Biology Master of Science Degree
Master of Arts Degree
Courses of Instruction

Overview

Available on Master of Arts or Master of Science degrees. Students who have majored in other disciplines may be admitted if undergraduate deficiencies can be removed within a reasonable length of time.

Master of Science Degree

Prerequisites: Bachelor's degree in Biology or equivalent; Chemistry through Organic; General Physics (one year); Math through Calculus or Statistics.

Requirements: Thirty approved graduate hours including: Research in the Biological Sciences (BIOL 60011), Scientific Presentation (BIOL 60001), 1 hour seminar in Biology (BIOL 60910) or Environmental Science, 12 additional hours Biology (minimum), 6 hours thesis, 9 hours of approved electives. Limit of 3 hours of assigned problems unless approved by graduate committee or department chair.

Master of Arts Degree

Prerequisites: Bachelor's degree in Biology or equivalent; Chemistry through Organic; General Physics (one year); Math through Calculus or Statistics.

Requirements:
Thirty-six hours of graduate coursework including: Research in the Biological Sciences (BIOL 60011), Scientific Presentation (BIOL 60001), 1 hour seminar in Biology (BIOL 60910) or Environmental Science, 21 additional hours in Biology (minimum); 12 hours approved electives. Limit of 3 hours of assigned problems unless approved by graduate committee or department chairman.

Courses of Instruction

BIOL 50103 Terrestrial Ecosystems. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 30403 or permission of instructor. Concepts, principles, and mechanisms of the function of terrestrial ecosystems, including ecophysiology of component species, nutrient cycling, energy flow, ecosystem stability and global ecology.

BIOL 50133 Biochemistry. Prerequisite: CHEM 30133, 40113 or permission of the instructor. Three lecture hours per week. A general survey of structure and function of biologically important compounds with methods of analysis. (Offered as BIOL or CHEM credit.)

BIOL 50143 Biochemistry. Prerequisite: CHEM or BIOL 50133. Biosynthesis, replication of DNA, synthesis and processing of RNA and proteins, and special topics e.g. brain and muscle functions, hormones and signal transduction, cancer, development, etc. (Offered as BIOL or CHEM credit.)

BIOL 50303 Systematics and Evolution. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 30403. Concepts of classical and numerical taxonomy and the principles of phylogeny, organic evolution and speciation.

BIOL 50313 Biogeography. Prerequisite: BIOL 30403 or permission of instructor. Three hours lecture per week. An ecological approach to the study of the distribution of plant and animal communities.

BIOL 50324 Techniques in Cell and Molecular Biology. Three hours of lecture and one 3-hour laboratory per week. Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in BIOL or CHEM 50133 or equivalent and permission of instructor. Survey of techniques central to molecular and cellular biology, including centrifugation, chromatography, electrophoresis, spectrophotometry and radioisotopes.

BIOL 50463 Fundamentals of Neuroscience. Prerequisite: Graduate or senior standing or approval of the instructor. The fundamentals of functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology with an emphasis on experimental and theoretical analysis of the basic brain behavior relationships. (Offered as BIOL or PSYC credit.)

BIOL 50472 Laboratory in Physiological Psychology and Neuroscience. Prerequisite: PSYC 30463 or its equivalent or PSYC 50653 or its equivalent, or concurrent registration in either PSYC 50436 or PSYC 30463. One lecture and one laboratory per week. Emphasis will be on the laboratory techniques employed in physiological psychology and neuroscience in analyzing the neural and hormonal correlates of behavior (Offered as BIOL or PSYC credit)

BIOL 50482 Laboratory in Physiological Psychology and Neuroscience. Prerequisite: PSYC 30463 or its equivalent or PSYC 50653 or its equivalent, or concurrent registration in either PSYC 50436 or PSYC 30463. One lecture and one laboratory per week. Emphasis will be on the laboratory techniques employed in physiological psychology and neuroscience in analyzing the neural and hormonal correlates of behavior (Offered as BIOL or PSYC credit)

BIOL 50502 Biochemistry Laboratory. Two four-hour laboratory periods per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 50143 or concurrent registration. (Offered as BIOL or CHEM credit.)

BIOL 50602 Preparation of Environmental Impact Statements. Two laboratory periods per week. The methodology of environmental impact statement preparation from initial collection of data to final report drafting is covered. The course is problem-oriented; students are taught to take the initiative in EIS preparation. (Offered as BIOL or GEOL credit.)

BIOL 50703 Ecology of Lakes and Streams. Prerequisite: BIOL 30403 or permission of instructor. Two hours of lecture and one laboratory period per week. Study of the physical, chemical and biological factors affecting the ecology of lakes, ponds and streams.

BIOL 50713 Marine Ecology. Prerequisite: BIOL 30403 or permission of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one laboratory per week. A study of marine communities and factors that influence the distribution of marine organisms. At least one field trip to the Texas coast to sample marine communities. Samples collected during the field trip will be analyzed by students in the laboratory.

BIOL 50773 Introduction to Environmental Law. Three hours lecture per week. Introduction to and analysis of selected federal statutes regulating environmental degradation and environmental clean-up, including the National Environmental Policy Act and regulation of air quality, water quality, wastes, hazardous and toxic substances and enforcement. (Offered as BIOL or GEOL credit.)

BIOL 50803 Ecology of Fishes. Prerequisite: BIOL 30403 or permission of instructor. Two hours of lecture and one laboratory period per week. Ecology of fishes, basic techniques of fisheries management.

BIOL 50883 Introduction to Environmental Engineering Technology. Introduction to fundamentals of pollution control technology; impact of federal and state legislation on the construction, modification and control of industrial plants. Other topics include hazardous pollutants, modification to ambient quality, and basic pollution modeling. (Offered as BIOL or GEOL credit.)

BIOL 50903 Tropical Biology. Two hours lecture per week, one week of field work in the tropics and a terminal project. Prerequisites: Six semester hours in Biology; travel costs are exclusive of tuition; permission of instructors. Systematics and ecology of tropical marine invertebrates and terrestrial vertebrates with emphasis on Cnidarians, Arthropods, Mollusks and Reptiles.

BIOL 50910 Biology Seminar. 1. The primary goal is to acquaint the student with the preparation and presentation (oral and/or written) of scientific information from the biological literature. May be repeated for credit with different topics to a maximum of 3 times (one semester hour per topic). 2. Acquainting the student with the preparation and presentation (oral and/or written) of scientific information from the biological literature. May be repeated for credit with different topics to a maximum of 3 times. (One semester hour per topic.)

BIOL 50923 Herpetology. Two hours lecture and one three-hour laboratories per week. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Classification, laboratory, and field identification and seminars on natural history, ecology, evolution and behavior of reptiles and amphibians.

BIOL 60000 The Teaching of Biology. Three to six semester hours. Seminar in methods of teaching Biology and supervised classroom and laboratory teaching. Open to students who are Teaching Assistants or National Science Foundation Trainees.

BIOL 60001 Scientific Presentation. The goal of this course is to acquaint the student with the organization, preparation and effective delivery of scientific seminars. ALL BIOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE THIS COURSE.

BIOL 60011 Research in the Biological Sciences. One hour lecture per week introducing students to various aspects of biological research including scientific publication, grantsmanship and research approaches. All Biology graduate students are required to take this course.

BIOL 60123 Electron Microscopy. Prerequisites: Biology 50133, 50143 or permission of instructor. Cell ultrastructure with special emphasis on preparative techniques useful in the study of functional morphology of cells.

BIOL 60223 Medical Bacteriology. Prerequisite: Biology 30303 or equivalent. Nature of virulence, types of pathogenic organisms, epidemiology and disease control.

BIOL 60243 Advanced Immunology. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: Biology 30303 20233, 40253 or approval of instructor. Immunobiology and immunochemistry of the immune response, especially cell mediated reactions. Current literature, techniques and clinical applications.

BIOL 60723 Advanced Genetics. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 30303, 40123, 50133 or approval of instructor. Examination of research literature dealing with selected topics in genetics. Topics in molecular genetics are most common. May be repeated for credit one time with different topic.

BIOL 60910 Biology Seminar. Prerequisite: BIOL 60001 or permission of instructor. The primary goal is to acquaint the student with areas of study in the biological sciences not covered in detail in other courses.

BIOL 70003 Environmental Internship. Students must spend at least 135 hours in approved practical work experience with an organization or company approved by the TCU MBA/MA Program. Open only to MBA/MA students. (Offered as BIOL or GEOL credit.)

BIOL 70771 Non-Thesis. Selected when enrolling only for non-thesis examination or preparation for the examination.

BIOL 70950 Assigned Problems in Biology. Limit 3 hours unless approved by graduate committee or department chair. Each of the assigned projects requires a minimum of 50 clock hours of field, laboratory or library work for each semester hour of credit.

BIOL 70980 Thesis. A minimum of 3 hours of 70980 Thesis is required.

BIOL 70990 Thesis. Prerequisite: 70980 and admission to candidacy. A minimum of 3 hours of 70990 Thesis is required.

Texas Christian University