Master of Science
Biochemistry & Biotechnology
Master of Science
This M.S. degree in Biochemistry & Biotechnology is offered in cooperation with the Department of Biology and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. This degree program encompasses both the basic principles and the technological applications of biochemistry and biotechnology, and provides students with the training they need to become a part of the broad life sciences industry. Most courses are offered in the late afternoon or evening.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must submit a completed application form, three letters of recommendation, and transcripts of all previous coursework to the Graduate School. Although not required, submission of GRE scores is highly recommended. International applicants whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL scores. A score of 213 or better on the computer-based exam (or 550 on the paper-based exam) is required. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry from an accredited institution of higher learning, with a minimum grade point average overall and in biology and chemistry courses of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), and must have completed a course in biochemistry (equivalent to Biol/Chem 4712).
Degree Options
The M.S. degree in Biochemistry & Biotechnology can be earned with a thesis or without a thesis. The thesis option requires full-time enrollment, whereas the non-thesis option does not. All students admitted to the program are considered to be in the non-thesis option unless a faculty member of the program has accepted them as a thesis student.
Degree Requirements
Both the thesis and non-thesis options require a total of 30 graduate credit hours, of which at least half must be at the 5000-level or above. A maximum of 12 or 5 credit hours of Graduate Research (Biol or Chem 6905) may be applied toward the 30 credit hour total for the thesis or non-thesis options, respectively.
Required Courses (15 credit hours)
Chem 4722 Advanced Biochemistry (3)
Chem 5794 Special Topics Biochem (Bioinformatics) (3)
Biol 4614 Biotechnology Laboratory I (4) OR
Biol 6615 Advanced Biotechnology Laboratory II (4)
Biol 6602 Advanced Molecular Biology (3) OR
Biol 6612 Adv Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (3)
Biol 6889 Graduate Seminar
Elective Courses
Chem 4733 Biochemistry Laboratory (2)
Chem 4764 Interdisciplinary Topics Biochemistry (3)
Chem 4772 Physical Biochemistry (3)
Chem 5794 Special Topics in Biochemistry (1-3)
Chem 6787 Problem Seminar in Biochemistry (1)
Chem 6905 Graduate Research (1-10)
Biol 4842 Immunobiology (3)
Biol 5069 Topics in Cell and Molecular Biology (1)
Biol 6602 Advanced Molecular Biology (3)
Biol 6612 Advanced Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (3)
Biol 6615 Advanced Biotechnology Laboratory II (4)
Biol 6622 Advanced Molecular Cell Biology (3)
Biol 6632 Advanced Nucleic Acid Structure & Function (3)
Biol 6642 Advanced Plant Mol Biol & Gen Engineering (3)
Biol 6652 Advanced Virology (3)
Biol 6699 Graduate Internship in Biotechnology (1-4)
Biol 6889 Graduate Seminar (2)
Biol 6905 Graduate Research (1-10)