Biology, M.S.

The Masters of Science in Biology program is designed for students seeking research experience. Successful candidates must demonstrate the mastery of essential research techniques and the ability to communicate effectively the results of research and scholarship. The degree program provides students the opportunity to increase their knowledge through formal coursework, and requires candidates to complete a major research project resulting in a master’s thesis. The Biology MS program prepares students for professional careers or doctoral studies in a variety of biological disciplines.

Admission Requirements

• Students seeking to enter the Biology M.S. program must contact faculty in the department to determine if those professors are accepting graduate students. Contact information and the research interests of Biology faculty can be found on the department website: http://sites.jcu.edu/biology/

• The equivalent of a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology as offered at John Carroll University. Completion of related majors (Environmental Science, Cell and Molecular Biology, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• A statement of purpose, curriculum vitae, completed application form, official undergraduate transcripts, and at least two letters of academic evaluation from former professors. See below for additional admissions information.

• Students may be granted provisional or full admission to the program. The minimum requirements for full acceptance are a 3.0 GPA in biology courses and a 3.0 overall GPA. In some cases, provisional acceptance may be granted to students with a GPA as low as 2.5 in their biology courses and an overall GPA as low as 2.5. Students granted provisional acceptance must obtain a 3.0 GPA in their first two JCU biology courses (6 credits minimum). In addition to normal admission requirements, all international applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate the necessary level of proficiency in English language by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A student from abroad whose native language is English, who has completed his or her work in a foreign university where English is the language of instruction, or who has studied at or graduated from an American institution, is exempt from this testing requirement.

Application Process And Graduate Education Funding

Students accepted to the Biology M.S. program cover JCU tuition by one of three options: 1) working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (i.e., G.A.) for the department; 2) working as a Graduate Research Assistant (i.e., R.A.) in one of our research labs; or 3) self-funding. In each scenario, students in the M.S. program are expected to maintain research productivity towards the goal of completing a graduate research thesis under the mentorship of a graduate faculty advisor. The graduate advisor is the primary reader of the thesis and plays an integral role in helping the student to define the limits, timelines, and research objectives of the project; additionally, the graduate advisor helps the prospective student to determine which route of funding is most appropriate for his/her situation. Our faculty select prospective students to work on research in their labs if space and resources are available, but it is the responsibility of applicants to the Biology M.S. program to contact potential graduate advisors during the application process to determine if an advisor is accepting students into a lab. Students are accepted “unconditionally” to the Biology M.S. program only if a definite plan of funding has been presented.

Option 1: Students working as Graduate Teaching Assistants will have their tuition waived by JCU, and they will receive a moderate living stipend in exchange for assistance with laboratory courses. This typically involves 20 hours per week of preparation and setup for laboratory courses, grading lab reports and assisting in management of grades. G.A. awards are competitive and are granted only to Biology M.S. students who are (or will be) working actively on their thesis research with a faculty sponsor in our department. To be considered for a G.A. position, a prospective student must:

1. be sponsored by a faculty advisor in our department;

2. specify their intent to be considered for one of these positions during the application process;

3. provide two letters of recommendation that comment on the applicant’s qualifications for this appointment as part of the application process—these comments may be included in the letters from the same letter-writers as those used for the application for admission to the graduate program.

Applicants for the Biology M.S. program who desire a G.A. position must consider finding a faculty advisor as central to the application process, as admission to the program and receiving a G.A. position both require having a faculty sponsor for active thesis research.

Option 2: Graduate Research Assistants are funded by outside sources (e.g., National Science Foundation) that are typically obtained by a faculty member. Students working as Graduate Assistants often receive tuition remission and a moderate living stipend in exchange for working closely with a specific faculty member to conduct research as part of a grant. This typically involves 20 hours per week of guided research that aligns closely with the proposed thesis research of the student, and typically involves the same research methods. R.A. awards are competitive and granted only to Biology M.S. students who are (or will be) working actively on their thesis research with a specific faculty sponsor. To be considered for a R.A. position, a prospective student must:

1. be sponsored by a faculty advisor who is actively recruiting R.A. students;

2. specify their intent to be considered for these positions during the application process;

3. meet the R.A. application requirements defined by the faculty member advertising the position.

Applicants for the Biology M.S. program who desire an R.A. position must consider finding a faculty advisor as central to the application process, as admission to the Biology M.S. program and receiving an R.A. position both require having a faculty sponsor for active thesis research.

Option 3: Self-funding of the Biology M.S. program is ideal for students who may have existing full-time employment with an institution or business that will pay all or some of the tuition of their employees, or for students who have the finances necessary to cover tuition. Self-funded students are accepted only if they have a research advisor.

Applicants for the Biology M.S. program who desire to be self-funded must consider finding a faculty advisor as central to the application process, as admission to the program requires having a faculty sponsor for active thesis research.

Finally, if a student applies to the Biology M.S. program and meets the GPA requirements but is unable to find space in a faculty research laboratory for thesis research, that student may consider requesting admission to the Biology M.A. program as a self-funded student.

Timeline for Decisions about Acceptance to Biology M.S. Program

Typically, students are accepted to begin classes at the beginning of the fall semester. For priority consideration, applications and application materials for acceptance to the Biology M.S. program and G.A. positions must be received by February 1 (or the following Monday if this date falls on a Saturday or Sunday); decisions will be made within 30 days of this deadline. 

Course Descriptions

Many courses offered by the Department of Biology include laboratory and/or field work as an integral part of the course. These are listed separately below, immediately following the corresponding lecture course descriptions.

Program Learning Goals in the Biology M.S. Program

Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a deep knowledge of biology and develop advanced competency in specific areas of interest consistent with the primary focus of the program that the student develops with their faculty-based committee.

2. Demonstrate a deep knowledge of how to use an empirical approach (with appropriate methods, experimental design, and data analysis) to evaluate biological phenomena in new ways.

3. Application of critical thinking to design, collect, interpret, and present the student’s own original scientific data in a laboratory/field course.

4. Accurately evaluate biological information (data, concepts, phenomena) from primary literature that is relevant to the student’s original research.

5. Communicate new biological knowledge (typically obtained during the thesis research) effectively in written, oral, and visual formats.

6. Communicating original thesis research effectively in written format.

7. Communicating original thesis research effectively in oral format.

8. Communicating original thesis research effectively in visual format.

9. Demonstrate the ability to conceive, design, and conduct original scientific research (for MS students only).

10. Conceive and design original research.

11. Implement and complete original research.

Degree Requirements

Minimum requirements for the degree are:

1. 30 credit hours, consisting of 24 hours of formal course credit (at least half of the 24 hours must be from courses numbered above 4999).

2. All graduate students in the M.S. program are required to regularly attend the Biology Seminar, but may enroll up to four times for credit (BL 5810, 1 credit).

3. A Comprehensive Exam.

4. A thesis proposal (BL 5980, 1 credit hour).

5. A research thesis (BL 5990–5995, at least 4 credit hours and up to 5 credit hours).

Notes: Biology M.S. students may petition to take up to 8 credit hours of biology-related courses from other John Carroll departments or from other institutions.

For any Biology course that is cross-listed at both the 4000 and 5000 level, graduate students must take the 5000-level course. The 5000-level courses typically require an additional oral presentation, project, or paper beyond the requirements for the corresponding 4000-level course.

Notes on the Comprehensive Exam

In addition, all Biology M.S. students are required to pass a comprehensive examination upon completion of the other requirements (typically during the last semester). Only two opportunities are granted to take this exam. If a student fails the first exam, a second comprehensive exam must be taken no sooner than 30 days after the first exam. Failure to pass this exam on both attempts will result in dismissal from the program, and no graduate degree will be granted. The format of the exam will be determined by the student’s committee as follows:

Oral or written examination consisting of questions that reflect the student’s educational experience and thesis and that seek to integrate knowledge across those areas. The examination will be administered by the thesis committee after successful completion of the thesis.

Program Faculty