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 Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences offer graduate training in a broad range of biological sciences. Students in the Biology MS program may conduct thesis research in one of three specializations: cell and molecular biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and computational biology. They may also choose a non-thesis option.
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, a Beckman J26XPcentrifuge, an Avanti centrifuge, an Odyssey Fc Imaging System, cell culture facilities, a scintillation counter, an AKTA purifier FPLC system, Heska Hematology and Element Analyzers, a Sartorius BLI Octet interferometer, a 96-core high performance computer with an Nvidia A2 GPU and one TB of RAM, a Nikon Ti2-E inverted microscope with an Abberior Stedycon STED laser system, and an assortment of computers with Internet access. Most CC faculty are located in the new Research and Education Building of the Lerner Research Institute, with its state-of-the-art facilities, including a vivarium and core facilities for biotechnology, transgenic mice, flow cytometry, microscopy, protein sequencing, and hybridoma work.
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 the College of Graduate Studies admission requirements regarding grade-point average and TOEFL results, as well as departmental standards. The BGES department expects master’s applicants to have an undergraduate grade-point average of 3.3 or higher (for the MS Bio thesis program) or 3.0 or higher (for the MS Bio nonthesis program). Official transcripts must be submitted for all prior undergraduate and graduate study. At least two letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty members, and a statement of personal career goals and research interests must be submitted by the applicant. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency by submitting official scores for the TOEFL, iBT Test, or an equivalent examination, unless they hold a degree from a U.S. institution (see the section on International Student Admission in this Catalog).
A bachelor’s degree in biology or a related science is preferred. Students from other majors are encouraged to discuss their qualifications with the BGES Graduate Program Director and/or any potential research advisors. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree in other majors must have a minimum of one semester of statistics or calculus and one semester of college chemistry. A strong background in biology that is comparable to the Cleveland State undergraduate biology curriculum is preferred, although highly motivated students without a strong background in biology will still be considered. Questions should be directed to the BGES Graduate Program Director.
Applicants, both domestic and international, can apply at the following link: https://go.csuohio.edu/portal/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. Among other options to prove proficiency, non-native English speakers may take and pass the SPEAK test at the CSU Testing Center.