Biological Sciences Accelerated Master’s (BS-MS)

An Opportunity to Earn Both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Five Years

This program prepares highly motivated students for a variety of careers in biology that require advanced training beyond the bachelor’s degree, such as in industry, teaching, independent research, or continued graduate work. You will earn both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences in just five years of full-time study.

This accelerated degree plan allows you to combine the master’s degree with a bachelor’s degree from Michigan Tech in biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, medical laboratory science, or computational biology.

Biological Sciences Accelerated MS Requirements

Admissions

  • Undergraduate students must apply for admission (during the first semester of their senior year) through the standard Graduate School application process and be accepted to the Biological Sciences Accelerated Master’s program prior to their bachelor's degree being awarded. However, students need to begin discussions with Biological Sciences faculty during their junior year (or at most the first semester, senior year) to ensure they are enrolled in the correct courses especially courses (6 credits from BL3000 - BL4000 level courses plus 6 credits from BL5000 - BL6000 level courses; senior rule ) that they can double-count towards accelerated masters.
  • Only students who will complete both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree at Michigan Tech are eligible to enroll in the accelerated program.
  • Students already enrolled in a graduate program may not retroactively enroll in the accelerated master’s program.

 

Credits

  • Students must earn 30 credits past the Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences to complete the requirements for the Master of Science in Biological Sciences.
  • Up to six credits taken as an undergraduate student can be applied toward both the BS and MS degrees, as long as they are at the 3000 - 5000 level and satisfy the requirements for both degrees.
  • These six credits would typically be earned through electives and are independent of a maximum of six Senior Rule credits that may additionally count toward the MS, thus a total of 12 credits earned while an undergraduate could be applied toward the Master’s degree. Graduate School rules on course requirements for master’s degree will apply.
  • A maximum of 12 credits are taken at the 3000 level or 4000 level.
  • A minimum of 12 credits are taken at the 5000 level. 5000 or 6000 courses from other Michigan Tech departments can be taken with approval from the advisor.

GPA

  • Only students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above are eligible to enter the accelerated master’s program.
  • Students who are accepted in the accelerated master’s program will not be allowed to continue in this program if their cumulative undergraduate GPA drops below 3.0. However, such a student will be eligible to apply through the non-accelerated master’s degree option.

Course Requirements

  • The Thesis Option requires 20–24 course credits, with at least 12 at the graduate level.
  • The Report Option requires 24–28 course credits, with at least 12 at the graduate level.
  • Courses with grades less than a B (3.0) will not be counted
  • All accelerated MS students must enroll in Graduate Seminar (BL5012; once for a total of 1 credit while in the program). All students must also take BL5025. In addition to these courses, the faculty advisor will designate courses (worth at least 21 credits for MS report and at least 17 credits for MS thesis), to be taken, that are relevant to the student’s interest or research area.

Advising

To help expedite degree completion, a student should ideally begin conducting degree research with a faculty research advisor no later than during the senior year. Each student will work with a faculty research advisor who is a member of the Department of Biological Sciences graduate faculty. The advisor’s primary responsibility is to supervise the student’s research and academic and professional growth, as well as to work with the student to develop an academic plan for enrolling in the appropriate courses. The academic plan developed by the student and academic advisor will need written approval from the faculty advisor and the Biological Sciences Graduate Program Director.