Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biological Sciences, M.S.


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The graduate plan in Biological Sciences leads to the master of science degree. Applicants for candidacy should have a bachelor’s degree in Biology, although applicants with other degrees may apply if their degrees or preparation include a significant number of plan core courses in the Biological Sciences, as well as appropriate chemistry, physics and mathematics courses.

Requirements

Students should have completed the basic requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences at UHCL or the following courses (including prerequisites or equivalents) before applying for admission:

Students should have completed one of the following courses or its equivalent:


Students should also have completed coursework in at least two of the following areas:


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 MS degree.

The GRE score (verbal + quantitative) should be a minimum of 290 points, with a minimum quantitative score of 150, verbal score of 140 and writing score of 3.5. 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 9 hours of graduate credit. Courses completed past the initial 9 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  (3hours) and BIOL 6939 - Master’s Thesis Research  (6 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 M.S. Specializations (36 hours)


Pre-Health Specialization


The master’s degree in Biological Science with a pre-health focus consists of coursework that is intended to prepare the student for medical/dental/physician assistant/allied health school curricula. The prehealth specialization coursework includes 27 hours of core courses, three hours of capstone course (BIOL 6838 ), and six hours of graduate electives. A thesis option is also available.

Cell/Molecular Specialization


The master’s degree in biology with a cell/molecular biology focus consists of coursework that is intended to prepare the student for a career in biomedical research. The cell/molecular specialization includes coursework selected from the list below, in consultation with the faculty adviser, and a 3-hour capstone course (BIOL 6838 ). A thesis option is also available.

Ecology/Microbiology/Aquatic and Marine Biology Specialization


The Master of Science in biological science with an ecology/microbiology/aquatic and marine biology focus consists of coursework that is intended to prepare the student for a career in environmental biology research, consulting, or in the government/regulatory sector. The ecology/microbiology/aquatic and marine biology specialization includes coursework selected from the list below, in consultation with the faculty adviser and a 3-hour capstone course (BIOL 6838 ). A thesis option is also available.

Plant Biology Specialization


The master’s degree in biological science with a plant biology focus consists of coursework that is intended to prepare the student for a career in plant biochemistry and genetics, nutritional biochemistry and biomedical research. The plant biology specialization includes coursework selected from the list below in consultation with the faculty adviser and a 3-hour capstone course (BIOL 6838 ). A thesis option is also available.

Additional Information

  • Students may select any BIOL 5x3x course including BIOT 5x3x Plant Genomic Analysis to fulfill this requirement.

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