MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology

The Master of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology is ideal for students who want to pursue or advance careers in the rapidly expanding fields of biotechnology, basic science, and pharmacological research.

With constant new discoveries in cellular and molecular biology, an undergraduate degree is no longer enough to keep you advancing professionally. Our program, with its strong emphasis on biochemistry and molecular biology techniques, gives students the advanced training they need to succeed in these groundbreaking fields. The program has both thesis and non-thesis options. Students who elect the thesis option must carry out an original thesis research project under the guidance of departmental faculty. Students choosing a non-thesis option are required to take a written comprehensive exam in addition to laboratory coursework. The comprehensive exam will assess the understanding of the coursework and evaluate one’s ability to synthesize research and theory in the field of cellular and molecular biology and to present this information in an effective written format.

The central curriculum prepares you for an exciting future by stressing both the technical and conceptual aspects of a number of scientific specialties, including the following subject areas:

•Biochemistry •Cell biology •Genomics •Molecular biology

You will learn the full spectrum of professional techniques in our fully equipped labs so that you graduate with the confidence and ability to act as an independent scientist.

Hands-on Application

Many of our students complete research as part of the program. Recently, our graduate students have studied these topics:

• Tick-borne human pathogens
• Tumor microenvironment
• Cancer cell growth
• DNA damage response
• Magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery
• Antimicrobial biopolymers

Certificate in Bioinformatics

The 15-credit certificate program in bioinformatics provides a practical, hands-on approach to computer applications in molecular biology.

Curriculum

• 38 − 39 graduate credits are required for completion.

Curriculum Options

• Non-Thesis: 9 required courses (including 3 labs) + 3 electives (39 total credits)

• Thesis: 10 required courses (including 2 labs) + 2 electives (38 credits)

• Optional Bioinformatics Certificate:

• 5 required classes (15 credits)

• Can be taken simultaneously — Classes cannot overlap

Courses are offered in the daytime and evenings Monday through Friday on the main campus and are offered in multiple formats including on-campus, online, or hybrid.

Below is an example of the schedule of course offerings.

Sample Courses

• CMBI 6601 Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology

• CMBI 6603 Nucleic Acid Biochemistry

• CMBI 6606 Molecular Genetics/Genomics

• CMBI 6608 Evaluation of Scientific Literature

• CMBI 6609 Data Analysis in the Environmental and Biological Sciences

• CMBI 6611 Molecular Biology of Proteins with Laboratory

• CMBI 6613 Molecular Biology of Nucleic Acids with Laboratory

• CMBI 6617 Cell Culture Techniques with Laboratory

• CMBI 6620 Bioinformatics

• CMBI 6621 Bioinformatics Programming/Python

• CMBI 6622 Database Systems for Biological Research

• CMBI 6688 Internship

• CMBI 6690 Research

• CMBI 7607 Cellular Biology

• CMBI 7698/7699 Thesis I/II

• BIOL 6605 Biostatistics

First Year

Second Year

Course Length

• 15-week (full semester term) format

Time to Completion

• The average time to degree completion is 24 months (4 semesters).

Scholarships

We offer two types of scholarships/assistantship to our international master’s students.

Dean’s scholarship provides up to 50% tuition assistance during their enrollment.

Provost Assistantship offers 75% tuition assistance and the opportunity to work for an academic department up to 20 hours per week during their enrollment.