Untitled - University of New Orleans

to correct deficiencies in basic areas of biology.
Financial Aid
Financial support in the form of stipend and waiver of tuition may
be provided to Ph.D. and M.S. students. There are commonly three
forms of financial support: teaching assistantships, research assistantships,
and fellowships.
Doctor of Philosophy in Conservation Biology
Degree Requirements
Doctoral students are required to complete a minimum of 60 semester
hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. Specific courses will be
selected in consultation with the advisory committee and will depend
on the research objectives and level of the student’s preparedness for
those objectives. A minimum of 18 credit hours of course work must
be at the 6000 level.
The following courses or appropriate substitutions are required:
1. Biological Sciences 6022, Scientific Communication (2 credit
hours).
2. A minimum of two 6000-level graduate lecture courses in biological
sciences (6 credit hours).
3. A minimum of one two-unit graduate seminar course (2 credit
hours).
4. One course in statistics course taken at the graduate level (3
credit hours).
5. Demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language.*
6. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in graduate
coursework. Courses with the grade of C may not be applied
toward the degree requirements.
* In cases where a foreign language is not appropriate for a student’s
research goals, a course providing more appropriate skills such as a
computer language course may be substituted with the approval of
the student’s advisory committee.
Up to 12 hours of graduate-level credit can be taken previous to
admission into the Ph.D. program may be applied towards the minimum
of 60 hours required for the doctoral degree. However, only six
of these hours can be applied to reduce the requirement for 18 hours
of 6000-level courses. Any transfer of credits is subject to approval by
the student’s advisory committee and the graduate coordinator.
Typically, the above requirements should be satisfied during the
first two years of study. In addition, after successfully passing the
General Examination (see below), students are required to take a
minimum of 12 credit hours of Biological Sciences 7050, Dissertation
Research.
Advisory Committee
Each Ph.D. student has an advisory committee that directs the
coursework and research. Students are expected to select a faculty
member from the Department of Biological Sciences to serve as chair
of the advisory committee by the end of the first semester in the
graduate program. By the end of the second semester, the advisory
committee is expanded to a minimum of three members. The committee
is enlarged from three to five members prior to the general
examination (see below). Members of the advisory committee must be
members of the graduate faculty, and at least half must be faculty in
the Department of Biological Sciences.
Qualifying Exam
Students in the Ph.D. Program must pass a qualifying exam prior
to the end of their second year in the program. The purposes of the
exam are to address deficiencies in the student’s preparation and to
identify the general area of dissertation research. Student’s preparation
in the biological sciences is assessed by the Biology Subject test of
the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which must be taken within
one year following admission into the program (if not taken prior
to admission). Students must score above the 50th percentile in two
section tests and above the 75th percentile in one section test. Lower
scores require that the student pass a course in the corresponding area
with a B or better. Courses addressing potential deficiencies should
be completed prior to the qualifying exam. The exam also includes
a brief prospectus of the student’s plan for dissertation research. The
format of the prospectus will be determined in consultation with the
advisory committee.
General Exam
Students in the Ph.D. program must pass a general exam prior to
the end of their third year in the program. The general exam includes
a written proposal for dissertation research, a public presentation, and
a defense of the proposal to the student’s advisory committee. The format
of the proposal will be determined in consultation with the advisory
committee. A student failing the general exam may retake the
exam one time, as long as the three year time limit has not expired.
Students not passing the general exam by the end of the third year are
subject to removal from the Ph.D. program.
Dissertation and Final Exam
A dissertation embodying original research in a specific area in conservation
biology is a requirement for the Ph.D. the dissertation must
be presented in a seminar open to the public, defended in an oral final
examination, and approved by the student’s advisory committee.
Master of Science in Biological Science
Master of Science students must complete a minimum of 30 credit
hours beyond the baccalaureate, which must conform to the following
requirements:
1. A maximum of 6 credit hours of Thesis Research (BIOS 7000).
2. A minimum of 6 credit hours of 6000-level lecture or lecture/
laboratory courses.
3. A minimum of 4 credit hours of graduate seminar courses (which
may include Scientific Communication, BIOS 6022).
4. The remaining 14 credit hours must be at the 4000G or 6000 level
and may not include more than four credit hours of Biological
Problems (BIOS 6090).
5. A minimum of 12 of the 24 non-thesis credit hours must be in the
Department of Biological Sciences.
6. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in graduate
coursework, and a maximum of three credit hours of graduate
coursework with the grade of C may be applied to the degree
requirements.
7. Students in the biomedical emphasis must have a minimum of 3
credit hours of course work from the LSUMC School of Graduate
Studies.
Up to 12 hours of graduate-level credit can be taken previous
to admission into the M.S. program may be applied towards the 30
hours required for the M.S. degree. Any transfer of credits is subject
to approval by the student’s advisory committee and the graduate
coordinator.
Advisory Committee
Each M.S. student has an advisory committee that directs the
coursework and research. In the first semester in the M.S. program, the
student selects a faculty member from the Department of Biological
Sciences to serve as chair of the advisory committee. By the end of the
second semester, the advisory committee is expanded to a minimum
of three members. Members of the advisory committee must be members
of the graduate faculty, and at least half must be faculty in the
Department of Biological Sciences.
Thesis
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