MSBS students maintain satisfactory progress by:

• Matriculating on a full-time basis

• Maintaining a minimum semester GPA of 3.0.

• Graduating with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and achieving a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all of the Core Curricula

• Demonstrating the ability to grow in research skills and movement towards project goals following the selection of a thesis advisor

• Developing a research project, under the supervision of one or more faculty members that results in a thesis that demonstrates mastery of the study area, and is presented, defended and deposited

• Meet all milestone deadlines as defined above

This section covers the following program requirements:

• Curricular Requirements

• Requirements to Graduate

• Standards for Maintaining Satisfactory Progress

All students will need to meet the following degree requirements in order to successfully earn the MSBS degree:

• Complete a minimum of 45 graduate credits

• Complete the Core Curriculum with an average grade of B (3.0) or higher

• Must achieve an average GPA of at least a 3.0.

• Complete a written thesis

• Successfully defend the thesis orally to the thesis committee

• Successfully have your thesis deposited and accepted

• Degree Completion Status & Commencement Form

• Student Checkout Form - Submitted during your last term before graduation

First Year

• Core Curriculum – Students must select one of the 2 year long core courses below:

  • BSR1012 & BSR1013 Biomedical Sciences – 6 credits

  • BSR1705, BSR1706 & BSR1707 Neuroscience Core 1, 2 & 3 – 9 credits

• MPH0300 Biostatistics for the Biomedical Research 3 credits

• BSR1021 Responsible Conduct of Research 0.5 credit

• BSR1022 Rigor and Reproducibility 0.5 credit

• BSR8002 & BSR8003 Independent Research MS Biomedical Science – Students receive 8 credits for the research performed during their first year of study (4 credits for each semester).

• Electives – Students complete their credit requirements with electives. See curriculum section for more details.

Second Year

• Electives – See above.

• BSR8900 Thesis MS Biomedical Science credit – Three credits will be given for the MS Thesis in Biomedical Sciences in the final semester of the program. Thesis credits are assigned automatically when a student deposits his/her/their thesis.

• BSR8004 & BSR8005 Independent Research MS Biomedical Science – Each student will receive 8 credits for research conducted during the second year.

• Three/Four Semesters – While the MSBS Program is designed to be completed in 3 semesters, many students choose to spread their research and/or courses over 4 semesters. There are many advantages to utilizing the full 4 semesters to complete the degree and, as an added bonus, there are no additional tuition costs or student fees for this extra time. During the fourth semester, students will register for the course(s) they need and for research credits.