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Program directors
Program directors
Co-Director
Co-Director
Dr. Jessie Ebie
Dr. Jessie Ebie
Email: jebie@asu.edu
Co-Director
Co-Director
Dr. Michael Britton
Dr. Michael Britton
Email: michael.britton.1@asu.edu
Program description
Program description
This MS in biology is a flexible program based around a student's individual research or life science topic interests, allowing students to explore areas of biology that thrive outside of traditional boundaries. This program complements other, more specialized life sciences programs, allowing both interdisciplinary and traditional approaches. Courses include laboratory, field and theoretical work.
MS biology students are admitted to either pursue research with their time in the program culminating in a thesis, or to flexibly learn about life science topics through coursework. Students can refer to their admission offer letter to clarify which track they have been admitted to.
Coursework-Based degree requirements
Coursework-Based degree requirements
The current degree requirements are below. Remember you are required to fulfill the requirements from the academic year you were admitted. Please refer to the handbook from your year of admission as needed.
Total: 30 credit hours
Required Core Section (1 credit hour)
(1) BIO 610 - Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in Life Sciences
OR
(1) BIO 611- Current Topics in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in the Life Sciences
Other Requirements Section (2 credit hours)
(1) BIO 541 - SOLS Seminar Series
AND
(1) BIO 542 - SOLS Current Topics in the Life Sciences
Core Electives Section (6-7 credit hours)
(4) BIO 514 - Statistical Models for Biology or another graduate level statistics course
AND
(3) Evolution Course - please see course offering sheet linked below for course options.
Electives Section (20-24* credit hours)
Students are free to explore a range of topics or use their elective space to more deeply dive into a topic or two. If pursuing the Capstone as your culminating event, coursework should be chosen with this project in mind, which typically looks like a literature review of a particular topic.
An in-depth list of approved coursework can be found in the Course Offering Sheet. SOLS course prefixes to choose from: ANB, BIO, ELS, EVO, HPS, MCB, MIC, NEU, & PLB - 500-level or above
Please be mindful of the restrictions below:
Undergrad, or 400-level, classes: 6 credit hours maximum
Maximum of 9 elective credits of non-SOLS coursework
If you secure an approved faculty mentor to complete research under, you may submit a BIO 590 proposal for Program Director approval (maximum of 6 credits)
Culminating Experience Section (3 credit hours)
Students admitted to the Coursework-Based BIO MS are not required to take a culminating event. If you are interested, please contact your advisor to discuss your situation. Both culminating event options below require a approved faculty advisor that will work with you during the course. (A formal proposal and Program Director approval is required well ahead of your final semester)
(3) BIO 597 - Capstone
BIO 597 is a structured, C session course where students complete a literature review and an NSF-GRFP-style grant proposal on a life sciences topic of interest.
OR
(3) BIO 593 - Applied Project
An Applied Project is an alternative option to Capstone where a student is mentored by a faculty member on a project that can be completed in one semester (e.g., extended literature review, analysis of a dataset, etc.). Students must secure a SOLS faculty mentor willing to guide their project. The final product of the applied project is either a written report or a presentation, and the faculty mentor assigns the grade. (A formal proposal and Program Director approval is required well ahead of your final semester)
View a Culminating Event Info Session for more details about the Applied Project and how it compares to Capstone.
Thesis degree requirements
Thesis degree requirements
The current degree requirements are below. Remember you are required to fulfill the requirements from the academic year you were admitted. Please refer to the handbook from your year of admission as needed.
Total: 30 credit hours, including a thesis
Required Core Section (1 credit hour)
(1) BIO 610 - Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in Life Sciences
OR
(1) BIO 611- Current Topics in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in the Life Sciences
Other Requirements Section (2 credit hours)
(1) BIO 541 - SOLS Seminar Series
AND
(1) BIO 542 - SOLS Current Topics in the Life Sciences
Electives/Research Section (21 credit hours)
(6) BIO 592 - Research
AND
(15) Graduate-Level Life Sciences Elective Courses
*Students should discuss elective course selection with their faculty advisor(s) to best support your research project.
*According to Graduate College policy beginning for new students admitted Fall 2025 or later, no more than 50% of the total credits applied in iPOS can be graded on a Z/Y scale (typically research and thesis). Please plan your coursework accordingly.
Example: if a student is applying 30 credit hours to their iPOS, only 15 of these maximum can be graded on a Y scale (6 thesis, 9 research). iPOS edits requesting to go beyond this percentage will be denied.
SOLS course prefixes to choose from: ANB, BIO, ELS, EVO, HPS, MCB, MIC, NEU, & PLB - 500-level or above
*Up to 6 credits maximum can be 400-level
An in-depth list of electives to explore can be found here: BIO MS Course Offerings Sheet
Culminating Experience Section (6 credit hours)
(6 exactly) BIO 599 - Thesis
*Note: it is very important you do exactly 6 thesis credit hours. These 6 can be divided and taken over multiple semesters, but they must sum 6 credits exactly (no more, no less) to avoid issues when graduating.
Course offering guides
Course offering guides
Use the appropriate live Google Sheet below to narrow down your course search each semester and ensure that the courses you are selecting align with the appropriate degree requirements.
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