• M.S. - BIOLOGY - THESIS ONLY

  •  Program Adviser: Dr. Merrill Peterson, Biology Building 312

  Prerequisites

•  A bachelor's degree and departmental permission.  Deficiencies in undergraduate courses or those subsequently revealed to the Biology Graduate Committee or to the student's program committee must be removed prior to advancement to candidacy.  Applicants are directed to the current requirements of the basic B.S. degree in biology for a summary of expected preparation for graduate work.  All students should have completed upper-division courses in genetics, cell biology, ecology, and biometrics.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS   

• Requirements in Specialization
  • Thesis research: Biol 690 (12 credits)
  • Core curriculum: Biol. 501 (3 credits), Biol. 525 (4 credits), Biol. 598 (2 credits)
  • Additional graduate courses in the Biology Dept. (2 credits)
• Electives
• Courses selected under advisement from 400- and 500-level courses in biology and supporting disciplines.  No more than 10 credits may come from 400-level courses.  All elective courses must be approved by the student's program committee. (22)
• Thesis and Examination
  • Degree candidates will submit a thesis based on independent and original research on a problem approved by the student's thesis committee.  A final oral examination will be conducted by the advisory committee.  Degree candidates will present a seminar based on the results of the thesis research. 

M.S. - BIOLOGY: MARINE AND ESTUARINE SCIENCE OPTION, THESIS ONLY  MESP website

• Curriculum Coordinators: Dr. Brian Bingham, Huxley College of the Environment; Dr. Gisèle Muller-Parker, Department of Biology
• Prerequisites
  • Students matriculated through the biology department must meet the prerequisites for admission described in the "Biology, Thesis Only" option.
  • The Marine and Estuarine Science option is a joint offering of the Department of Biology, Huxley College, and Shannon Point Marine Center.  Students graduating from the program will have an understanding of coastal marine and estuarine environments, biota and topical management issues, and fundamental biological and chemical oceanographic processes.  The curriculum requires a minimum of 45 credits of course work, including 12 credits of thesis research, and the completion of a thesis based on original research in an area of specialization relevant to the marine sciences. MESP students matriculated through the Biology Department must take the Biology graduate core curriculum (Biol. 501 (3 cr.), Biol. 525 (4 cr.), and Biol. 598 (2 cr.)), in addition to Biol. 505 (1 cr.).

M. Ed. - NATURAL SCIENCE / SCIENCE EDUCATION

• Biology Specialization, Thesis and Non-Thesis
• Prerequisites
  • An applicant is expected to have completed the equivalent of an undergraduate major in biology including at least one course in organic chemistry.  The student also must have had Sci Ed 491 (or the equivalent).  Any deficiencies in these requirements must be made up outside the credit hour requirements for the Master of Education degree.
  • For curriculum requirements, see Natural Science / Science Education section of the WWU catalog.

All information presented here is from the WWU catalog which can be retrieved as a pdf file from: http://www.wwu.edu/catalog/index.shtml