Biological Sciences M.S.

Specific degree requirements, including those listed below, are described in detail in the School of Life Sciences’ on-line Graduate Student Handbook http://sols.unlv.edu/gradhandbook.html.

1. Master’s students are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond their undergraduate degree. At least 18 of these hours must be completed at the 700-level. All students must take:
   BIOL 701 - Ethics in Scientific Research , preferably during their first year in residence. All students must also take at least six (6) credits of:
   BIOL 796 A-D - Graduate Seminar  and at least six (6) credits of:
   BIOL 797 - Thesis  during their residency in the Program.
2. In addition to the aforementioned general requirements, students must complete the specific course work required by the Section (e.g., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Microbiology, and Integrative Physiology) to which they belong. See SoLS’s Graduate Student Handbook http://sols.unlv.edu/gradhandbook.html for specific requirements.
3. Students may request a maximum of 15 graduate credits taken at UNLV prior to admission into SoLS’s Graduate Program to be counted towards the 30 credit hour minimum graduation requirement, provided that those credits were not used to fulfill undergraduate requirements and that a minimum grade of “B” (3.00) was earned in each course.
4. At least 50 percent of the total credits required to complete the Master’s degree must be earned at UNLV after admission into the Graduate Program.
5. Students should register for at least nine (9) credits each semester if they are receiving financial support from SoLS; otherwise they must register for at least six (6) credits each semester. Students working on their thesis must register for at least three (3) credits each semester (excluding summer) until the Master’s Thesis is completed and given final approval.
6. Students must confer with their Thesis Advisor prior to enrollment in their first semester. The Advisor will assist with designing an initial graduate degree program (i.e., an outline of the courses that the student will complete for the degree), engage in discussions about possible research directions, and introduce the student to the personnel and resources of the School of Life Sciences.
7. Students must form an Advisory Committee before the end of their first semester in the Graduate Program. This Committee will be composed by the Thesis Advisor (who will serve as the Committee Chair), two members of SoLS’s Graduate Faculty, and a Graduate Faculty Representative from UNLV (but outside of SoLS).
8. Students must meet with their Advisory Committee at least once every year (i.e., from January to October), and a written report of this meeting must be submitted to SoLS’s Graduate Operations Committee by November 1.
9. The Advisory Committee will review the student’s past academic background and, taking into consideration the student’s research interests, determine his/her definitive graduate degree program.
10. Students must comply with the deadlines indicated in SoLS’s Graduate Student Handbook http://sols.unlv.edu/gradhandbook.html for submitting required paperwork to the Graduate College.
11. A student will be placed on academic probation if a minimum 3.00 grade point average is not maintained in all work taken as part of the graduate degree program. A grade of “C” or less in two graduate-level classes will cause a student to be placed on academic probation.
12. The M.S. candidate will present a seminar on his/her thesis work that is open to all interested parties, including the general public. This public seminar will be widely advertised at least seven (7) days before it takes place, and will be followed by an oral defense of the thesis research before the Advisory Committee and any other Graduate Faculty member who wishes to attend.
13. Students are expected to complete all the requirements for the Master’s degree in 2-3 years.

Master’s students may be withdrawn from the Program and separated from the Graduate College if they fail to fulfill any of the requirements for the degree within the specified timeline. See SoLS’s Graduate Student Handbook http://sols.unlv.edu/gradhandbook.html for specific requirements.