Sep 20, 2024  
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biology MS


►  Graduate School Rules  apply to this program.

Graduate MS Program Director: Alan Vajda
Office: Science, 4104
Telephone: 303-315-7640
E-mail: Alan.Vajda@ucdenver.edu
Website: clas.ucdenver.edu/biology/grad.html

Requirements for Admission

  • A BA/BS from an accredited institution awarded within the last 10 years (validation of current content may be required)
  • Minimum undergraduate GPA: 3.0 
  • TOEFL: required for international applicants from countries in which English is not the official language 
  • 3 letters of recommendation 
  • Official transcripts from all attended institutions 
  • Students are required to contact faculty in advance. Prior to application, applicants must have identified and contacted an available Faculty Advisor to ensure the availability of a position and appropriate research interests

Prerequisite courses required: 

  • One year of general biology (lecture and laboratory) 
  • One year of any combination of chemistry, physics or mathematics 
  • One course in applied or biological statistics (through regression and ANOVA) 
  • Additional prerequisite requirements may be set by individual faculty

Application deadline is December 1 for both domestic U.S. and international students. Application to the master’s in biology program is through CU Denver Admissions.

Degree Requirements


Students matriculate into the research-based MS degree program. Under unusual circumstances, students and/or advisors may petition for a student to switch into the coursework-based MS degree program. The research-based MS program requires a minimum of 30 credits, and the coursework-based MS program requires a minimum of 32 credits. No double-counted courses will be applied to the degree.  A maximum of 12 hours of graduate level courses may be transferred and counted toward the degree in either program. Both programs additionally require the student to meet minimum academic residency requirements, to form an advisory committee and to deliver and orally defend written work before the advisory committee, which constitutes the final exam for both programs as required by the Graduate School.

 

Research-based MS degree program requires

  1. Completing 30 credits including 3-6 thesis (BIOL 6950)
  2. Meeting minimum academic residency requirements
  3. Forming and meeting regularly with an advisory committee
  4. Writing and defending research proposal
  5. Writing and defending research thesis (including a publishable paper)

 

Coursework-based MS degree program requires

  1. Approved petition to transfer into coursework-based program
  2. Completing a minimum of 32 credits
  3. Meeting minimum academic residency requirements
  4. Writing and defending publication-quality review paper (before advisory committee)
  Required Courses: