Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Biology (M.S.)


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Program:  Master of Science (M.S.)
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science

Science Building 330 ~ 260-481-6305
Jordan M. Marshall, Graduate Program Director


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:


Required Course: Credit 1


Non-Thesis 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 Biological Sciences. 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 (B- or better grade is required) or 400-level BIOL courses (B- or better grade is required); 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, 15 of these credit hours must be at the 500-level within the Department of Biological Sciences (3 credit hours may be fulfilled by an additional BIOL course at the 500-level; undergraduate course at the 300- or 400-level taken from another department (B- or better grade is required; or undergraduate course at the 400-level BIOL course (B- or better grade 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 Special Assignments 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.

Total Minimum Credits: 30


Student Responsibility


You are responsible for satisfying the graduation requirements specified for your selected program.  Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies and procedures governing your academic career.  If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study.    All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the Graduate Director.

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