Biology (M.S.)

Nonthesis Option

If you select this option, at least 30 credit hours of graduate course work 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 595 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 course work and research credits combined. A minimum of 18 credit hours of formal course work approved by the student’s committee is required. The remaining 12 credits can be exclusively BIOL 698 Research M.S. Thesis or a combination of no less than 9 credits BIOL 698 and a maximum of 3 credits of BIOL 595 Special Assignments. BIOL 595 credits cannot be included in the 18 hours of formal course work. 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.

Population and Community Biology

Covering related topics presented in:

• BIOL 501 - Field Botany Cr. 4.
• BIOL 502 - Conservation Biology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 505 - Biology of Invertebrate Animals Cr. 3.
• BIOL 520 - Contemporary Parasitology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 543 - Population Ecology Cr. 4.
• BIOL 580 - Evolution Cr. 3.
• BIOL 582 - Ecotoxicology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 586 - Topics in Behavior and Ecology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 592 - The Evolution of Behavior Cr. 3.
• BIOL 595 - Special Assignments Cr. 1-4.
• BIOL 598 - Biology of Fish Cr. 4.
• FNR 505 - Molecular Ecology and Evolution Cr. 3

Organismal Biology

Covering related topics presented in:

• BIOL 501 - Field Botany Cr. 4.
• BIOL 505 - Biology of Invertebrate Animals Cr. 3.
• BIOL 520 - Contemporary Parasitology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 533 - Medical Microbiology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 537 - Immunobiology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 544 - Principles of Virology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 556 - Physiology I Cr. 3.
• BIOL 559 - Endocrinology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 565 - Immunobiology Laboratory Cr. 1.
• BIOL 566 - Developmental Biology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 567 - Laboratory in Developmental Biology Cr. 1.
• BIOL 579 - Fate of Chemicals in the Environment Cr. 4.
• BIOL 580 - Evolution Cr. 3.
• BIOL 586 - Topics in Behavior and Ecology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 592 - The Evolution of Behavior Cr. 3.
• BIOL 595 - Special Assignments Cr. 1-4.
• FNR 505 - Molecular Ecology and Evolution Cr. 3
• FNR 523 - Aquaculture Cr. 3

Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Covering related topics presented in:

• BIOL 506 - Human Molecular Genetics Cr. 3.
• BIOL 509 - Molecular Biology and Applications Cr. 3.
• BIOL 515 - Molecular Genetics Cr. 3.
• BIOL 516 - Molecular Biology of Cancer Cr. 3.
• BIOL 533 - Medical Microbiology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 537 - Immunobiology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 540 - Biotechnology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 543 - Population Ecology Cr. 4.
• BIOL 544 - Principles of Virology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 556 - Physiology I Cr. 3.
• BIOL 559 - Endocrinology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 565 - Immunobiology Laboratory Cr. 1.
• BIOL 566 - Developmental Biology Cr. 3.
• BIOL 567 - Laboratory in Developmental Biology Cr. 1.
• BIOL 580 - Evolution Cr. 3.
• BIOL 584 - Molecular Biology and Applications Laboratory Cr. 1.
• BIOL 595 - Special Assignments Cr. 1-4.
• FNR 505 - Molecular Ecology and Evolution Cr. 3