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.

Major Core (3, 1 credit-hour)

BIO 610 - Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) in Life Sciences,

BIO 541 - SOLS Seminar Series

AND

BIO 542 - SOLS Current Topics in the Life Sciences

Coursework-Based Core Electives (7 credit hours)

BIO 514 - Statistical Models for Biology (4) or another graduate level statistics course

AND

Graduate-Level Evolution Courses (3) - please see course offering sheet linked below for course options

Electives/Research (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 below in the Course Offering Sheet.

• You can take coursework offered by SOLS and other academic units. 

• 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 Event Options (3 credit hours)

Students admitted to the Coursework-Based pathway have the option to complete a Capstone or Applied Project. Both culminating event options below require an 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.)

BIO 597 - Capstone

• BIO 597 is a structured, C session course where students complete a literature review on a life sciences topic of interest. 

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.