Biology (M.S.)

The graduate program in Biology helps you prepare to become a research scientist in academia, industry, or government, to obtain advanced education as a high-school teacher, or to pursue further study in a professional or Ph.D. program.

Courses and faculty research cover a wide range of specific disciplines within biology: behavior, cancer biology, developmental biology, ecology, forestry, genetics, herpetology, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, physiology, toxicology, and virology.

Degree Requirements

This program includes Nonthesis and Thesis degree options. Each option is described below:

Non-Thesis Option

If you select this option, at least 30 credit hours of graduate coursework are required. Fifteen of the credit hours must be at the 500 level within the Department of Biology. The remaining 15 hours can be fulfilled by some combination of the following: additional BIOL courses at the 500- level; up to 9 credit hours of BIOL 59500 Special Assignments; up to 6 credit hours of undergraduate courses at the 300- or 400-level taken from other departments (students must earn a grade of no lower than B); or up to 15 credits of 500 - level courses in other departments. Students also must satisfactorily complete a written examination prepared by each committee member during the student’s last semester. A passing grade of B must be earned on the final exam. Students will have two attempts to pass the exam.

Thesis Option

This option requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of formal coursework and research credits combined. A minimum of 18 credit hours of formal coursework approved by the student’s committee is required. The remaining 12 credits can be exclusively BIOL 69800 Research M.S. Thesis or a combination of no less than 9 credits BIOL 69800 and a maximum of 3 credits of BIOL 59500 Special Assignments. BIOL 59500 credits cannot be included in the 18 hours of formal coursework. Students must present their research to the department in a seminar and pass a final oral defense of their thesis work after they have submitted their thesis to the examining committee.