
	Description

	Degree Offered

	Admission

	Master of Science in Biology

	Contact Info

Description

The Master of Science degree in Biology is offered with the following areas of specialization: Botany, Cell Biology, Development, Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Limnology, Conservation Biology, and Zoology.

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Biology

Admission

For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions and Registration section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. Please be sure to submit all requested material by the established deadline(s).

In addition to the general admission requirements, applicants must provide:

GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 attempted semester hours of undergraduate study
Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal and quantitative) from test taken within the last five years. The average GRE score for students admitted into the program in the last two years is 1150 for thesis track and 1270 for nonthesis track.
Three letters of recommendation
A written statement of past experience and research, area of interest, and immediate and long-range goals.
For applicants from countries where English is not the official language, or for an applicant whose bachelor’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, an official score of at least 220 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required.

Additional Notes on Admissions

Personal interviews are strongly encouraged but not required. Applicants who do not have a competitive GPA or GRE may occasionally be accepted if there is other convincing evidence of potential for high achievement and success. For U.S. applicants GRE scores can be self reported prior by the submission deadline if the official score cannot be received in time. Admission will be conditional upon receipt of the official score. Applicants failing to satisfy minimum program criteria should submit a GRE Subject (Advanced) Biology Test score at or above the 50th percentile. In no case will GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, or advanced) older than five years be accepted. Applicants need not have an undergraduate degree in a biological science but are expected to have 18 hours of biological sciences, including ecology and genetics. Courses in organic chemistry, calculus, and statistics are also recommended. After acceptance, minor deficiencies must be remedied by enrollment in the appropriate course at the first opportunity.

Meeting minimum UCF admission criteria does not guarantee program admission. Final admission is based on evaluation of the applicant's abilities, past performance, recommendations, match of this program and faculty expertise to the applicant's career/academic goals, identification of a faculty adviser, and the applicant's potential for completing the degree.

Application Due Dates

All application materials must be submitted by the appropriate deadline listed below.

All students applying for fellowships must apply by the Fall Priority deadline date.

U.S. Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Master of Science in Biology Jan 15 Jan 15

Note:Students applying for summer or spring admission will be considered on an ad hoc basis but must complete their applications by December 1.

International Applicants

International Transfer Applicants

Master of Science in Biology

The M.S. in Biology offers two options: (1) a thesis degree, which includes a minimum of 30 semester hours of courses, 15 of which must be at the 6000 level; and (2) a nonthesis option, which includes a minimum of 40 semester hours of courses, 20 of which must be at the 6000 level. Thesis M.S. students need to receive a commitment from a faculty adviser for admission. M.S. students have five years to complete the program.

All nonthesis students are required to take a Research Report course (BSC 6909), where they are paired with individual faculty and organize and summarize knowledge in a research report. In addition, many of the graduate courses require reading and critical analysis of the primary literature in biology, and students are required to make presentations of their analysis or present proposals that would outline a series of integrated experiments that would further knowledge in the field.

Thesis Option

Requirements for M.S. Thesis Option—30 Credit Hours Minimum

A student selecting the biology thesis option will include in their program of study:

PCB 6095 Professional Development in Biology I (1 credit hour)
PCB 6096 Professional Development in Biology II (1 credit hour)
BSC 6938 Biology Seminar (1 credit hour – taken twice)
STA 5175 Biometry (3 credit hours)*
BSC 6971 Thesis (6 credit hours)

A minimum of 17 additional credit hours will be selected in conjunction with the faculty adviser and advisory committee members and approved by the Program Graduate Coordinator.

*If a student is deemed to have adequate training in statistics, the requirement for STA 5175 can be waived. If the waiver is granted, the student will take an additional 3 hours of elective credit to meet the 30 total hours required in the thesis program of study.

Nonthesis Option

Requirements for M.S. Nonthesis Option—40 Credit Hours Minimum

A student selecting the biology non-thesis option will take the following courses:

Group A—At least 12 Credit Hours

(Minimally, one course approved by graduate advisory committee from at least three of the five core areas listed below.)

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Physiology
Cell and Developmental Biology

Group B—4 Credit Hours (both courses)

BSC 6909 Research Report (2 credit hours)
BSC 6938 Biology Seminar (2 credit hours)

Group C—Remaining Credit Hours (typically 22-24 credit hours). Restricted electives acceptable to the student’s graduate advisory committee.

Examinations

Nonthesis students must take the comprehensive exam no later than the semester preceding that of graduation. If a student fails the comprehensive examination, a minimum of four weeks must elapse before reexamination. The comprehensive exam may be taken a maximum of two times.

A thesis proposal defense is required of all students in the Biology M.S. program Thesis Track. The purpose of the proposal defense is to present the planned research and its foundations as a seminar to an interested audience of ones peers and the Advisory Committee. The proposal should be distributed to Advisory Committee members two weeks in advance of the defense, and the defense should be advertised (contact the Graduate Program Administrator two weeks in advance). Typically, public attendees have an opportunity to ask questions and comment following the seminar, after which the committee meets with the student to further discuss the proposal. The Advisory Committee must then vote to accept or reject the proposal. The Thesis Proposal Defense must be passed a minimum of one semester preceding the Oral Thesis Defense (i.e., the Proposal Defense and Thesis Defense cannot occur in the same semester).

In addition to the Thesis Proposal Defense, an Oral Thesis Defense is required for students in the M.S. Thesis Track. The Thesis Proposal Defense must be passed a minimum of one semester preceding the Oral Thesis Defense.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see Financing Grad School, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Key points about financial support:

If you are interested in financial assistance, you are strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. A complete application for admission, including all supporting documents, must be received by the priority date listed for your program under "Admissions."
You must be admitted to a graduate program before the university can consider awarding financial assistance to you.
If you want to be considered for loans and other need-based financial assistance, review the UCF Student Financial Assistance website at http://finaid.ucf.edu and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply early and allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed.
UCF Graduate Studies awards university graduate fellowships, with most decisions based on nominations from the colleges and programs. To be eligible for a fellowship, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and be enrolled full-time. University graduate fellowships are awarded based on academic merit and therefore are not affected by FAFSA determination of need.
Please note that select fellowships do require students to fill out a fellowship application (either a university fellowship application, an external fellowship application, or a college or school fellowship application). For university fellowship applications, see Financing Grad School.
For information on assistantships (including teaching, research, and general graduate assistantships) or tuition support, contact the graduate program coordinator of your major.

Program Website

For more information regarding this program, see the program website.

Contact Info

Graham A. J. Worthy, Ph.D., Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-4701
gworthy@mail.ucf.edu