College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Biology

Departmental E-mail: gradbio@indiana.edu

Departmental URL:  https://biology.indiana.edu/graduate/biotechnology/index.html

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Biotechnology; Master of Science in Biotechnology Accelerated Program

Master of Science in Biotechnology

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Admission Requirements

Undergraduate major in one of the sciences and course work in the program in which a degree is sought. A degree in a related field (e.g. chemistry, mathematics, biology) may suffice if appropriate courses were included in the student’s degree program. Students seeking admission may apply to the Biotechnology Degree Program online. Applications must include a complete entrance form, letters of recommendation, undergraduate transcripts. Scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test are optional. The TOEFL score is required if the applicant’s native language is other than English.

Grades

Students must maintain a minimum GPA of B (3.0) in order to remain in good standing in the Graduate School. Courses to be counted toward the degree must be passed with a grade of B- (2.7) or better.

Course Requirements

A total of 30 credit hours are required including a common core program consisting of the following courses: T500 (8 cr.), T501 (2 cr.), T502 (2. cr.), T508 (3 cr.), T521 (3 cr.), T540 (3 cr.), and T680 (1-8 cr.). The T680 courses that form part of the common core program are the following:  Regulatory Affairs/Drug Development; Biotech Products—Investment, Manufacturing, and Commercialization; Writing and Communication in Biotechnology; and Graduate Seminar—Contributing + Advancing on the Job. Other courses can be substituted for the common core requirements pending permission from the Graduate Program Director. The remaining credit hours can be selected from an approved list of graduate courses in Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Informatics, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Law, Public and Environmental Affairs, Statistics, or Medical Sciences, or other field applicable to Biotechnology. Students who have completed BIOT-T440 (or equivalent) as undergraduates will not be required to take BIOT-T540. Instead, they will replace the credits with elective courses from the approved list, subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Director for Biotechnology.

• BIOT-T500Project Lab in Biotechnology (8 )
• BIOT-T501Biochemical Instrumentation (2 )
• BIOT-T502Mammalian Tissue Culture (2 cr.)
• BIOT-T508Theory and Application of Biotechnology Lecture (3 cr.)
• BIOT-T515Theory and Application of Biotechnology Lab (3 cr.) (optional course)
• BIOT-T521 Contemporary Topics in Research Ethics (3 cr.)
• BIOT-T525Protein Expression, Purification, and Characterization Lab (3 cr.) (optional course)
• BIOT-T540Structure and Function of Biomolecules (3 cr.)
• BIOT-T590Graduate Research (1-3 cr.) (optional course)
• BIOT-T680Specialized Topics in Biotechnology (1-3 cr.)

Thesis

A thesis is optional.

Master of Science in Biotechnology Accelerated Program

The Accelerated Master's Program involves early admission of undergraduates at IU who plan to pursue a 5-year combined BA or BS with an MS degree in Biotechnology. These students should declare their intentions for a combined degree, and apply for admission to the MS program between their sophomore and junior years. Students will be given preferential admission into research laboratories to undertake independent research projects at the beginning of their third year of undergraduate studies and are expected to continue their research program for three years, and at the end of that period, submit an M.S. thesis.

Grades

For all graduate degrees, students must maintain a minimum GPA of B (3.0) in order to remain in good standing in the Graduate School. Courses to be counted toward the degree must be passed with a grade of B- (2.7) or better.

Course Requirements

A total of 30 credit hours are required including a common core program consisting of the following courses: T500 (8 cr.), T501 (2 cr.), T502 (2. cr.), T508 (3 cr.),  T521 (3 cr.), T540 (3 cr.), and T680 (1-8 cr.). The T680 courses that form part of the common core program are the following:  Regulatory Affairs/Drug Development; Biotech Products—Investment, Manufacturing, and Commercialization; Writing and Communication in Biotechnology; and Graduate Seminar—Contributing + Advancing on the Job. Other courses can be substituted for the common core requirements pending permission from the Graduate Program Director. The remaining credit hours can be selected from an approved list of graduate courses in Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Informatics, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Law, Public and Environmental Affairs, Statistics, or Medical Sciences or other field applicable to Biotechnology. Students who have completed BIOT-T440 (or equivalent) as undergraduates will not be required to take BIOT-T540. Instead, they will replace the credits with elective courses from the approved list, subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies for Biotechnology.

• BIOT-T500Project Lab in Biotechnology (8 )
• BIOT-T501Biochemical Instrumentation (2 cr.)
• BIOT-T502Mammalian Tissue Culture (2 cr.)
• BIOT-T508Theory and Application of Biotechnology Lecture (3 cr.)
• BIOT-T515Theory and Application of Biotechnology Lab (3 cr.) (optional course)
• BIOT-T521 Contemporary Topics in Research Ethics (3 cr.)
• BIOT-T525Protein Expression, Purification, and Characterization Lab (3 cr.) (optional course)
• BIOT-T540Structure and Function of Biomolecules (3 cr.)
• BIOT-T590Graduate Research (1-3 cr.) (optional course)
• BIOT-T680Specialized Topics in Biotechnology (1-3 cr.)

Thesis

A thesis is required for participants in the Accelerated Degree Program.

Final Examination

The thesis must be orally defended before the student’s advisory committee.

Graduate Minor in Biotechnology

Students from other graduate degree programs can receive a graduate minor in Biotechnology with at least 6 credit hours with an average grade of B or above in the following courses: T501 (2 cr.), T502 (2 cr.), T508 (3 cr.), T515 (3 cr.), T521 (3 cr.), T525 (3 cr.), T540 (3 cr.), T680 (1-8 cr.). Students may not count T521 toward the minor if they use it to fulfill a degree requirement for another program. Courses not explicitly listed may be used with the approval of the Graduate Program Director for Biotechnology.