The Department of Biology offers three tracks that lead to the MS: a coursework track, a scholarly paper track, and a research thesis track. The coursework track can be completed in one year and the scholarly paper track can be completed in a year and a summer. The research thesis track typically requires two years to complete. In all three tracks, students are assigned faculty advisors in their subfield of interest during the first semester in the program.
Upon completion of the master’s program, students should be prepared for further graduate training or for eventual employment in teaching and/or research positions in academia, industry, government, or nonprofit agencies. The program accepts post-bachelor’s applicants with degrees in related disciplines where the focus has been on biology or a relevant field. Students with prior graduate work may be able to transfer course credits. See the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) Transfer of Credits policy for more details.
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Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate academic mastery in one of three areas of Biology: Ecology, Behavior, Evolution, & Marine Biology; Neurobiology; or Cellular & Molecular Biology.
2. Attain expertise in a specific field of study within one of three broad subject areas represented in the department: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior, & Marine Biology; Neurobiology; or Cellular & Molecular Biology
3. Attain skills and qualifications needed for employment in an academic, government, or private sector position related to the life sciences.
Coursework Track Requirements
Students must complete 32 credits of 500-level and above coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. All credits must be lecture, laboratory, or seminar courses. These courses will be selected under the mentorship of the faculty member who is serving as the student’s primary advisor. The full list of Biology courses can be found here.
Scholarly Paper Track Requirements
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students must complete 32 credits of 500-level and above coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Ordinarily, these courses will be selected under the mentorship of the faculty member who is serving as the student’s primary scholarly literature-based paper reader (see below). At least 28 of these graduate level credits must come from formal course work (i.e., cannot include credits from a research course). Up to 4 credits can be Readings in Biology (BI 701/702). The full list of Biology courses can be found here.
SCHOLARLY PAPER
In addition to the course requirements listed above, the student must complete a scholarly literature-based paper, based on recent literature and with adequate bibliography. The scholarly paper will generally be approximately 30–80 pages on a selected research topic in current biology and will usually include several chapters and extensive literature references. This paper will be written in consultation with a faculty member from the Biology Department who will serve as the primary reader. The scholarly paper is presented for approval by the student’s faculty committee of two readers. A final copy must be given to all committee members, the Department, and one copy should be kept by the student. This paper is not submitted to GRS.
Research Thesis Track Requirements
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students must complete 32 credits of 500-level and above coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. At least 20 of these credits must come from formal course work (i.e., cannot include credits from a research course). Up to 12 credits can be Readings in Biology (BI 701/702) or Master’s Research in Biology (BI 595). Courses will be selected under the mentorship of the student’s faculty advisor and will vary depending on program discipline. Please refer to the Graduate Program Guide for more details. The full list of Biology courses can be found here.
Cell & Molecular Biology
- CAS BI 552 Molecular Biology (4 credits)
- GRS BI 621 Biochemistry I (4 credits)
- One Cell Biology course (4 credits)
- Electives and Research (20 credits, 500-level and above)
Ecology, Behavior, Evolution & Marine Biology
MS in Ecology, Behavior, Evolution & Marine Biology coursework is highly variable. Students, in consultation with advisors, develop a plan of coursework and research.
Neurobiology
- GRS BI 755 Cellular and Systems Neuroscience (4 credits)
- GRS BI 756 Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience or BI 741 Neural Systems: Functional Circuit Analysis (4 credits)
- GRS NE 500 Frontiers of Neuroscience (2 credits)
- GRS NE 501 Frontiers of Neuroscience (2 credits)
- Electives and Research (20 credits, 500-level and above)
THESIS PROJECT
In addition to the requirements listed above, the student must complete a program of research acceptable to their thesis committee that leads to the preparation of a thesis. This thesis must be approved by a committee of three faculty members that includes at least two faculty members from the Biology Department. The final reader-approved thesis must be submitted to the Electronics Thesis and Dissertations (ETD) Administrator for final approval by the graduate school before the date posted on the GRS submission calendar. More information about thesis formatting and submission can be found on the GRS website.
Graduation Timeline
Forms and additional information about MS graduation can be found on the GRS website.
[ALL Tracks]
Semester prior to your intended graduation cycle
[Scholarly Paper Track only]
About 2 months before end of last semester
- Send first draft of paper to readers
At least two weeks prior to degree conferral
- Final copy of paper sent to Graduate Program Specialist
[Research Thesis Track only]
About 2 months before thesis submission deadline
- Send first draft of thesis to readers
At least three weeks prior to thesis submission deadline
- Properly formatted draft of thesis submitted as PDF to grsrec@bu.edu
See the Graduate Program Guide for final dates to submit thesis to ETD
- Submit final thesis to ETD (online submission)
- Submit signature page to Graduate Program Specialist with original signatures from readers
Time Limits
Officially, the master’s degree requirements for all three tracks must be completed within three years from the date of first registration. However, students may apply to the Graduate School for extensions past the three-year deadline. MS degrees are conferred in May, August, or January, as specified on the GRS website.
Funding
The Biology Department does not guarantee financial support for MS students, although there are often Teaching Assistant positions available for MS students that provide $6,000 per semester.
MS students are also eligible for the Department’s Master’s Merit Scholarship. Incoming MS students have the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship in the $10,000-$25,000 range, to be split evenly across the student’s first two semesters. Prospective students should answer the “Department Scholarships” question on the application to be considered for an incoming student scholarship. Continuing MS students have the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship in the $2,500-$15,000 range, and should follow the application instructions in the annual scholarship call sent via email by the Graduate Committee Chair. The Department anticipates offering 2-5 scholarships to incoming MS students and 2-5 scholarships to continuing MS students annually.
More information on the cost of attendance and financial aid is available on the GRS website.
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