Degree Requirements

Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

50 hours of graduate credit including:

Graduate students are also required to attend all of the seminars presented in the department’s Seminar Series.

Core Areas of Study

Ecology, Evolution, and Population Biology

Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology

Physiology and Neurobiology

BIO 490, as appropriate, may also be approved in one of the three core areas.

BIO 406 can be taken as an elective.

Advancement to Candidacy

Based upon the results of a qualifying examination taken near the end of the third quarter of the student’s first full year and earning grades of B or better on graduate courses taken during the first year. Participation in undergraduate laboratory instruction is strongly encouraged.

Thesis Requirement

Results based upon an independent laboratory investigation.

Final Examination Requirement

An oral examination, including presentation of a seminar based on the MS thesis research, and a period of questioning on the thesis, the area of research which the thesis addresses, and basic biology as it relates to the thesis area.