MS Program Requirements

Students are considered to be pursuing the non-thesis option unless otherwise noted. Acceptance into the thesis option requires the submission of a thesis proposal (approved by a three-member faculty committee that includes the thesis advisor) to the departmental Director of Graduate Studies.

Non-thesis Option (40-hour program)

1. Forty hours of classroom coursework, to be selected from 6000- and 800-level courses, which must include:
   
   a.One course in biochemistry This requirement may be waived if the student has taken and successfully passed an equivalent undergraduate course.
   
   b.Two hours of Biology Seminar (either Bio 6970 or 8700).
   
   c.Two hours of Topics (Biol 8940, 8950, 8960, 8970, 8980) or Concepts (Biol 8110, 8310, 8510, 8710) are recommended but not required.
   
   d.Up to 4 hours of Biol 8800 (Research) may be included in the 40 hour coursework requirement.

2. The successful completion of a laboratory or literature-based research paper. 

Thesis Option (36-hour program)

1. A minimum of 40 credit hours including 26 semester credit hours of coursework to be selected from 6000 and 8000 numbered courses. (Note: Biology courses numbered 7000-7999 are not applicable to the M.S. degree in Biology.) Coursework must include:
   
   a.One course in biochemistry of at least 3 hours [normally Chem 6600 (5 hours) or 6610 (3 hours)], although higher level courses may be selected. This requirement may be waived if the student has successfully passed an equivalent undergraduate course with a B or better.
   
   b.Two hours of Seminar (Biol 6970 or 8700). Students may take one hour of each or two hours of 8700.
   
   c.Two hours of Topics (Biol 8940, 8950, 8960, 8970, 8980) or Concepts (Biol 8110, 8310, 8510, 8710) are recommended but not required.
   
   d.Up to 6 hours of Biol 8800 (Research) may be included in the 40 hour coursework requirement.e.A minimum of 14 hours of Biol 8999 (Thesis Research)

2. An approved and successfully defended thesis proposal.

3. A Thesis

4. A final oral presentation directed primarily to defense of the thesis.

MS Program

Overview

Bioinformatics

Admissions Guidelines

Related pages

Index of Faculty

Alphabetical index of research labs

Forms for Graduate Students

Important Resources

Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA)

BGSA Student Handbook

External Links

College of Arts & Sciences Office of Graduate Studies

GSU Graduate Catalog

GoSolar (GA State Online Access)

Printable documents

MS Policy Document (pdf)