Biology MS

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► 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: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/integrative-biology/academics/graduate-programs

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

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

Coursework-based MS degree program requires

Approved petition to transfer into coursework-based program
Completing a minimum of 32 credits
Meeting minimum academic residency requirements
Writing and defending publication-quality review paper (before advisory committee)

Required Courses:

BIOL 6705 - Biological Research Workshop (4 credits total-take in 2 different years)
BIOL 6655 - Seminar (2 credits total-take in 2 different years)
BIOL 6764 - Biological Data Analysis (4 credits total-take in year 1)
BIOL 6002 - Biology Skills Sets - Pedagogy (required only for students supported by a Graduate Teaching Assistantship)
Additional minimum requirements for research-based MS program
BIOL 6950 - Master’s Thesis (1-2 credits in first spring/summer to write proposal and 2-4 credits in final semester to write thesis)
Additional minimum requirements for the coursework-based MS program
BIOL 5840 - Independent Study: BIOL (3 credits: advisor-guided review paper)