Department of Biology |  |
MS BIOLOGYOverviewThe Master of Science in Biology requires completion of at least 30 semester hours of graduate level course work and research hours. Generally, students take 15 hours of formal courses and 15 hours of research and thesis. During the first semester students rotate through three faculty labs and by the beginning of the second semester select a thesis advisor. Some incoming students may have already made arrangements to complete their thesis research with a particular faculty member prior to beginning the program. Students complete a research project and write a thesis. CoursesStudents entering the MS program are not required to take any particular courses. Rather, course selection will initially be made in consultation with the Graduate Director, Dr. Matina Kalcounis-Rüppell, or thesis advisor and depend on the student's interests and educational background. In some cases, students may have to take a lower-level course for non-graduate credit to complete a deficiency. The core courses for the PhD in Environmental Health Science are open to the master's students. A list of Graduate level courses (500 and above) Research and ThesisThe MS in biology requires completion of a research project. Students conduct research under the guidance of their faculty advisor and write a master's thesis based on their research. Students enrolled in the MS program have the opportunity to work with a research faculty advisor from among 23 full-time faculty. Students receive credit for research and thesis by taking two courses:
Admission Requirements for the MS in BiologyAn applicant must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in a major field of science to be fully admitted to the UNCG Graduate School and the biology master's program. Generally, applicants must have completed the equivalent of our undergraduate core curriculum for the BS degree. However, students with degrees in other fields of science will be considered. See Application and Admissions for more details Documents to be submitted to graduate school for admission: For the 2012 - 2013 Academic Year - Due March 30, 2012. Graduate application Degree Requirements
A total of 30 credit hours are required for the MS degree in biology. At least 15 hours must be at the 600 or above level. Students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. Students must establish an advisory committee composed of a thesis research advisor and two other members from the biology graduate faculty. A student must write a thesis proposal in consultation with their thesis advisor. The proposal is presented in a public seminar and defended to the advisory committee. A student must complete a written thesis on their research and successfully defend the written dissertation to her/his thesis advisory committee. The student will give an oral presentation of the thesis research in a public seminar. The master's degree generally takes four academic semesters including one summer. The length of time may vary depending on the research project and individual schedules. Information regarding Financial Support |
