Upon being accepted for admission into the Graduate School, each student will either select or be assigned an advisor from the graduate faculty within the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. This faculty member will chair the student's advisory committee, which will include at least two additional graduate faculty members, one of whom may be from another department. Courses may be applied to a particular master's degree program only with the approval of the student's advisory committee. Courses taken before a committee is chosen may not be approved by the committee for the student's particular degree program and, therefore, may not apply to the degree. Course selections will be based upon unique student needs as revealed by academic records and career goals. Course selections will include graduate course offerings in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences as well as supporting courses if deemed desirable or necessary from other departments. With committee recommendation, and approval of the Graduate Dean, a maximum of two upper level undergraduate courses may be applied to certain degree programs.
The Biological Sciences MS degree is available on campus or fully on-line.
The student will complete a minimum of 30 sh. The program includes: BSC 518 Thesis and other 15 sh of core courses;9 sh of electives selected and approved by the student's advisory committee.
| Thesis (6 semester hours required) | ||
| BSC 518 | Thesis (6 semester hours required) | 3-6 |
| Required Course (6 semester hours) | ||
| BSC 504 | Biostatistics | 3 |
| BSC 515 | Cell Biology | 3 |
| Core courses (9 semester hours) | ||
| To satisfy core requirements choose one course (3 semester hours) from each topic, the second course taken from a topic will be counted towards the general electives: | ||
Topic 1. Genetics | ||
| BSC 512 | Ecological Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 513 | Molecular Genetics | 3 |
Topic 2. Ecology | ||
| BSC 510 | Community Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 560 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
Topic 3. Physiology | ||
| BSC 552 | Comparative Animal Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 550 | Microbial Physiology | 3 |
| Electives (9 semester hours) | ||
Select a total of 9 semester hours from following courses: | ||
| BSC 509 | Microbial Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 510 | Community Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 511 | Avian Biology | 3 |
| BSC 512 | Ecological Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 513 | Molecular Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 514 | Pharmacology | 3 |
| BSC 516 | Medical Microbiology | 3 |
| BSC 517 | GLB/Stem Cell Biology | 3 |
| BSC 519 | Gene Regulation | 3 |
| BSC 520 | Immunology | 3 |
| BSC 521 | Epigenetics | 3 |
| BSC 522 | Reproductive Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 523 | Vertebrate Endocrinology | 3 |
| BSC 524 | Endocrine Toxicology | 3 |
| BSC 525 | Neuroscience | 3 |
| BSC 526 | Developmental Biology | 3 |
| BSC 527 | Human Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 530 | Virology | 3 |
| BSC 531 | Biogeography | 3 |
| BSC 532 | Behavioral Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 533 | Invertebrate Zoology | 3 |
| BSC 534 | Vertebrate Zoology | 3 |
| BSC 535 | Evolution | 3 |
| BSC 537 | Behavior and Conservation | 3 |
| BSC 539 | Herpetology | 3 |
| BSC 540 | Animal Behavior | 3 |
| BSC 541 | Genetic Engineering | 3 |
| BSC 550 | Microbial Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 552 | Comparative Animal Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 560 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 561 | Bioremediation | 3 |
| BSC 562 | Ecotoxicology | 3 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
The student will complete a minimum of 36 semester hours. The program includes BSC 595 Research Literature and Techniques, (3 semester hours) and 15 semester hours of core courses, plus 18 semester hours of electives selected and approved by the students advisory committee.
| Research (3 semester hours required) | ||
| BSC 595 | Research Literature and Techniques (3 semester hours required) | 3 |
| Required Courses (6 credits) | ||
| BSC 504 | Biostatistics | 3 |
| BSC 515 | Cell Biology | 3 |
| Required Core Course (9 semester hours) | ||
| To satisfy core requirements choose one course (3 semester hours) from each topic, the second course taken from a topic will be counted towards the general electives: | ||
Topic 1. Genetics | ||
| BSC 512 | Ecological Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 513 | Molecular Genetics | 3 |
Topic 2. Ecology | ||
| BSC 510 | Community Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 560 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
Topic 3. Physiology | ||
| BSC 552 | Comparative Animal Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 550 | Microbial Physiology | 3 |
| Electives (18 semester hours) | ||
Select a total of 18 semester hours from: | ||
| BSC 509 | Microbial Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 510 | Community Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 511 | Avian Biology | 3 |
| BSC 512 | Ecological Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 513 | Molecular Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 514 | Pharmacology | 3 |
| BSC 516 | Medical Microbiology | 3 |
| BSC 517 | GLB/Stem Cell Biology | 3 |
| BSC 519 | Gene Regulation | 3 |
| BSC 520 | Immunology | 3 |
| BSC 521 | Epigenetics | 3 |
| BSC 522 | Reproductive Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 523 | Vertebrate Endocrinology | 3 |
| BSC 524 | Endocrine Toxicology | 3 |
| BSC 525 | Neuroscience | 3 |
| BSC 526 | Developmental Biology | 3 |
| BSC 527 | Human Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 530 | Virology | 3 |
| BSC 531 | Biogeography | 3 |
| BSC 532 | Behavioral Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 533 | Invertebrate Zoology | 3 |
| BSC 534 | Vertebrate Zoology | 3 |
| BSC 535 | Evolution | 3 |
| BSC 537 | Behavior and Conservation | 3 |
| BSC 539 | Herpetology | 3 |
| BSC 540 | Animal Behavior | 3 |
| BSC 541 | Genetic Engineering | 3 |
| BSC 550 | Microbial Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 552 | Comparative Animal Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 560 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 561 | Bioremediation | 3 |
| BSC 562 | Ecotoxicology | 3 |
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Note: Successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam is required of all students.
