Concurrent B.S./M.S. Biochemistry Program

Entrance requirements

Students may apply for the concurrent B.S./M.S. program from the second semester of the sophomore year through the second semester of the junior year, when they have accumulated 45-90 credit hours toward the B.S. degree and have completed at least one semester of organic chemistry. Students may apply during the senior year with special permission from the chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Group.

The application process will be the same as for the traditional M.S. degree except that completion of the B.S. degree is not required prior to enrollment for the M.S., and the application must include a recommendation from the student's undergraduate advisor. Minimum standards for regular admission and for retention in the program require a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a GPA of 3.0 in required math and science courses. The requirement for the Graduate Record Exam will be waived.

Departmental requirements

Biochemistry courses

BIOCH 110 - Biochemistry & Society (3 credit)
BIOCH 521 - General Biochemistry (3 credits)
BIOCH 522 - General Biochemistry Lab (3 credits)

*As Graduate level courses

*BIOCH 755 - Biochemistry 1 (3 credits)
*BIOCH 756 - Biochemistry 1 Laboratory (2 credits)
*BIOCH 765 - Biochemistry 2 (3 credits)
*BIOCH 775 - Molecular Biophysics (3 credits)

Chemistry courses

CHM 210 - Chemistry 1 (4 credits)
CHM 230 - Chemistry 2 (4 credits)
CHM 371 - Chemical Analysis (4 credits)
[CHM 220 & 250 - Honors Chemistry 1 & 2 (10 credits) may be substituted for CHM 210, 230 & 371]

CHM 350 - General Organic Chemistry (3 credits)
CHM 351 - General Organic Chemistry Laboratory (2 credits)
[CHM 531, 532, 550 - Organic Chem 1, Organic Chem Lab & Organic Chem 2 (8 credits) may be substituted for CHM 350, 351.]

CHM 500 - General Physical Chemistry (3 credits)

Biology Courses

BIOL 198 - Principles of Biology (4 credits)
BIOL 450 - Modern Genetics (4 credits)
BIOL 455 - General Microbiology (4 credits)
BIOL 541 - Cell Biology (3 credits)

Physics courses

PHYS 113 - General Physics 1 (4 credits)
PHYS 114 - General Physics 2 (4 credits)
[PHYS 213 & 214 Engineering Physics 1 & 2 (10 credits) may be substituted for PHYS 113 & 114]

Mathematics courses

MATH 220 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1 (4 credits)
MATH 221 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2 (4 credits)

Statistics Course

STAT 703 - Statistical Methods for Natural Scientists (3 credits)

Research

BIOCH 890 - Advanced Topics in Biochemistry (credits vary)
BIOCH 899 - Research in Biochemistry 1 (credits vary)

Graduate level courses

Upper level Biochemistry, Biology, Bioinformatics or other appropriate electives (13-15 credits)
BIOCH 806 - Biochemistry Seminar (1 credit)

Thesis requirement

Must defend a written master's thesis

Note: The courses in the above list satisfy the natural sciences and quantitative reasoning requirements shown in the general requirements for the B.S./M.S. degree.

College of Arts & Sciences course requirements

English and Communication courses

Three courses, 8 credit hours minimum. Purpose: to give students practice in oral presentation and in writing and analyzing expository and argumentative prose.

ENGL 100 - Expository Writing 1 (3 credits)
ENGL 200 - Expository Writing 2 (3 credits)

AND

COMM 105 - Public Speaking 1A (2 credits)
Or
COMM 106 - Public Speaking 1 (3 credits)

Humanities courses

Four courses, one course for each section, 11 credit hours minimum:

Fine arts (one course)
Philosophy (one course)
Western heritage (one course)
Literary or rhetorical arts (one course)

Consult Course Catalog for specific courses in each of these areas.

Social sciences courses

Four courses, 12 credit hours minimum, from at least three disciplines. A wide range of choices available. One of these courses often satisfies the International studies overlay requirement.