Master of Science in Biology

The Federated Department of Biological Sciences is committed to equal opportunity and respect for all students, staff and faculty, and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form. We welcome a diverse set of voices, because it is right to do so, and because diversity of experience and thought leads to creativity of ideas and, ultimately, to better science. If you are from a group that is under-represented in science, or in biology specifically, we encourage you to consider a degree, and ultimately a career, in biology.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants are expected to have an undergraduate degree in biology or a closely related discipline from an accredited institution, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. That degree should have included the following cognate courses: general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and calculus. Candidates with other backgrounds, who may be missing one more more requirements, will be considered, but may be required to take additional courses outside the degree requirements (see "Bridge Program" below).

All applicants who received an undergraduate degree from a school outside of the United states are required to submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Bridge Program: To ensure academic success in their graduate studies, students may be required to take additional undergraduate or graduate courses before beginning program curricula. Such courses are not counted toward degree requirements, but any additional graduate courses will count in the calculation of the graduate grade point average (GPA).

Degree Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 30 credits. Students must take at least 3 courses from the following foundational cluster:

• Critical Thinking for the Life Sciences
• Approaches to Quantitative Analysis in the Life Sciences
• Ecology
• Evolution
• Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
• Cellular Neurophysiology
• Systems Neuroscience
• Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology
• Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes

In addition, students may select courses, in consultation with their advisor, that match their interests and career goals.

Research Options

The MS degree has three options: coursework only, a Master's Project, or a Master's Thesis.

Coursework-only Option: Students selecting this option must simply pass 30 credits of coursework.

Master's Project Option: Students selecting this option must successfully complete 27 credits of coursework plus 3 credits of BIOL 700B (Master's Project) with a graduate faculty member of the department. Approval by the faculty advisor is required prior to registration. The project can be experimental, theoretical, field-based or literature-based research on a relevant topic in biology. A public defense is not required, but a written report must be submitted to, and approved by, the project advisor.

Master's Thesis Option: Students selecting this option must successfully complete 24 credits of coursework plus 6 total credits of BIOL 701B or 701C (Master's Thesis) with a graduate faculty member of the department. Approval by the faculty advisor is required prior to registration. The thesis can be experimental, theoretical, field-based or literature-based research on a relevant topic in biology. The student must defend their thesis publicly and submit it to the Office of Graduate Studies following their formatting guidelines.

Important to successful completion of a project or thesis is early identification of a thesis advisor, so that proper planning is in place to complete the research in a timely manner.

Playbook for Public Online Thesis Defenses

Contact Information:

Daphne Soares, MS Program Director: soares@njit.edu