Admission

Applicants must submit the online application and upload all required documents to the Graduate School by March 1 for fall semester admission, and by October 1 for spring semester admission. Graduate School application.¹ Admission as a full-standing student requires:

1. A baccalaureate degree in a life science-related discipline from an accredited university or college;
2. An overall grade point average of at least 2.750 (4.000 scale) for all previous college/university coursework;
3. A grade point average of at least 3.000 (4.000 scale) for all undergraduate biological sciences courses;
4. A one-page statement of purpose that addresses the student’s areas of interest in biology; and
5. Three letters of reference from science faculty;

Applicants who require proof of English proficiency must score at least 88 on the internet-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), an overall band score of 7.0 on the IELTS, 125 on the Duolingo, or a score of 64 on the PTE-Academic before being admitted. Additionally, the following section scores are required for admission for two tests: TOEFL Speaking section score 20 or IELTS Speaking band score 6.5.

Students who do not meet requirements one through three but who wish to begin graduate coursework may qualify for conditional acceptance into a nondegree category.

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Program Requirements

Students accepted into the MS program in biology may pursue either the thesis option or non­thesis option for their MS degree. All MS graduate students in biology must earn at least 16 credit hours from the department of biological sciences. A maximum of 6 credit hours can be transferred from other institutions and a total of 9 credit hours can be from departments outside of biological sciences. All MS graduate students must enroll in BIOL 797 and give professional presentations in this course in two semesters. Even when graduate students are not enrolled in BIOL 797, attendance at departmental seminars is expected. All graduate students must complete the department of biological sciences’ requirement for training in professional and scholarly integrity by the end of the student’s first semester in the program.

Thesis Option

Students selecting the thesis option must complete 30 credit hours of graduate coursework.

Students must complete an oral defense of their thesis prospectus and a presentation and oral defense of the results of their original research.

Nonthesis Option

Students selecting the nonthesis option must complete 33 credit hours of graduate coursework.

Nonthesis MS graduate students must successfully defend a capstone project that may consist of a library research project, participation in research in a faculty member’s lab, a cooperative education experience, or an internship experience.

Applied Learning

Students pursuing an MS in biological sciences are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by:

Thesis option: This requirement can be met by completion of BIOL 891.

Nonthesis option: Nonthesis graduate students are required to either conduct research in a university laboratory ( BIOL 890) or participate in  Cooperative Education (BIOL 781) or  Internship in Biology (BIOL 781N) for 4-6 credit hours. The 4-6 credit hour requirement means that most nonthesis students are involved in this applied learning activity for two semesters.