. Courses completed past the initial nine hours that are not on the approved CPS may not be counted toward the degree.

The Master of Science in Biological Science requires 36 hours of coursework in one of four specialization areas, of which 24 hours must be in biology courses. Students enrolling in the non-thesis option must complete 33 hours of coursework (which may include independent study research) and the capstone course, BIOL 6838 - Research Project and Seminar . BIOL 6838  must be taken in the last 12 hours. Alternately, students may elect to pursue the thesis option, which requires 27 hours of coursework, plus BIOL 5530 - Research Methods in Biology  (three hours) and BIOL 6939 - Master’s Thesis Research  (six hours). Students pursuing the master’s thesis option are advised to consult with their faculty adviser early in their studies for guidance in preparation for beginning the thesis.

Information on the certificate option in biotechnology can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog: Biotechnology Certificate Option.

Biological Science Core coursework (28 hours)

• BIOL 4342 - Biochemistry II Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5132 - Cell Signaling Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5332 - Toxicology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5417 - Lab for Human Gross Anatomy Credit Hours: 1
• BIOL 5432 - Principles of Pharmacology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5435 - Advanced Immunology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5437 - Human Gross Anatomy Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5635 - Neuroscience Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5736 - Bioethics Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5436 - Physiological Basis of Disease Credit Hours: 3

Designated electives (6 hours)

• BIOL 4332 - Histology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 4347 - Cellular Physiology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 4348 - Developmental Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 4351 - Molecular Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5131 - Membrane Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5433 - Enzymology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5731 - Advanced Cancer Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5734 - Oncogenes Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5939 - Independent Study in Biological Science Credit Hours: 3

Core coursework (select 33 hours)

• BIOL 5131 - Membrane Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5132 - Cell Signaling Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5433 - Enzymology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5435 - Advanced Immunology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5634 - Apoptosis Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5731 - Advanced Cancer Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5732 - Advances in Molecular Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5733 - Epigenetics and miRNA Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5734 - Oncogenes Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5738 - Gene Therapy Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5931 - Research Topics in Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5939 - Independent Study in Biological Science Credit Hours: 3
• BIOT 5031 - Applied Biotechnology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOT 5021 - Methods of Biotechnology Credit Hours: 2
• BIOT 5011 - Methods of Biotechnology Discussions Credit Hours: 1
• BIOT 5121 - Advanced Methods of Biotechnology I Credit Hours: 2
• BIOT 5111 - Advanced Methods of Biotechnology I Discussions Credit Hours: 1
• BIOT 5122 - Advanced Methods of Biotechnology II Credit Hours: 2
• BIOT 5112 - Advanced Methods of Biotechnology II Discussions Credit Hours: 1

Core coursework (select 33 hours)

• BIOL 5235 - Ichthyology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5215 - Laboratory for Ichthyology Credit Hours: 1
• BIOL 5233 - Ecotoxicology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5234 - Population and Community Dynamics Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5332 - Toxicology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5334 - Microbial Ecology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5517 - Limnology and Aquatic Biology Credit Hours: 1
• BIOL 5531 - Aquatic Toxicity Testing Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5532 - Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5512 - Laboratory for Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Credit Hours: 1
• BIOL 5533 - Ecological Methods Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5534 - Conservation Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5535 - Neotropical Rainforest Ecology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5537 - Limnology and Aquatic Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5931 - Research Topics in Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5939 - Independent Study in Biological Science Credit Hours: 3
• ENSC 5331 - Wetlands Credit Hours: 3

Core coursework (select 33 hours)

• BIOL 5131 - Membrane Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5132 - Cell Signaling Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5433 - Enzymology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5533 - Ecological Methods Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5534 - Conservation Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5732 - Advances in Molecular Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5931 - Research Topics in Biology Credit Hours: 3
• BIOL 5939 - Independent Study in Biological Science Credit Hours: 3
• BIOT 5031 - Applied Biotechnology Credit Hours: 3