Dec 03, 2024

Graduate Catalog 2023 - 2024

Graduate Catalog 2023 - 2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biology, MS

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Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences

Science Building Room 219
(216) 687-2440
https://artsandsciences.csuohio.edu/bges/graduate-programs#BioMS
Dr. Bibo Li; Graduate Program Director

Introduction

Faculty members of the Dept. of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences offer graduate training in a broad range of biological sciences. Substantial external funding and state of the art equipment enable cutting edge research in the area of Molecular and cellular understanding of biological processes to identify therapeutic targets relevant to reproductive health, aging, heart disease, infectious disease and cancer.

The graduate program is open to full-time and part-time students as well as to non-degree students who are preparing themselves for entry into degree programs or are seeking to keep abreast of new developments in their fields of interest.

Faculty Research:

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

Facilities

Departmental facilities include a large animal-care facility, cold rooms, darkrooms, fluorescent microscopes (a Nikon A1Rsi Laser Scanning Confocal and a Deltavision Deconvolution Microscope) and light microscopes, a BD FACS Canto II Flow Cytometer, an Amersham Typhoon 5 imager, a Typhoon 9410 imaging scanner, Beckman Optima L90K ultracentrifuges, Beckman J2-21 centrifuges, anOdyssey Fc Imaging System, a Thermo Electron French press, cell culture facilities, a scintillation counter, an AKTA purifier FPLC system, Heska Hematology and Element Analyzers, a Nikon Ti2-E inverted microscope with an Abberior Stedycon STED laser system, to cite a few.

Career Information

Graduates are employed in research, teaching, and administrative positions in private industry, hospitals, governmental agencies, environmental action groups, and colleges and universities in the Cleveland area, throughout the United States and abroad. The graduate program also attracts established teachers, research scientists, and management and staff in diverse businesses with a biological or biomedical focus.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet College of Graduate Studies admission requirements regarding grade-point average and TOEFL results. Applicants must have submitted official transcripts for all undergraduate and any previous graduate study, at least two letters of recommendation (preferably from faculty members), and a statement of personal career goals and research interests. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English-language proficiency by submitting official scores for the TOEFL, the iBT Test, or an equivalent examination, unless they hold a degree from a U.S. institution.

Applicants must have completed a minimum of one semester of statistics or calculus, one semester of organic chemistry, and have a strong background in biology that is essentially equivalent to the Cleveland State undergraduate core curriculum. Questions should be directed to the BGES Graduate Program Director.

Submit application materials to the Graduate Admissions Office (U.S. citizens and permanent residents) or the Center for International Services and Programs (international applicants and current visa holders).

Apply Now: http://www.csuohio.edu/graduate-admissions/how-apply

Graduate Assistantships/ Fellowships

Full-time graduate students pursuing thesis or dissertation research may be supported through teaching assistantships or fellowships by the department for a period that, as a rule, should not exceed three years (for the MS program). This support includes tuition and a stipend. Full-time teaching assistants are expected to work twenty hours per week and must enroll as full-time students (currently nine credit hours, including research credits). Research assistantships may be available through the research grants of individual faculty. A limited number of graduate tuition waivers, which carry a service requirement of ten hours of work per week, may be awarded to students with superior credentials, as funds are available. Awards are granted through a competitive process, where all application materials are assessed and taken into consideration. The initial decisions are typically made based on completed applications by March for the fall semester and, if additional assistantships are available, in November for the spring semester. Required minima for grade-point average, GRE scores, and TOEFL score are higher than those for admission to the program. In order to hold a teaching assistantship, non-native English-speaking teaching assistants must be assessed and certified as proficient in spoken English.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science degree may be earned through either a thesis or a non-thesis program. A student will be admitted to candidacy when the following requirements are met:

Deficiencies in undergraduate preparation are satisfied.
Eight graduate hours of course work are completed with a grade point average of 3.0 or better.
A plan of study and, for the thesis option, the research proposal are approved by the Advisory Committee and accepted by the Graduate Committee, and the Cleveland State Thesis Proposal Approval Form is submitted to and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Thesis Option

Besides course work, the degree requires a thesis, based on original scientific research of sufficient quality for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

1. Selection of a Major Advisor and an Advisory Committee.

Selection of a Major Advisor and an Advisory Committee. The Major Advisor typically is the primary supervisor and source of support for the student’s thesis research. Together, the Major Advisor and Advisory Committee supervise the student’s plan of study and research proposal, monitor progress, certify that requirements have been met in a timely fashion, and process all petitions, progress reports, and other communications with the Graduate Committee.

2. Completion of a minimum of 32 credit hours with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 distributed as follows:

A. Total course work and research

Courses (minimum) 23 credits
Research (minimum) 8 credits
Additional courses or research 1 credit

Total minimum* 32 credits

*College of Graduate Studies regulations specify that all courses must be 500-level or above; not more than seven credit hours of 400-level courses in related areas and not offered by the BGES Department may be included, if approved by the Advisory Committee and the BGES Graduate Committee.

B. Required courses

BIO 500 - Graduate Orientation
BIO 502 - Graduate Orientation
BIO 504 - Biological Chemistry
BIO 540 - Biostatistics or an equivalent college statistics course

C. Seminars

BIO 688 - Graduate Seminar (M.S.) (at least three completions)
BIO 684 - Research Seminar

D. Remaining courses

Each student formulates an individual plan of study in consultation with the Major Advisor and the Advisory Committee. This includes areas of course-work concentration as well as any additional elective courses needed to fulfill degree requirements described above.

E. Thesis research

The student’s individual research project should be of sufficient quality to be published in a refereed scientific journal.

3. Continuous enrollment for a minimum of one credit hour from admission to candidacy until graduation.

4. Exit requirements

A. Presentation of the thesis research at a departmental seminar.

B. Defense of the thesis before a faculty committee.

Two unsuccessful attempts to defend the thesis shall result in a recommendation for dismissal from the program.

C. Submission of the approved thesis together with an article or manuscript, based on the thesis, in a format suitable for submission to a refereed scientific journal.

Non-Thesis Option

Students in the non-thesis option may earn the M.S. degree in Biology by completing a minimum of 32 credit hours of course work and passing a comprehensive examination, based on a Library Research Paper that presents a critical review of original scientific literature on a topic chosen by the student. The BGES Graduate Program Director serves as the Advisor.

1. Completion of a minimum of 32 credit hours with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 distributed as follows:

A. Total course work 32 credits

*May not include research credits (e.g. BIO 691 or BIO 695 ) or BIO/EVS courses below the 500-level; not more than seven credit hours of 400-level courses in related areas and not offered by the BGES Department may be included, if approved by the Advisor and the BGES Graduate Committee.

B. Required courses

BIO 500 - Graduate Orientation
BIO 504 - Biological Chemistry
BIO 690 - Non-Thesis M.S. Exit Project (see exit requirements)
A course in statistics if not previously taken

C. Seminars

BIO 688 - Graduate Seminar (M.S.) (at least three completions)
BIO 684 - Research Seminar (one credit)

D. Remaining courses

Each M.S. student formulates an individual plan of study in consultation with the BGES Graduate Program Director. This includes areas of course-work concentration, as well as any additional elective courses needed to fulfill degree requirements described above.

2. Exit requirements

A. Selection of an Examining Committee to supervise the Library Research Paper.

B. Comprehensive examination

Successful completion of the comprehensive examination (BIO 690) by presenting and defending the Library Research Paper before the Examining Committee. Two unsuccessful attempts to pass the comprehensive examination shall result in a recommendation for dismissal from the program.

BIO 690 - Non-Thesis M.S. Exit Project

Note(s)

Students who have never taken a college-level course in statistics must do so; BIO 540 - Biostatistics or an equivalent graduate statistics course approved by the BGES Graduate Program Director is preferred.