Biological Sciences, BS/MS

Degree Requirements

Students may apply for admission to the program in their third year and will be carefully evaluated to ensure that they meet all university graduation requirements, including the completion of at least 32 credit hours at the 30000-level or above, for a Bachelor of Science degree. The Bachelor of Science/Master of Science combined curriculum consists of all required courses for the Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, including the biology core courses (18 credits), biology concentration required courses (7-8 credits), biology electives (a minimum of 12-14 credits of 30000 level or above), as well as all of the current graduate course requirements of the traditional Master’s program.

The requirements for admission to the combined program are more stringent than the admission standards for the traditional Master of Science program. Students are required to maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA for the first 80 credit hours of course work and a grade of B- or higher in all biology basic core courses in the plan of study, in order to be conditionally admitted. Final admission to the graduate program requires that the student has a minimum 3.25 overall GPA, a minimum 3.25 GPA in all biology basic core courses, and receives a B- or higher grade in each of the graduate courses taken during his/her senior year. However, the application requirement of the traditional Master of Science program to take the GRE is waived.

The total credit hours required for this combined degree program will be 141 for those students awarded both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. The traditional Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences requires 120 hours and the Master of Science in Biological Sciences requires 30 hours, for a total of 150 hours. The combined program allows an overlap of 9 credit hours, thereby reducing the number of required hours to 141 and making it possible for qualified students to complete both degrees in five years. The graduate portion of the combined program offers both thesis and non-thesis options. The combined program allows students to receive the Bachelor of Science degree first upon completion of the undergraduate curriculum and the Master of Science degree later upon completion of the graduate plan of study. Students can choose to leave the combined program during the graduate portion of their study and still be eligible to receive the Bachelor of Science degree.

Total 141 Credits Required