| AREAS OF CONCENTRATION |
| Students who wish to concentrate
in a specific area may want to follow one of
these optional tracks: |
| |
| 1. Marine
Biology |
| Biology
majors desiring a concentration in marine biology
should follow the recommended
four-year curriculum for biology majors. At
least one term must be spent
in residence at the Marine Environmental Sciences
Consortium at Dauphin Island
or other approved marine lab, after the sophomore
year. The department recommends
that students select courses from: BLY 360,
367, 430, 451, 471, 474
and 475. |
| |
| 2. Environmental
Science |
| Biology
majors desiring a concentration in environmental
science should focus primarily
on biology and chemistry. Biology 325 or 475
is required. The following biology
courses are recommended: BLY 314, 352, 360 and
433. Upon consultation
with the student’s faculty advisor, additional
biology electives are to be
selected from the following: Cell Biology/Biochemistry,
Non-Vascular Plants, Environmental
Toxicology (BLY 515), Freshwater Ecology (BLY
526), A Chemistry minor
is required. Additional courses augmenting this
concentration include: CH 314,
GY 111, 112 and 311; GEO 310; and SY 467. |
| |
| 3. Pre-Health
Professions |
| Biology
majors planning a career in medicine, dentistry,
optometry, pharmacy, veterinary
medicine, or other pre-professional fields should
follow the recommended
curriculum for biology majors. A year of physics
and one or more semesters
of genetics and cell biology are strongly recommended
for pre-health professional
students. |
| |
| GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
FOR BIOLOGY MAJORS |
| Areas I, II, and III of
the General Education Requirements for Biology
are specified on page 46 (College of Arts and
Sciences section). Note that Area IV requirements
(Mathematics and Natural Sciences) are fulfilled
by the major requirements specified above. |
| |
| HONORS PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY |
| The Biology Honors Program
offers bright, academically motivated undergraduate
students the opportunity to develop research
and communication skills in preparation for
a graduate or professional career. To apply
for admission into the program, a student must: |
| 1. Have
completed BLY 121, BLY 122, CH 131, CH 132,
plus one or more upper division
biology courses. |
| 2. Have
earned a 3.5 GPA or better in biology courses
attempted. |
| 3. Have
earned a 3.0 GPA or better overall. |
| 4. Obtain
a recommendation from a faculty member. |
| In addition to fulfilling
the requirements of the standard biology program,
honors students must complete: |
| 1. A
minimum of two semesters (six hours) of Honors
Research in Biology (BLY 499). |
| 2. A
formal research prospectus including an introduction,
proposed methods, and relevant
literature citation. The prospectus must be
submitted and approved before
the final semester of honors research is undertaken. |
| 3. A
formal written report in the form of a scientific
paper. |
| 4. A
poster presentation at the USA Annual Research
Forum. |
| |
| REQUIREMENTS FOR A MINOR
IN BIOLOGY |
| Twenty-four hours of biology
are required, including: |
| 1. Biology
121, 122 (General Biology). |
| 2. Sixteen
hours of biology electives, at least eight of
which must be taken at the University
of South Alabama. |
| |
| GRADUATE STUDIES |
| The Master of Science
degree in Biology is designed to provide qualified
students the opportunity to further their knowledge
in generalized and specialized areas of biology,
as indicated by course offerings and research
interests of the faculty. In addition, the Department
incorporates into its offerings some areas of
study leading to concentrations in Basic Medical
Sciences (through cooperative agreement with
the College of Medicine - see next page) and
in Marine Biology (through cooperative agreement
with the Department of Marine Sciences and/or
the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory - see below).
A student may also concurrently pursue a Class
A Professional teaching Certificate (through
cooperative agreement with the College of Education
- see below). Admission to the M.S. Program
does not automatically qualify a student for
entry into one of the special areas of concentration;
students desiring such entry should familiarize
themselves with the special conditions noted
below and contact the Department for special
rules and conditions. |
| |
| REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION |
| Students are admitted
each semester. |
| The following criteria
supplement the Graduate School criteria (see
Categories of Admission): |
| |
| REGULAR ADMISSION |
| 1. Undergraduate
major in Biology, Botany, or Zoology with a
minimum GPA of 2.8 (on
a 4-point scale) in all biological courses taken. |
| 2. Undergraduate
organic chemistry sequence. |
| 3. One year
of physics or geology. |
| 4. Mathematics
at least through calculus or statistics. |
| 5. Graduate
Record Examination (GRE) score of at least 1100
on the Verbal and Quantitative
portions, with at least a score of 500 on Verbal.
(An MCAT score of 24 may
be substituted for the GRE by persons intending
to enter a cellular/molecular area.) |
| 6. Students
who do not speak English as their native language
must submit a minimum
TOEFL score of 600. |
| |
| PROVISIONAL ADMISSION |
| 1. Undergraduate
major or minor (or equivalent) in Biology, Botany,
or Zoology. |
| 2. A
minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5 (on a 4-point
scale), with a minimum of 2.8 on
all biological courses taken. |
| 3. Submission
of GRE (or MCAT) score as outlined above, but
without minimum score
requirements and a minimum TOEFL score of 600. |
| |
| NON-DEGREE ADMISSION |
| The Department of Biological
Sciences accepts Non-Degree Graduate Students
within the general admission and credit regulations
of the University of South Alabama with certain
reservations and limitations. Students should
consult the Department concerning these limitations
before applying for such status. Included,
but not limited to, are the following: |
| 1. Students
are restricted to enrollment in courses prefixed
BLY that the Chair determines
will advance their career development in biological
sciences. Only in exceptional
cases wherein it is determined to the satisfaction
of the Chair that the aforementioned
career goals are enhanced will a non-degree
student be permitted
to enroll in courses in other departments. |
| 2. Students
must confer with the Chair or the Graduate Coordinator
of the Department
of Biological Sciences before attempting to
enroll in any class. |
| 3. Students
seeking to change from non-degree status to
a degree-granting program
must reapply and be evaluated as any other student
who has not previously
applied to such program. |
| |
| DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LABORATORY |
| The Dauphin Island Sea
Laboratory is supported by nineteen colleges
and universities in Alabama to form one marine
campus. Students in the MS program Biological
Sciences at the University of South Alabama
may take courses through the sea laboratory
and apply credits earned toward fulfilling requirements
for the MS degree. Students frequently choose
to spend part of their time, particularly in
the summers, at Dauphin Island and the rest
of their time on the main campus in Mobile.
Other arrangements are also possible. |
| Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory
publishes an Information Bulletin each year.
Students may request a copy of the Information
Bulletin by writing or calling: Registrar, Dauphin
Island Sea Laboratory, Post Office Box 369-370,
Dauphin Island, AL 36528, (251)861-2141. |
| |
| CONCENTRATION IN BASIC MEDICAL
SCIENCES (BMS) |
| The purpose of this track
is to provide qualified beginning graduate students
with an opportunity to become research scientists
in biology with an emphasis in basic medical
science. Course work and research opportunities
are offered in the Departments of Biochemistry,
Microbiology/Immunology, Pharmacology, Physiology,
and Structural and Cellular Biology in the College
of Medicine, as well as in the Department of
Biological Sciences. Students fulfill the normal
criteria for the MS degree in Biology. Students
must complete thesis research in basic medical
sciences. This track prepares the student for
additional graduate study in the basic medical
sciences leading to the Ph.D. degree. A non-thesis
option is not available. |
| Students are expected
to choose a major professor and to define a
thesis topic by the end of the first year in
residence. The student and the major professor
select an advisory committee consisting of the
major professor, who may be from either Basic
Medical Sciences (with a co-major professor
from Biological Sciences) or the Department
of Biological Sciences, and at least one other
member from Biological Sciences. |
| |
| GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS FOR
ALL STUDENTS |
| The Department offers
several types of assistantships to qualified
students. Application forms for assistantships
with primary responsibilities in teaching and
preparing laboratories are available from the
departmental office. In addition, some assistantships
with primary responsibility in research are
usually available each year. These assistantships
are associated with grants and contracts that
support the research of individual faculty members.
In all cases, assistantships are approved by
the Dean of the Graduate School upon recommendation
of the appropriate sponsor within the University.
To be eligible for an assistantship, MCAT or
GRE scores must be submitted to the Biology
Department. |
| |
| REQUIREMENTS FOR DEGREE FOR
ALL STUDENTS |
| Students will find detailed
explanation of special departmental requirements
in a document, “Special Policies and Procedures
Regarding the Master’s Degree Program in
the Department of Biological Sciences.”
This document is available from the departmental
office and describes initial orientation for
new students, administration of the comprehensive
examination, departmental seminars, and the
like. |
| The curriculum for each
student will be developed by the student’s
advisory committee in view of the student’s
professional goals. If, in the opinion of a
student’s committee, the student lacks
adequate undergraduate preparation the student
will be required to make up such deficiencies. |
| In addition to satisfying
the general requirements of the Graduate School,
the candidates for the Master of Science degree
in Biology must satisfy the following requirements: |
| |
| Thesis Program |
| 1. Complete,
with a minimum grade of “B”, thirty
hours, of which at least twenty-four hours
must be course work at the 400 or 500 level.
No course at the 300 level or below
may be taken for graduate credit. A maximum
of six credit hours may be granted
for Directed Studies (BLY 594). All courses
must be accepted by the student’s
graduate advisory committee. The student’s
graduate committee may, at
its option, after consultation with the student,
require demonstration of additional
proficiency in a foreign language, mathematics,
computer skills, statistics,
and/or require the student to take additional
course work beyond the twenty-four
hour minimum. |
| 2. Complete
a thesis representing original research. A maximum
of six hours credit will
be granted for the thesis. Enrollment in Biology
599 (Thesis) is not permitted until
the student’s research prospectus has been
approved by the advisory committee
and the Directory of Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences. |
| 3. Enroll
in Biology Seminar during at least two semesters
of residency. |
| 4. Complete
successfully a comprehensive written examination
in the student’s general
area(s) of expertise as indicated by their research
project and course work.
The student’s graduate committee determines
what defines the ‘area(s) of expertise’.
This examination may be taken only after the
student has completed 18
hours of graduate work excluding thesis credits.
The student, with the endorsement
of the major professor, should submit to the
department a letter of intent
to take the examination one month prior to its
administration. The comprehensive
examination is a requirement for graduation,
not for admission to regular
graduate standing. The examination should be
taken at least one semester
before graduation. Candidates failing the comprehensive
examination may
be examined over the parts of the test which
they failed after a minimum three-month
delay. No portion of the comprehensive examination
may be taken more
than twice. |
| 5. Make
an oral defense of the thesis during the last
semester of residency. |
| 6. A
student that starts as a ‘thesis student’
will be allowed to change their status to non-thesis
only with the majority consent of their committee. |
| |
| Non-Thesis Program |
| Students planning to pursue
the Ph.D. degree are encouraged to follow the
thesis option. However, a non-thesis curriculum
is available for those students who so elect.
The student will be required to complete the
same degree requirements as those for a student
who chooses the thesis option, with the following
exceptions. |
| 1. A
thesis will not be required. Consequently BLY
599 (Thesis) may not be taken, and
the six semester hours normally associated with
it must be earned through formal
course work. |
| 2. The
student must complete BLY 594 (Directed Studies)
under the direction of a major
professor. The student must also have a faculty
committee whose members
will decide if the student’s report relating
to the directed study is satisfactory.
The committee normally will consist of the major
professor and two others.
The student is required to present an open seminar
about the directed study
during the last semester of residency. |
| 3. A
non-thesis student is allowed to change their
status to ‘thesis’ only with the majority
consent of their committee. |
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