MASTER OF ARTS

MASTER OF SCIENCE

The Department of Biological Sciences offers programs leading to the graduate degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science and, in conjunction with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, provides courses that support the Master of Science in Education degree in secondary education with a teaching field in biology.

Graduate students in biological sciences may concentrate in one of several areas such as evolution, ecology and environment, or cellular and molecular biology. Course work in genetic engineering is also available. Students interested in taxonomic studies can benefit from faculty affiliations with the Missouri Botanical Gardens in nearby St. Louis.

Numerous career and advanced training opportunities are available to persons holding a master's degree in biology. These include doctoral training in biology and in the health sciences; secondary and junior college teaching; environmental assessment; and employment in educational, industrial, and governmental laboratories and agencies.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

Master of Science

Thesis and non-thesis plans of study are available for fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Science degree.  The thesis and non-thesis plans require a minimum of 32 semester hours, of which at least 21 semester hours must be in biology. There is no foreign language requirement for the Master of Science degree.

Thesis Plan

At least 9 semester hours in biology must be earned in courses numbered BIOL 415-488  or 514-590.

Required courses:  Enrollment in BIOL 595 or 596 at least twice or in combination is required and must be taken under at least two different faculty members.  Completion of BIOL 592 at least three times is required.  It may be taken a maximum of four times.

Electives:  Students may take up to 25 hours of electives.

Thesis:  Students must complete a thesis based on the student’s original research and must enroll in at least three semester hours of BIOL 599.

Non-Thesis Plan

At least 14 semester hours in biology must be earned in courses numbered BIOL 415-488 or 514-590.

Required courses:  Enrollment in BIOL 595 or 596 at least twice is required and must be taken under at least two different faculty members.  Completion of BIOL 592 at least three times is required.  It may be taken a maximum of four times.

Electives:  Students may take up to 7 hours of electives.

Research Paper:  At least 4, but no more than 8 semester hours must be taken in BIOL 591 and 593, culminating in an acceptable final research paper.

Master of Arts

A student may earn a Master of Arts degree while following the thesis plan.  The Master of Arts degree requires a minimum of 32 semester hours, of which at least 21 semester hours must be in biology.  The Master of Arts also requires a reading knowledge of a foreign language.  The foreign language requirement must be met at least three months prior to graduation by passing an examination offered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature.

 

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION: SECONDARY EDUCATION/BIOLOGY

The Department of Biological Sciences, in cooperation with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, offers a biology teaching field as part of the Master of Science in Education (MSEd) degree in secondary education. A jointly advised program ordinarily including 15 hours in biology will be designed, taking into account each student's background and interests. Throughout the program, students must be advised by a member of the biology faculty before registering for any biology courses to be applied toward this degree. Upon completion of the program, students must have accumulated at least 42 semester hours in biology (graduate and undergraduate work combined). Thus, students admitted to the program with less than 27 hours of acceptable undergraduate work will be required to complete more than 15 graduate hours in biology in order to satisfy degree requirements. Students must achieve a 3.0 (A=4.0) grade point average in the biology teaching field, as well as an overall average of 3.0. For further information, see "Secondary Education" in another section of this chapter.