The Department of Biology offers programs leading to the MS degree Biology.
Both emphasize the development of research techniques. Students have the opportunity
to gain experience in scientific methods and experimental design in the laboratory
and in the field. Graduate research may be carried out in the department or
in the laboratories of federal agencies such as Walter Reed Institute of Pathology,
the National Institutes of Health, and the Naval Medical Research Institute.
Faculty conduct ongoing research and scholarship in the following arenas: evolutionary
biology; conservation biology; molecular ecology; evolutionary ecology; developmental
biology; cell biology; coral reef biology; cave biology; microbiology; marine
mammals; fluctuating asymmetry; population genetics; mating systems; invertebrates;
marine science.
Curriculum and Degree Requirements
The MS degree require a total of 30 credit hours of approved graduate work
consisting of core coursework in developmental biology, evolutionary mechanisms,
and statistics as a tool of research. Each program requires a comprehensive
examination.
Additional requirements for the Master of Science
* Advancement to candidacy, which requires the acceptance of a research proposal
by the student's advisor, the graduate studies committee, and the chair of the
department at least one semester prior to the oral defense of the thesis;
* Completion, oral defense, and the acceptance of the thesis by the thesis committee,
chair of the department, and the university.
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