Master of Science Programs

The Master of Science program in Biology, which awards a Purdue University degree, requires 30 credit hours of study beyond the baccalaureate level.

Students graduating with M.S. Thesis degrees are highly successful in obtaining employment on campus or in local industry. Indianapolis is the major population center of Indiana and is home to several large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Eli Lilly & Co., Roche Diagnostics Corporation, and Dow AgroSciences. These companies have provided high-paying jobs for many of our graduates.

Students from non-thesis M.S. programs have been able to secure higher level positions within their current employment and have shown a high success rate in gaining admission to professional schools.

The M.S. degree can be earned through any of three different options:

Thesis Option

This degree option is a research degree leading to a formal thesis. Students take a minimum of 9 credit hours of graduate level course work. Students may be required to take more than 9 credit hours of course work if there is research area or undergraduate course work deficiencies. The remainder of the 30 credit hours of registration is taken as Thesis Research (BIOL 698) and Seminar (BIOL 696), a one credit hour registration during which the student presents the results of the research prior to the thesis defense.  This degree option is available primarily to full-time students and, in most cases, comes with a support package (see Financial Support).  Students should plan on spending two full years to complete this degree option.

Non-Thesis MS Option (Standard Non-Thesis)

The standard 30 hour non-thesis degree is comprised of 27 hours of course work and an independent project (BIOL 595, Special Assignments) and Seminar (BIOL 696), during which the project results are presented in a public forum. This option is most frequently chosen by students who hold full-time positions elsewhere.  This option can be pursued on a part-time or full-time basis, but requires enrollment in three or more semesters (e.g. Fall, Spring, and Summer).

Pre-Professional Non-Thesis MS Option

The pre-professional non-thesis degree is designed for students who must take additional course work or raise their academic credentials for application to medical, dental, or other professional schools. Because 30 hours of graduate level course work must be completed in two semesters, this program is very challenging. There are no creative project or seminar requirements for this degree. Applicants should have a minimum of 16 credit hours in coursework toward a Biology major plus Chemistry and Physics coursework expected by professional schools.

The pre-professional option welcomes applicants from a variety of undergraduate degree programs provided the science background stipulations have been met.  Sixteen credit hours of Biology are required to facilitate the transition to graduate level coursework in Biology.  This required experience would include a freshmen year of Biology followed by two upper level courses, all offered for biology majors.  The preference ranking for upper level courses, in descending order, is genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry with physiology, development and immunology also acceptable.  Courses in fieldwork or courses for future health care practitioners are not considered.

Download the Pre-professional MS program brochure.

Application Outcomes for M.S. Programs

Students who meet the minimal expectations in all areas and are recommended for admission will be informed by email and letter.  For those admitted students who have an undergraduate GPA below 3.0, admission will be conditional upon the earning minimal grades (e. g. no grade below B) or GPA (e. g. 3.0) during their first semester.  Admission to the M.S. programs with a GPA below 3.0 is rare, especially for those seeking admission to the one-year pre-professional option.  Students who are admitted with this background must have demonstrated significant improvement over their final undergraduate semesters, retaken key undergraduate science courses with strong grades, completed a graduate degree in a related area, or in other ways demonstrated that their potential exceeds their previous performance. For students who have taken the GRE exam prior to August 1, 2011 a GRE total of 1000 is required as well as a verbal GRE of 400. For students taking the GRE exam after this date, a verbal score of 146, a quantitative of 145, and a combined total of 295 will be considered as meeting the minimal requirements. The minimum score of 3.5 on the analytical writing section of the exam remains the same.  For those students who do not meet these minimal requirements a retake of the exam will be required in order to be reconsidered.

For students who were denied admission, two types of outcomes are possible. First, denied students with borderline credentials, or those who appear to have as yet unmet potential, will be asked by the Graduate Committee to complete four graduate courses as a non-degree student and earn a grade of B or better in each class during the following semester. If this condition is met, the student whose admission was initially defered will be admitted to the M.S. the next semester, and the probationary coursework will be then transferred into the degree programs. For those originally seeking admission to the one-year pre-professional M.S., four non-degree courses will constitute the probationary enrollment in order to permit the students to ultimately complete the M.S. (non-thesis option) within 1 calendar year (fall, spring, summer). Non-degree registration of this type is eligible for federal financial aid.  Second, for students whose records do not appear to have the potential to be competitive, a simple letter of denial will be sent. Such students can take coursework as non-degree students to improve their credentials and reapply, but there is no guarantee of program acceptance or transferability of coursework taken. Additionally, such students who reapply may be placed on a waitlist, and admission will depend on class availability.

Placement Success

Students graduating with M.S. Thesis degrees are highly successful in obtaining employment on campus or in local industry. Indianapolis is the major population center of Indiana and is home to several large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Eli Lilly & Co., Roche Diagnostics Corporation, and Dow AgroSciences. These companies have provided high-paying jobs for many of our graduates.  Students from non-thesis M.S. programs have been able to secure higher level positions within their current employment and have shown a high success rate in gaining admission to professional schools.