Students may pursue the master's degree in biology as preparation for doctoral studiesor to gain additional background and training to enter applied fields in biology. Studentsholding provisional certification as high school biology teachers may also use theprogram to complete requirements for permanent certification.
The Department of Biology offers two types of MA degrees: (1) a thesis MA and (2) anon-thesis MA. The non-thesis option requires the student to take more formal coursework than the thesis MA and to display competence in several areas of biology on awritten comprehensive examination.