BSU Catalog Home | Graduate Biology Course Descriptions

Biology

Department of Biology

College of Social and Natural Sciences

Sattgast Hall 218-755-2920

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Graduate Faculty

Dr. Patrick Guilfoile (Chair), Dr. Elizabeth Rave (Graduate Coordinator), Dr. Don Cloutman, Dr. Mark Fulton, Dr. Debbie Guelda, Dr. Alice Lindgren, Dr. Kerry Openshaw

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Degree Offered

• Master of Arts - Biology

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Master Of Arts - Biology

The Master or Arts is the highest degree awarded by the Biology Department. It reflects the range and depth of biology sub-disciplines and broadens students' horizons through both course work and original scientific research. The research culminates in an original thesis or completion of an exhaustive work of a scholarly nature. Students must consult with their graduate academic advisor in biology before developing their program.

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Preparation Requirements

Undergraduate major in biology.
Minimum 24 undergraduate semester credits in biology.
Minimum GPA of 3.00 in the sciences and mathematics strongly recommended.

University Requirements

See Section II, Graduate Study for degree requirements.
A one-page letter of intent is required of all applicants.

Course Work Requirements

I. Required Core

BIOL 6920 Directed Group Study (Seminar) (1,1) (2 credits)
BIOL 6110 Science, Technology, and Society (2 credits)
ENVR 6010 Research in Natural Science (2 credits)

Subtotal 6 Credits

II. Required Electives

1. Select with the consent of the advisor a minimum of 12 semester credits of graduate level course work in biology. A minimum of 6 semester credits must be courses numbered at the 6000 level.
2. Select with the consent of the advisor a minimum of 6 semester credits of graduate level course work in a discipline related to biology.

Subtotal 18 Credits

III. Required Research

Select one of the following:

A. Thesis Option

BIOL 6990 Thesis (6 credits)

B. Research Paper Option

BIOL 6980 Graduate Research Paper (2 credits)
Select with the consent of the advisor an additional 4 semester credits of graduate-level course work numbered 6000 and above in Biology. (4 credits)

Subtotal 6 Credits

Total Semester Credits Required for Degree 30 Credits

Competency Requirements

Select one of the following:

1. Foreign Language: A reading knowledge of a modern foreign language is required. This requirement may be satisfied in either of two ways:

Successful completion (with grade of "B" or better) of the final second year course for one of the approved languages, or the equivalent;
or Passing a standardized reading test, second year level.

2. Statistics: A working knowledge of applied statistics. This requirement may be satisfied by successfully completing SCI 6350 Advanced Computer Applications in Statistics, or equivalent.