General Information

Research oriented programs leading to Ph.D. degrees are offered in four divisions of the biological sciences: biochemistry, evolution, behavior and organismal biology, neuroscience and cell and molecular biology. The department also offers a Master's degree in molecular biology via distance education.

Degree requirements

A student entering with a master's degree must complete a total of 48 credits (a minimum of 24 course credits of which 12 must be at the 400 level, plus research credits). A student entering with a bachelor's degree must complete a total of 72 credits (a minimum of 24 course credits of which 12 must be at the 400 level, plus research credits). A student also must complete a qualifying exam, prepare and defend a research proposal, complete the research described in the proposal and present the completed research to the department.

The Master's degree in molecular biology includes 30 credit hours of graduate work. No fewer than 18 credits must be in the major of which 15 credits must be at the 400-level. A student must register for six credit hours of research and successfully complete a research project.

Financial support

We provide financial support through teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships.

Length of typical graduate program and types of jobs obtained by graduates

Part-time M.S. degree students typically complete the program in two to six years. Ph.D. students require five to six years of full-time study to complete the program.

Graduates have secured research positions at prestigious academic institutions including Yale, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, and University of North Carolina. Several have continued in academia and currently hold tenure-track positions at colleges and universities. Others are employed at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as Glaxo SmithKline, Merck, Johnson and Johnson, and Aventis.