Biology, MA

Biology program

The biology program provides students the option of selecting a research track leading to the Master of Science (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a major in biology, or a non-research track leading to the Master of Arts (MA) with a major in biology. Students interested in obtaining both a master’s degree and certification to teach life sciences at the secondary level may select the non-research Master of Science with a major in biology (Teaching in the Life Sciences). Students pursuing a research degree have the opportunity to conduct research leading to a thesis or dissertation in a variety of specializations, including aquatic biology, aquatic toxicology, ecology, forensic biology, genetics, limnology, microbiology, neurobiology, physiology and plant biology. Visit www.biology.unt.edu for research interests of the faculty.

Degree requirements

The Master of Arts (MA) with a major in biology is a 36-hour non-thesis degree with formal course work at the 5000 and 6000 levels. Students completing the non-thesis MA at UNT are not eligible for the PhD program in the Department of Biological Sciences. The MA has a foreign language requirement.

Master’s degree requirements and procedures

Biology and Environmental Science programs

The program and specific degree are determined before admission.
During the first long term/semester, the student and major professor select an advisory committee of two other faculty members, one of whom must be from the departmental faculty. The third may be from another UNT department, the Federation of North Texas Area Universities, or another university if the member is granted adjunct status in the department. Additional members may be added to the committee as long as the majority of the committee are faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences. A copy of the form designating the committee should be filed with the graduate advising secretary before the student’s second long term/semester. Students in the MS with a major in biology (Teaching in the Life Sciences) are advised by the Teaching in the Life Sciences Program Selection Committee.
Before registering for the second long term/semester, the student, major professor and advisory committee formulate a degree plan of the courses to be taken by the student, including core course requirements and deficiency work.

The degree plan, signed by all committee members, should be filed with the graduate advising secretary for programs in biology, or with the environmental science program’s graduate advising secretary, before the beginning of the student’s second long term/semester. The degree plan must be approved by the chair of the Department of Biological Sciences before it is forwarded to the Toulouse Graduate School.

All course work must be at the 5000 and 6000 levels. Students pursuing the MA or MS may not receive graduate credit for any course below the 4000 level by taking the course under a 5000-level designation, such as special problems. Undergraduate courses, except those which meet with graduate courses, are considered to be deficiencies and are not included in the graduate degree plan hours.

Before registering for the third long term/semester, students on a thesis or problems in lieu of thesis track should submit a formal research proposal to the major professor and advisory committee for approval. Students may not register for thesis (5950) or problems in lieu of thesis (5920/5930) until an approved research proposal is filed with the graduate advising secretary.
After the approved research proposal is filed, the student may register for thesis or problems in lieu of thesis hours. Once registered for thesis, but not problems in lieu of thesis, the student must maintain continuous enrollment in at least 3 hours of 5950 during each long term/semester until the thesis is submitted to the graduate school. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment may invalidate previous thesis credit or result in the student being dismissed from the degree program, unless granted an official leave of absence by the dean of the Toulouse Graduate School. If the student uses university facilities or faculty time or both during one or more summer terms/semesters, the student must also enroll for a minimum of 3 hours of 5950 during the summer.
Following approval by the major professor, a draft of the completed thesis or problems in lieu of thesis must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to its defense and final examination.
A formal public seminar based on the thesis must be presented by the student to the department (students pursuing problems in lieu of thesis present only to their committee) during the student’s final term/semester. The student must schedule a room for and publicly advertise the seminar and defense through the graduate advising secretary for biology or environmental science.
Directly following the seminar, the student defends the thesis in a final oral examination conducted by the major professor and advisory committee.
Students in the MA 36-hour biology course work option, the environmental science MS non-thesis option II (Professional Science Master’s [PSM]) and the molecular biology MS non-thesis option II (Professional Science Master’s) must take a final comprehensive oral examination given by the advisor/major professor and advisory committee during the final term/semester. Students in the MA problems in lieu of thesis option must take their final examination during presentation of the problems in lieu of thesis to the faculty advisor/major professor and advisory committee in the final term/semester. Students in the MS with a major in biology (Teaching in the Life Sciences) must take a final oral comprehensive examination given by the Teaching in the Life Sciences Advisory Committee during the final term/semester.
The student is responsible for completing all requirements and meeting all deadlines for graduation within the time specified by the graduate school.
A final copy of the student’s thesis or problems in lieu of thesis must be submitted to the Department of Biological Sciences main office, either bound or on disk in .pdf format.