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Biology Graduate Studies
Graduate Studies in Biology at
Northeastern Illinois
University
Graduate Advisor:
Dr. Mary Kimble
S- 340F, Phone:
773-442-5727
E-mail: M-Kimble@neiu.edu
The information on this
webpage is intended to help current and potential graduate students in the
Biology program find important information about our department's course
offerings and requirements for the M.S. degree. Please contact me if you have
any questions about this information, or suggestions for additional topics to
cover.
Master of Science in
Biology
The Biology graduate program is
designed to serve both teachers and those who intend to work in various
capacities for which advanced biological training is necessary. A sound basis
is also provided for further graduate study. Laboratory work and introduction
to research methodology are integral to the program. Topical areas include
Genetics, Molecular Biology, Morphology, Taxonomy, Physiology and
Ecology.
Requirements for Admission
to the Program
-
A minimum of 15 upper
division credit hours in Biology, including course work each in Genetics,
Molecular Biology (Cell Biology, Biochemistry, or Microbiology), Ecology,
Taxonomy/Morphology, and Physiology are required for full admission to the
program. Students should have a minimum of one botany and one zoology course.
-
A minimum of 26 hours in
the cognate areas of Chemistry (at least eight credit hours, including
laboratory work and one course in Organic Chemistry); Physics (at least four
credit hours of laboratory Physics); Math (at least three credit hours of
advanced mathematics-Precalculus, College Algebra, or Statistics) also are
required. The balance of credits may be been earned in any combination of
Chemistry, Physics, Math, and Earth Sciences courses. General Education courses
can not be used to satisfy the Biology or cognate area requirements.
-
Students lacking 9 credit hours or
less of required Biology or cognate area prerequisite course work may be
eligible for conditional admission.
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An undergraduate cumulative grade
point average (GPA) of 2.75, with a GPA of 3.0 in major/cognate area courses, is
required for full admission to the program. Students with a major/cognate GPA
of 2.50 - 2.99 with strong recommendations and/or relevant working experience
may qualify for conditional admission.
Admission
Procedure
Prospective students should contact the Graduate College (CLS 4029), Northeastern
Illinois University, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave., Chicago, Illinois, 60625,
(773-442-6000) for an application and current semester deadlines for applying to
the program. Graduate College deadlines also are listed in the Schedule of
classes each semester. Application materials also may be downloaded from http://www.neiu.edu.
Official transcripts from all
college course work (undergraduate degree, community college credit,
postgraduate courses ) must be submitted with the application. If credit has
been earned at foreign institutions, the transcripts must include an official
evaluation of equivalent U.S. credit and GPA. Students with non-descriptive
course titles from foreign institutions should consider including course syllabi
or catalog descriptions for these courses, to avoid delay in the evaluation of
the application.
Two letters of recommendation are
required. These typically are written by the student's undergraduate
professors, advisors, and/or current or former employers in relevant fields, and
should address the student�s academic potential and prospect for success in a
graduate program. Letters from family members, friends or co-workers are not
acceptable. The letters should be current and written specifically for
application for admission to Northeastern Illinois University.
The complete application is
submitted directly to the Graduate College for initial review. Following this
review, the application materials are forwarded to the Biology graduate program
advisor for review and consideration. Applications submitted after the deadline
may not be evaluated for the requested semester for admission. Students may
apply as a graduate student-at-large if they have missed this deadline. Further
details on the admission process are available from the Graduate College.
Programs of Study and Degree
Requirements
The Biology program allows
students to tailor their program of study to meet their individual needs.
Students may attend full-time or part-time and have up to 6 years to finish
their Masters Degree. Graduate courses are offered during the late afternoon
and evening hours, and students can arrange their schedule so that they are on
campus only two days a week, if desired.
The department offers three
Graduate Tracks:
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Molecular/Cellular
Biology
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Morphological/Physiology
Biology
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Ecology/Environmental
Biology
Students must take at least five courses from one of the above
tracks. Additional credits may be taken in any of the above areas.
Three Options for the Biology Graduate Student
-
Option 1: Research
Thesis - students are invited by the
department to pursue a research thesis. Students interested in this option
should consult with faculty in their area of interest and with the graduate
program advisor early in their program of study, for potential research thesis
topics. It is the student's responsibility to secure a faculty sponsor for
thesis research. Students must have received candidacy before they can pursue the research thesis
option. Following candidacy, the student will submit a thesis research proposal to the faculty sponsor for consideration. The faculty
sponsor may, at his/her discretion, then submit the proposal to the Department
for approval. If approved, the student will be invited to register for BIOL 499:
Research Thesis. Students pursuing this option must complete a minimum of 33
credit hours of graduate course
work , including BIOL 499: Research Thesis (6 cr.) and BIOL 481:
Biological Literature (3 cr). An oral defense of the completed thesis is
required. This track is recommended for individuals who are interested in a
career in biological research, are working in applied fields of Biology, or are
interested in further graduate/professional studies.
-
Option 2: Library
Thesis - this option is recommended for
students who are interested in exploring a particular topic through literature
research. Students interested in this option should consult with faculty in
their area of interest and with the graduate program advisor early in their
program of study, for potential library thesis topics. It is the student's
responsibility to secure a faculty sponsor for library thesis research.
Following candidacy, the student should discuss his/her thesis interest with a
prospective library thesis advisor, who is responsible for approving the topic,
and outlining the expectations of the library thesis. A library thesis provides
a novel or unique original treatment of a given topic, through exploration of
scientific literature. Students in this option must complete a minimum of 36
credit hours of graduate course work, including BIOL 481:
Biological Literature (3 cr.), BIOL 403: Seminars in Biology (1 cr.) and BIOL
497: Thesis Seminar (3 cr.). Students also are required to pass the Graduate
Comprehensive Examination to graduate.
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Option 3:
Non-Thesis - this option is recommended
for students who desire a more flexible approach to graduate training in
Biology, and who are otherwise not interested in a research career. Students
must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours of graduate course work , including
BIOL 481: Biological Literature (3 cr.), and BIOL 403: Seminars in Biology (1
cr.). Students are required to pass the Graduate Comprehensive Examination to graduate.
Candidacy
Students need to apply for
candidacy immediately after they have completed 12 credit hours of course work
with a GPA of at least a B (3.0). A maximum of 6 hours of graduate transfer
credit may apply for the purpose of applying for candidacy. Students admitted
conditionally need to satisfy all prerequisite deficiencies and stipulations
before they can receive candidacy. Students need to satisfy their candidacy
requirements and be declared candidates for the degree before they can register
for thesis research credits. Candidacy also is a requirement for eligibility
for the Graduate Comprehensive Examination, and for graduation. Candidacy
forms can be obtained through the Graduate College. Allow at least a month for
the form to be processed by the Graduate College and departmental graduate
advisor.
Graduate Comprehensive
Examination
Graduate students pursuing Options
2 or 3 need to pass a Graduate Comprehensive Examination to be eligible for
graduation. Students admitted Fall 2000 and later are required to take a
comprehensive essay examination, covering course work they have completed within
the Biology graduate program. The examination is offered each semester (Fall
and Spring only), and is tailored to the individual student. It is
administered in two parts - a morning and afternoon session (each lasting 3
hours) with a lunch break separating the two sessions. Each part consists of 7
essay questions, with students required to answer 5 out of the 7 questions. A
combined average of a "B" grade is needed to pass the test. Students should
consider applying for the examination after they have qualified for candidacy
and completed 8 Biology graduate courses. A list of potential essay topics for
all Biology graduate courses is available to help prepare for the examination,
and students should pick this up and begin their review of material the
semester prior to the examination, if possible. The topic list is available in
the Biology Office (S-358G), or may be downloaded here. Students should
take the examination at least one semester before they intend to graduate.
Students admitted to the Graduate College prior to Fall 2000 have two
examination options - the essay examination, or a multiple choice test which
covers general knowledge in the biological sciences. Applications for both
versions of the Graduate Comprehensive Examination are available at the
beginning of each semester from the main Biology Office (S-358G). The
examinations are typically administered in October/November (Fall Semester) and
early February (Spring Semester). Each student is permitted a maximum of two
attempts to pass the Final Comprehensive Examination.
Thesis
Proposal
Students interested in pursuing a
research thesis need to submit a research proposal for review and consideration
by the department before they will be permitted to register for thesis credits.
Potential topics are first discussed with a prospective research thesis advisor
to determine a project focus. The student drafts a proposal for review by the
faculty sponsor, which presents the background and scope of the project,
hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested, methodology, anticipated time-table, and
literature review. If the proposal is acceptable to the faculty sponsor, it is
then submitted to the Biology faculty for review and consideration. Faculty are
typically given a minimum of one week to provide comments and recommendations
about the proposal. Students should attempt to have their proposal circulated
to the department several weeks before the semester they want to register for
thesis credits. The deadline for registering for thesis credits is usually by
the end of the second weeks of classes during a given semester. Check the
current schedule of classes for more details.
Thesis Research (under
construction)
Graduate Fee Waivers and
Support
A limited number of Graduate Merit Tuition Waivers are
available from the Graduate College. Details and instruction for applications
for these tuition waivers are available from http://www.neiu.edu/%7Egradcoll/finaid/tuition_appl.html.
Students should check the Graduate College website early in each semester for
application deadlines and instructions for tuition waivers for the following
semester.
The Graduate Merit Tuition Waivers are granted to Biology
graduate students who had demonstrated academic excellence and potential for
graduate studies. Conditionally admitted students are not eligible until
specific deficiencies have been removed.
Graduate Degree
Time-Limit
Students in Options 1-3 have a
maximum of 6 yrs to complete their degree. Students requiring an additional
semester or more to complete their degree should petition the Graduate College
and Biology Program, before the deadline is reached, to request an extension.
Students taking more than 6 yrs may loose credits earned early in the program
and may be required by the Graduate College to complete additional course work.
Students not taking courses regularly (every year) may be dropped from the
Graduate College.
Graduate
Courses
Only 400-level and a limited
number of 300* courses (maximum of 10 cr.) can be applied toward the graduate
degree.
Transfer credit: a maximum of 9 hours of transfer graduate credit can be
applied to the program. Students interested in transferring credit need to
submit official transcripts and rationale for transfer to the Graduate College.
Courses from other NEIU
departments: Students may have up to 9 cr.
hours of course work taken in other departments counted toward their Biology
degree. All course work from other departments must be approved by the Biology
Graduate Program advisor and the Department Chair. Students interested in
taking courses outside the Biology Department should first check with the
Graduate Advisor to determine if the course is acceptable towards a Biology
degree; the student needs to then contact the Department housing the course to
request permission to enroll in the course. Lastly, to be considered as part of
the student�s degree requirements, the student must submit a written rationale
for the course, as well as a copy of the course syllabus. This should be done
before registering for the class.
The following graduate courses
have been offered in recent years by the department. Please check the schedule
of classes for current availability.
BIOL 401: Analysis of Development
BIOL 402: Biochemical Genetics
BIOL 403: Seminars in Biology
BIOL
406: Physical Biochemistry
BIOL 407: Enzymology
BIOL 408:
Bio-Environmental Analysis
BIOL 410: Advanced Immunology
BIOL 420:
Metabolism
BIOL -BOT 402: Plant Biochemistry
BIOL-ZOOL 402: Comparative
Vertebrate Physiology
BIOL-ZOOL 404: Advanced Vertebrate Physiology
BIOL
4Quaternary Ecology
BIOL 4XX Historical and Contemporary Patterns in Species
Diversity
BIOL 498: Advanced Topics in Biology
Conservation
Biology
Restoration Ecology
Woody Plants Taxonomy and
Ecology
Biology of Aging
Biology of Viruses
Evolutionary Biology
BIOL 497: Thesis Seminar
BIOL 499: Research Thesis
BIOL 331*: Ecological Methods
BIOL 316*: Biochemistry
BIOL -ZOOL 312*:Vertebrate Physiology
BIOL-ZOOL 324*: Endocrinology
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