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Requirements for the Master's Degree:

The Master of Science (MS) degree includes a research-based thesis and a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit, of which 24 semester hours are graduate course credit. A specific course work program will be selected under the guidance of the student's major professor and graduate committee. All Master's candidates will complete and defend a thesis. The Master of Science degree requires a thesis based on original scientific research. An oral comprehensive final examination is required of all candidates, including defense of the thesis following a research seminar by candidates to present the thesis.

Specific Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree:

There are no formal course work requirements for doctoral students, except the previously mentioned seminars and BIOL 5101, and any prescriptive courses designated by the Graduate Studies Committee based on scores from the Graduate Record Examination. A minimum of 18 hours must be taken in dissertation credit. Students wishing to bypass the Master's degree must complete 24 hours of post-baccalaureate graduate course work before they can be considered for the doctoral program. The Ph.D. is granted not only for fulfillment of technical requirements but for development and possession of a critical and creative ability in science and a fruitful expression of imagination. Evidence of this is given in the preparation by the candidate of a dissertation that constitutes an original research contribution to the fields of biological sciences.

The Graduate School requires 2 examinations of all students pursuing the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. These examinations are designed to assist students in developing the ability to communicate at a scholarly level and to show they have attained intellectual mastery of knowledge relating to the biological sciences. The Candidacy Examination contains both written and oral portions related to the student's field of interest and is taken after approximately 2 years of graduate study. Successful completion of that examination means that the student becomes a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy; failure of that examination means that the student cannot be readmitted to the graduate program in the Department of Biological Sciences. The oral Final Examination, preceded by a research seminar, is primarily concerned with the candidate's dissertation and is taken at the end of the candidate's program.