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.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Requires 90 quarter hours approved by the thesis committee (compris¬ing the major professor and three other faculty members of the depart¬ment). At least 19 quarter hours must be in formal courses (e.g., not BIOL 5991 Independent Study or BIOL 5995 Independent Research). The 19-quarter-hour requirement includes biometry (BIOL 4090), 4 quarter hours in the graduate seminar series (BIOL 4210, 4220, 4230), 6 quarter hours in the journal club series (BIOL 4310, 4320, 4330) and 3 credits in the Graduate Reviews seminar series (BIOL 4300, 4301, 4302, 4150 Grant Preparation). The remainder of the credit hours required for the degree may include BIOL 4991 Independent Study or BIOL 4995 Inde¬pendent Research and/or courses that the graduate committee judges to complement the student's major field. Additional requirements:
- passing performance in the qualifying examination (after about a year of study) and the research proposal examination (after about two years of study)
- attendance at departmental seminars and presentation of one seminar per year
- completion of a research dissertation of publishable quality
- successful oral defense of the dissertation
A complete description of the program’s official requirements is available from the department.