Graduate Recruitment & Admissions

Graduate Recruitment & Admissions
Clayton Penniman
Professor & Department Chair
Biology
Nicolaus Copernicus Hall
332

Biological Sciences, MA/MS

Central to Discovering the Natural World.

Further your specialization and knowledge of recent scientific advances with a Central MA/MS in Biological Sciences. Broaden your teaching skills, enhance your field and laboratory proficiency, or prepare to pursue your doctorate.

Program Features

  • Starts every January and August
  • 30-credit program
  • Attend full- or part-time
  • Specialized facilities include:
    • Greenhouses
    • Herbarium
    • Behavioral neuroscience research lab
    • Neurobiology and physiology research lab
    • Ecology research labs
    • Molecular biology research labs
    • Experimental gardens
    • Controlled environment rooms
    • Growth chambers
    • Access to Outer Island (Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge)
  • Financial aid is available
  • No GMAT/GRE required in many cases
 

Program Options

Advanced study of the connections between living organisms and their environments. Develop the tools to work as a resource manager, field ecologist, wildlife biologist, environmental program specialist, or consultant.

Address global issues like population growth, climate change, fossil fuels, environmental toxins, alternative energy, and water scarcity and pollution. Understand environmental problems in sustainability from a science and policy perspective and examine the complex interrelationships between natural, social, and political systems.

Prepare for a career in the health profession or to pursue a doctoral degree. Examine everything from the structure of biomolecules and biochemical reactions to neurobiology.

Focuses on specialty areas of botany, zoology, physiology, ecology, and environmental studies.

Develop the necessary background and research skills to measure, monitor, and protect the world’s biodiversity. Program culminates in a research thesis containing a collaborative component with a state or federal agency or non-profit organization.

Did You Know?

The annual mean wage was more than $98,000 for biological scientists in Connecticut in May of 2020.
Source: bls.gov

Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will have a thorough understanding and/or competency in a specific area of biology in addition to a broad-based and integrative understanding of basic biological concepts.
  2. Students will demonstrate an ability to effectively convey, both orally and in writing, an advanced understanding of biological content, methods, and tools.
  3. Students will demonstrate an ability to locate, critically analyze, interpret, and discuss primary research literature within the biological sciences.
  4. Students will demonstrate an awareness of contemporary scientific issues.