General Description and Requirements for the Masters Degree (MS)

The goal of the Masters Degree program is to provide students with advanced training in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Students obtaining an MS degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology must complete course work as described in the General Information section of the Pennsylvania State University Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin, with guidance from their academic advisor. A minimum of 30 credits is required; 20 or more must be earned at Penn State. At least 6 of the credits must be in thesis research. The research carried out must represent an original contribution. It is anticipated that the research will require a year of full time work in addition to the time required for taking courses. Results of the research may be presented as a thesis describing the students independent research, the style of which must conform to the regulations set out in the Thesis Guide published by the thesis office of the graduate school, or, alternatively, the student may submit a written research manuscript prepared in the Journal of Biological Chemistry or American Society of Microbiology format or a published paper, authored or co-authored by the candidate, that describes the candidate's research. The thesis, manuscript or published paper must be approved by the student's thesis committee.