Fall 2020 Registration

 

Registration opens for GRS students on Sunday, March 29th.

Incoming students: you will register for courses during Orientation in August. We will send out more information in the coming months.

IMPORTANT FIRST STEPS:

  • Check your compliance status. To be eligible to register, you need to be compliant with the University. Please check your compliance status under the Personal Tab on the StudentLink.
  • Review your transcript and the graduate program guide regarding requirements and accepted courses for your degree
  • You can search for courses and start adding classes to a planner using the student link: https://www.bu.edu/studentlink/
  • Talk with your advisor to discuss your academic plan and complete the steps below based on your situation.

FULL-TIME STATUS

  • MA Students: International students are required to have full-time student status either by course registration or by certification. If you are registered for less than 12 credits and are engaged in full-time progress toward your degree and need to be considered full time you must complete the Continuing Study and Certified Full-Time Status form (see below).
  • PhD Students: You do NOT need to be registered for 12 credits to be considered full-time and you do NOT need to complete the certified full-time status form if you are registered for at least 2 credits (research, course credits) – GRS automatically certifies you as a full-time student if you are fully funded and enrolled in at least 2 credits. Please let Christina know if you have any questions about this.

FALL 2020 BIOLOGY COURSES:

Below is a list of recommended Biology courses offered in Fall 2020. Note: Course offerings may change. Check the StudentLink for the most updated list of course offerings. You can also search for additional courses offered in other departments using the BU Course search or directly in the student link. If you plan on taking courses in the fall that are cross listed and/or open to undergraduates, I strongly encourage you to talk to your advisor and register before undergraduate students start signing up for classes (before April 5th).

CAS BI 551 Biology of Stem Cells
Views on stem cell research range from assumptions of a potential cure for most diseases to fears that it will depreciate the value of human life. This course equips students with the science that underlies this discussion, including the biological properties of stem cells and the experimental hurdles to utilization in regenerative medicine.

CAS BI 552 Molecular Biology 1
Synthesis, structure, function, regulation of macromolecules (DNA, RNA, protein). Prokaryotic and eukaryotic molecular biology. Topics include: replication, repair, recombination, transcription, translation, 5-methylcytosine, transcription factors, DNA looping (enhancer- promoter, insulator, etc.), histone modification/chromatin remodeling, non-coding RNA. Discussion of genetic and recombinant DNA techniques, including CRISPR/Cas9.

CAS BI 581 B1 Grant Writing
Seminar course in preparing a research grant proposal.

CAS BI 581 H1 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders
Review recent topics and readings in the field of neurodegeneration.

CAS BI 583 CM/MCBB Seminar
Facilitates presentation and discussion of research ideas, preliminary data, and research progress by all graduate students in Cell & Molecular Biology (CM) & MCBB.

GRS BI 610 Developmental Biology
Contemporary aspects of development, drawing from current literature. Emphasis on the use of experimental approaches to address topics such as polarity in the egg, body axis specification, embryonic patterning and organogenesis.

GRS BI 621 Biochemistry 1
Introductory biochemistry. Protein structure and folding, enzyme mechanisms, kinetics, and allostery; nucleic acid structure; macromolecular biosynthesis with emphasis on specificity and fidelity; lipids and membrane structure; vitamins and coenzymes; introduction to intermediary metabolism.

GRS BI 645 Cellular & Molecular Neurophysiology
Cellular and molecular basis of neural excitability and synaptic transmission. The molecular understanding of ion channels is extrapolated to higher brain functions such as learning, memory, and sleep.

GRS BI 655 Developmental Neurobiology
Fundamental principles of developmental neurobiology. Course stresses molecular mechanisms that underlie early neural development, differentiation, process outgrowth, and behavior.

GRS MB 721 Graduate Biochemistry
Introductory biochemistry course that in one semester covers the major principles of biochemistry; proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and metabolism. Emphasis on how knowledge was derived and the theoretical principles governing biochemistry.

 

HOW TO REGISTER FOR COURSES:

PLEASE NOTE: GRS indicates that you should “Fill in the Registration Form and see your advisor or Director of Graduate Studies for review and signature” — this is not needed for MCBB. We are asking you to review everything with your advisor(s) and follow the steps below. We do not need to see or collect this registration form.

  • Christina will email you your registration code.
  • Discuss your course plan with your advisor.
  • Register for Fall 2020 courses using WebReg.  Access WebReg by selecting “Registration” under the Academics Tab on the StudentLink. Christina will register TFs for BI699 and research credits if needed (see below) – you only need to register for classes on the studentlink.

 

RESEARCH CREDITS:

To register for research credits email Christina, and cc your advisor, indicating the amount of research credits you need. Christina will then register you for research credits.

Review your transcript to determine how many credits are needed. There is not a minimum amount of research credits needed for the degree but PhD students can have up to 32 research credits and MA students can have up to 12 research credits.
Helpful guidelines are below to help you decide the number of credits to select:
Only registering for research credits (not teaching): register for 6 research credits
Only registering for research credits (and teaching): register for 4 research credits
Registering for courses and research credits (not teaching): register for 4 research credits
Registering for courses and research credits (and teaching): register for 2 research credits

TEACHING:

MA Students: If you are interested in teaching with Biology in Fall 2020 please complete the TF/TA preference form.

PhD Students: ***UPDATE*** GRS will no longer be using BI 699 for TF’s. If you are teaching and taking additional credits (courses and/or research credits) you should be all set. If you are NOT registering for any courses or research credits but you will be teaching please complete a continuing study form (see below) since there are no longer BI 699 TF credits. Please confirm with your advisor that you will be teaching. Complete the TF/TA preference form.

CONTINUING STUDY:

MA Students: If you are registered for less than 12 credits and are engaged in full-time progress toward your degree and need to be considered full time you must complete the Continuing Study and Certified Full-Time Status form and email this to Christina. Please get your advisor’s electronic signature and/or cc them when you email it to me so I can get their approval via email. I will get the Director’s approval for you.

PhD Students: If you are NOT registering for ANY course credits or research credits but you are continuing to make progress toward the completion of your degree fill out the Continuing Study and Certified Full-Time Status form and email this to Christina.Please get your advisor’s electronic signature and/or cc them when you email it to me so I can get their approval via email. I will get the Director’s approval for you. You do NOT need to complete the certified full-time status form if you are registered for at least 2 credits (research, course credits) – GRS automatically certifies you as a full-time student if you are fully funded and enrolled in at least 2 credits.