Overview
The Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences at LSUS is a program of study in General Biology, covering a variety of biological specializations. The objectives of this program are to (a) prepare graduate-level trained individuals for employment as research professionals at regional and state bioscience-related industries and agencies, (b) provide initial graduate training for those students who would eventually enroll in doctoral programs at other universities, and/or (c) provide science teachers in the Caddo, Bossier, and surrounding parish school districts with an opportunity to pursue research-based graduate training in some field other than education. The program of study consists of a minimum of 30 semester hours with thesis and non-thesis options.
The thesis option offers a basic science approach to the study of any one of the following concentrations: cellular and molecular biology (CE), computational biology (CO), environmental biology (EN), and field and organismal biology (FI). Graduation requires the maintenance of the academic standards set by the Office of Graduate Studies (i.e. ≥ 3.0 GPA with ≤ two Cs); at least 10 hours of required core courses; at least 14 hours of concentration electives; at least six hours of thesis; and approval of a manuscript and oral defense of the thesis research by a thesis director and committee. The thesis director and committee members must consist of graduate faculty members in the School of Mathematics and Sciences with at least two graduate faculty members in the Department of Biological Sciences.
The non-thesis option, the health sciences concentration (HS), offers academic preparation for students seeking careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or biomedical sciences. Graduation depends on the maintenance of the academic standards set by the Office of Graduate Studies; successful completion of 10 hours of required core courses, nine hours of required concentration courses, and at least 11 elective concentration courses; and scoring at least 80% on the exit exam. The exit exam may contain 50-100 questions with 10 passage-based questions and 5-20 questions from core and required concentration courses: BCHM 610 , BCHM 612 , BCHM 722 , BIOS 670 , BIOS 686 , and ENSC 705 /MATH 710 .
If a student has earned an A/B in a senior- or graduate-level equivalent at LSUS or other college/university, then special permission from the Department Chair or graduate Program Director is required to take the graduate-level course. In such cases, the student is required to complete 30 hours of total graduate coursework at LSUS in addition to approved substitutions. Substitutions for course electives must be approved by the Department Chair or graduate Program Director. Course credit hours are indicated in parentheses.
Admission Requirements
Applicants to this program should have (1) a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by a USDE-recognized institutional accrediting agency; (2) a GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for undergraduate coursework and, if applicable, a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on any graduate work attempted; (3) GRE scores of at least 300 for the combined verbal and analytical sections on the new GRE format or at least 1000 for the combined analytical and quantitative sections on the old GRE format; (4) satisfactory standing at the most recent educational institution attended, and (5) two letters of recommendation from at least one science faculty member. The second letter of recommendation may be from a scientific professional with a terminal degree. To be eligible for the Health Sciences concentration, students should have completed Organic Chemistry I and II and Anatomy and Physiology I and II with grades of C or better.
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