Build on your Biology base. Let the laboratory open opportunities to you in the fields of biotechnology, health sciences, ecology, botany, zoology, and more.

Learn the best conservation practices to maintain biodiversity and natural ecosystems through the University of West Alabama's online Master of Science in Conservation Biology. The fully online degree will prepare you to advance your career opportunities at various agencies and organizations. Learn more today.

The Master’s Programs for Biology Majors at West Liberty University is designed to offer a flexible curriculum that meets the needs of students locally, nationally, and internationally. Students will enhance their educational and employment opportunities in the biological sciences. Students who enroll in this program have the opportunity to work in a research lab from molecular biology to ecology. This program is a 30-credit hour in-seat program.

The MSCB program seeks to train the world’s best Computational Biologists at the Master’s level. The curriculum provides both breadth and depth of training in Computational Biology and is built on a solid foundation of Biology, Computer Science, Statistics, and Machine Learning (Data Sciences). Interested students are also given opportunities to pursue research. Our graduates are prepared for rewarding jobs in industry or to pursue their doctoral degrees at top universities.

A master’s degree in chemical biology provides advanced instruction and training in synthetic organic chemistry, biology and pharmacology. The core of this degree includes organic and medicinal chemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology and can be tailored to match a student’s particular interests within the field of chemical biology.

The biology graduate program is a thesis/research program for students who wish to continue the study of biology as a scholarly pursuit and who later continue work toward the Ph.D., work for industry or government, or wish to teach, primarily in two-year colleges. The primary objectives of the program are to enrich the student's subject knowledge and give the student a rigorous experience in research and thesis writing. Students can also acquire training and experience in teaching. Training in teaching is provided through courses and the mentored teaching of biology laboratories. Thus, students not only gain research experience, but they also learn to be effective teachers and communicators.

In this program, you will conduct your own independent research with access to state-of-the-art equipment in the new science building opened in fall 2020 and recently opened Technology and Innovation building. Thanks to our small classes and collegial atmosphere, you will benefit from individual attention and one-on-one mentorship from our experienced and dynamic faculty, known for their work in cancer biology, developmental biology, ecology and evolution, and molecular biology, funded by a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

This major provides the potential for highly qualified applicants to complete the BS Biology and MSPAS degrees in five years versus the traditional six years.

The Department of Biology offers three tracks that lead to the MS: a coursework track, a scholarly paper track, and a research thesis track. The coursework track can be completed in one year and the scholarly paper track can be completed in a year and summer. The research thesis track typically requires two years to complete. In all three tracks, students are assigned faculty advisors in their subfield of interest during the first semester in the program. Upon completion of the master’s program, students should be prepared for further graduate training or for eventual employment in teaching and/or research positions in academia, industry, government, or nonprofit agencies. The program accepts post-bachelor’s applicants with degrees in related disciplines where the focus has been on biology or a relevant field. Students with prior graduate work may be able to transfer course credits.

With a Master's in Biology from Seton Hall, especially with its concentrations in research and business, graduates can delve into advanced research roles in fields like neuroscience and biotechnology or merge scientific expertise with business acumen to drive innovations in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This unique blend prepares individuals not only for specialized research positions but also for leadership roles within biotech startups, pharmaceutical companies, and health-related businesses.

The study of Biology is undergoing a revolution driven by new technologies that enable scientists to generate extensive amounts of data. For example, the costs of sequencing nucleic acids have dropped dramatically, resulting in unprecedented amounts of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data.

The mission of the Biology Program is to provide students with a high-quality education that includes experience with research and field projects. The program provides a scientific and technical background that empowers students to successfully pursue science and technology careers or proceed to advanced graduate studies. Faculty strive to make each student’s educational experience challenging and rewarding.

The overall educational objective of the biological sciences masters program is to provide graduate students with the knowledge and training necessary to pursue advanced graduate education, professional studies, or employment in a scientifically related field.

The goals of graduate study in the Department of Biology are to provide students with the training, guidance, experience, and opportunities to participate in research that will allow them to make the transition from being interested consumers of biological knowledge to being full, participating members of the biological profession. As such, they will be able to recognize the limits of our current biological knowledge and to use that insight to design and conduct research that addresses those limits. They will carry out research with the skill and integrity necessary to advance our level of knowledge. Graduate students have the opportunity to gain experience in scientific methods and experimental design in the laboratory and in the field. They will be able to integrate new insights from their research with existing knowledge and with advances from other biologists to generate new levels of understanding. They will also have the ability to effectively share their new insights with their colleagues, students, and others by lectures, conference presentations, in written assignments, and papers published in peer-reviewed journal publications.

We offer PhD and MS degrees in 6 programs: Atmospheric Sciences, Marine Biology & Ecology, Environmental Science & Policy, Marine Geosciences, Meteorology & Physical Oceanography, and Ocean Sciences. We offer highly competitive stipend rates, tuition, and health insurance coverage for our incoming PhD students as part of a fully-funded 5-year Graduate Assistantship. Finally, as part of our revitalized connections across colleges and to take advantage of our unique research facilities, we offer an MS degree in both Ocean Engineering and Sustainable Business. Our graduate students also take advantage of nearby NOAA facilities including the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and the National Hurricane Center. PhD Assistantships can be found here: https://graduate.earth.miami.edu/admissions/phd-assistanships/index.html GRE not required!