Download - Purdue University Calumet

departments / schools
Thesis Option
Twenty-one credits in formal courses, one credit in seminar, and eight credits in
thesis research. Upto three credits of thesis research can be substituted by special
assignment (independent study, research and reading). Of the total of thirty credits,
twenty-one credits must in the primary area of biology at 50000 and 60000
levels and nine credits in supporting areas. The supporting areas include biology
(outside of the primary area), statistics, computer science, mathematics, chemistry,
and physics. Upto sixcredits can be taken from 40000-level formal courses as a
part of the supporting area requirement. Students exercising this option must
submit a formal research proposal, conduct the research, write a thesis, and pass an
oral defense before a faculty committee.
Required Cumulative Index
GPA of 3.0 or higher. A grade of “B”or better is required in all courses in the
primary area. The degree must be completed in 10 semesters within 5 years.
Transfer of Credit
A maximum of 9 credits taken from other accredited institutions completed within
10 years prior to completion of degree program may be accepted for supporting
area. Only credit hours associated with graduate courses for which grades of
Bor better were obtained will be eligible for transfer. Check with the Purdue
University Graduate School website (www.gradschool.purdue.edu/downloads/
facstaff/2004PP.pdf ) for details.
Combined Bachelor of Science and
Master of Science Degree Program
in Biological Sciences
Students graduating from this combined program will receive both the Bachelor
of Science and Master of Science degrees in Biological Sciences in five years,
as compared to the sixyears needed to complete the degrees separately. This is
accomplished by offering a supervised and seamless transition from the Bachelor
of Science curriculum to the Master of Science curriculum that is designed to better
enable our graduates to prepare for competitive positions in today’s job market
and/or admission to doctoral level graduate or professional schools.
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), two of three biology elective core courses (8 credits),
biology electives (a minimum of 12 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 3.25GPA for the first 80 credit hours of course work
and a grade of Bor 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 3.25overall GPA, a minimum 3.25GPA in all biology basic
core courses, and receives a Bor 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
145 for those students awarded both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science
degrees. The traditional Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences requires 124
hours and the Master of Science in Biological Sciences requires 30 hours, for a total
of 154 hours. The combined program allows an overlapof 9 credit hours, thereby
reducing the number of required hours to 145 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 the option of receiving both degrees together, upon completion of
the combined curriculum, or 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.
Graduate Biotechnology Certificate
(16 CREDIT HOURS)
The Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology is offered to students with a
bachelor’s degree who wish to obtain advanced training in areas of biology that
pertain to biotechnology. The certificate program is open to newstudents as well
as students currently enrolled in a Master of Science degree program. Students
who enter this program may have a variety of interests, including biochemistry,
bioengineering, microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, developmental biology,
or molecular evolution. Students who are enrolled in the M.S. degree program
are also eligible for receiving the Certificate upon request and completion of the
course work.
Since biotechnology is a very broad field covering a wide variety of major
growth sectors, such as medicine (therapeutics and diagnostics), agriculture
(cropand livestock improvement), food (processing and specialty chemicals), and
bioremediation (waste and contaminants disposal), students who complete the
Certificate program will have opportunities to pursue their career in any of the
subfields. Regardless of the students’ eventual career goals, the expected outcomes
of this program are to prepare all students with the fundamental knowledge of
molecular biology and its techniques that are essential for employment or advanced
studies related to biotechnology. Therefore the requirements of Molecular
Biology and Recombinant DNA Techniques are necessary.
Students completing the required courses will then be able to pursue additional
training in their areas of interests. For example, those who are interested in
molecular biology may take courses in Bioinformatics and Research in Molecular
Biology. Those who are interested in clinical genetics may take Medical Genetics
and Human Cytogenetics Technology, and those who are interested in microbiology
may take Food Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, and Environmental
Microbiology.
Certificate Requirements
A Plan of Study for the Graduate Biotechnology Certificate Program (GS Form
6) must be completed and approved by the Advisory Committee and the Graduate
Coordinator one semester prior to the completion of the certificate program.
Required courses (6 credits):
BIOL 50700 Molecular Biology (3)
BIOL 50800 Recombinant DNA Techniques (3)
Elective courses (a minimum of 10 credits)
BIOL 59500 Environmental Microbiology (3)
BIOL 59500 Medical Genetics (3)
BIOL 59500 Human Cytogenetics Technology (4)
BIOL 56600 Developmental Biology (4)
BIOL 52500 Neurobiology (4)
BIOL 56100 Immunology (3)
BIOL 59500 Bioinformatics (3)
BIOL 53300/53400 Medical Microbiology (5)
BIOL 59500 Food Microbiology (4)
BIOL 59500 Research (variable credits)
60 | departments / schools