[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]

MA in Biology

Program Description | Admission | Degree RequirementsCourses


Program Description

The Master of Arts in Biology is a non-thesis program primarily designed for secondary education teachers who wish to increase their competency in the field of biology. The program allows students to elect a twelve hour secondary field that logically supports the biology major. Students who plan to pursue doctoral studies are strongly encouraged to pursue the MS in Biology.


Admission

Applicants seeking admission to the graduate program in biology must submit the following directly to the Office of Graduate Studies:

  1. A Graduate Studies Application with the application fee
  2. Official transcript(s) of all previous college work
  3. Official GRE scores
  4. Two letters of recommendation from faculty in the student's major at the undergraduate degree-granting institution

 

To be granted regular admission, applicants must have an undergraduate degree in biology or a related field. Applicants having an undergraduate degree in a discipline other than biology must successfully complete the equivalent of an undergraduate minor in the biological sciences before being considered for regular admission.

Regular admission is based in part on a combination of GRE scores and undergraduate GPA, but these factors do not constitute the sole criteria for consideration of an applicant. Rather, a holistic review of each student's application file will be completed.

More detailed information on competitive GRE scores and undergraduate GPA can be found on the department's website at: www.shsu.edu/~bio_www/.


Degree Requirements

There are two different plans leading to the MA in Biology. Plan 1 requires thirty-two semester hours of graduate credit in biology. In Plan 2, students take twenty-six hours in biology and twelve hours in a secondary field that logically supports the major for a total of thirty-eight hours of graduate credit.

All graduate students are required to pass a comprehensive examination on general biological concepts based on their coursework. The nature of this examination, which may be written and/or oral, will be determined by the faculty. Students must be enrolled the semester they take the comprehensive examination.

In addition, a literature-based review paper is prepared in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. Students must defend the literature-based review before their advisory committee and present it to the faculty in seminar format.

Plan 1 - MA in Biology

Item
Requirement
Options
Hours
Required
1
Specified
Course
Choose all from:
BIO 520 <BIOL 5200> Professional Aspects of Science
2
2
Electives
Choose ten from:
Graduate courses in BIOL excluding thesis courses1
30
TOTAL
32
Notes:
1 Selections should be made in consultation with the Graduate Advisor.

Plan 2 - MA in Biology

Item
Requirement
Options
Hours
Required
1
Specified
Course
Choose all from:
BIO 520 <BIOL 5200> Professional Aspects of Science
2
2
Electives
Choose eight from:
Graduate courses in BIOL excluding thesis courses
24
3 Secondary Field Choose four from:
Graduate courses in an approved field1
12
TOTAL
38
Notes:
1 Selections must be made in consultation with the Graduate Advisor.

 


Courses

Biology (BIOL)

Senior Courses Open to Graduate Students
With departmental approval, a maximum of six hours of the following senior (4000-level) courses may be taken for graduate credit toward the MA in Biology. Course requirements in senior courses must be appropriately modified for graduate credit.

BIO 430 <BIOL 4430> Vertebrate Natural History
BIO 431 <BIOL 4410> General Entomology
BIO 432 <BIOL 4320> Environmental Toxicology
BIO 433 <BIOL 4330> Aquatic Biology
BIO 435 <BIOL 4350> Immunology
BIO 437 <BIOL 4370> Microbial Ecology
BIO 446 <BIOL 4460> Parisitology
BIO 449 <BIOL 4490> Advanced Cell Biology
BIO 460 <BIOL 4306> Philosophy of Biology
BIO 461 <BIOL 4361> Introductory Evolutionary Biology
BIO 470 <BIOL 4470> Animal Behavior
BIO 471 <BIOL 4471> Invertebrate Zoology
BIO 474 <BIOL 4374> Biostatistics
BIO 480 <BIOL 4480> Molecular Biology
BIO 493 <BIOL 4493> Endocrinology

Return to top


[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]