Degree Requirements
Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy
Graduate studies in the department are highly individualized; programs should fit each student's unique needs and interests. Both the MS and the PhD are research degrees. Students are required to perform original, publishable research and to present a thesis, based on the research, to the faculty of biological sciences.
Research areas are usually linked to the interest of the supervising faculty member. The department's current research strengths center around two
areas: molecular, cellular and developmental biology; and ecosystems, evolutionary
and microbial ecology. To complete research commitments, MS students generally work with a major professor of choice in the laboratory and/or field about two years, while PhD students generally work for three to five years.
A student qualifies for the PhD degree after demonstrating growth as an independent investigator: identifying a significant research question; proposing a hypothesis or model to answer the question; testing the hypothesis with appropriate experiments; and writing a dissertation acceptable to the department.
Master of Science Degree
Requires 45 quarter hours approved by the thesis committee (comprising the major professor and two other faculty members of the department). At least 17 quarter hours must be in formal courses (e.g., not BIOL 4991 Independent Study or BIOL 4995 Independent Research). The 17-quarter-hour requirement includes biometry (BIOL 4090), 4 quarter hours in the graduate seminar series (BIOL 4210, 4220 and 4230), 6 quarter hours in the journal club seminar series (BIOL 4310, 4320, 4330) and 3 credits in the graduate reviews seminar series (BIOL 4300, 4301, 4302). The remainder of the credit hours required for the degree may be taken as BIOL 4991 Independent Study or BIOL 4995 Independent Research and/or courses that the committee judges to complement the student's major field. Additional requirements:
- a thesis based on a research project approved by the thesis committee
- attendance at all departmental seminars
- a successful oral defense of the thesis