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BioLink
University of Minnesota
123 Snyder Hall
1475 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

Phone: 612-625-3133
Fax: 612-624-5780
Email: biolink@umn.edu

Director of Graduate Studies:
James Fuchs
Phone: 612-624-1215
Fax: 612-625-6002
Email: fuchs001@umn.edu

Program Coordinator:
Carol Gross
Phone: 612-625-3133
Fax: 612-624-5780
email: gross008@umn.edu

 

A PROFESSIONAL, GRADUATE MASTER'S DEGREE IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

A professional Master of Biological Science (M.B.S.) degree is offered at the University of Minnesota, in basic biology, with concentrations in areas including biochemistry, biology (animal, plant, cell, applied and general), bioinformatics, biotechnology, biophysics, ecology, environmental studies, evolution, food science and nutrition, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology and neuroscience, and regulatory affairs.

The program is administered by the College of Biological Sciences and the M.B.S. degree is conferred by the U of M Graduate School.

MISSION

The mission of the Master of Biological Science program is to provide flexible, independently designed, graduate-level, practitioner-based education to members of the working community who wish to increase their knowledge of modern biology, and to award the master's degree at the completion of the program.


M.B.S. PROGRAM GOALS
 

The M.B.S. degree is a highly flexible graduate-level practitioner-based program offered to meet the needs of members of the working community who wish or need to increase their knowledge in areas related to modern biology. The program provides educational opportunities beyond those that aim at maintaining and improving productivity within the professions, which include graduate-level training and credentialing. It fills a gap in the present educational system for those who have neither the time nor the flexibility to earn a graduate degree through more traditional channels. The program provides this population with the most current information and advanced skills in their areas of professional interest, and gives them acknowledgment for their achievement. The degree enables recipients to learn new job skills, change professional emphasis, or provide added value to their present job. 

The program includes course work, seminars, independent study, workshops, and a capstone project. With guidance from faculty advisors, students complete 30 semester credits. The M.B.S. degree

  • is not intended as a stepping-stone to a doctoral program; rather, its primary function is to aid working adults interested in expanding their base of knowledge in one or more areas of the biological sciences and to add to their professional credentials.

  • is separate and distinct from the Master of Science degrees in biological disciplines where degrees are primarily research oriented and often completed on the way to the Ph.D. 
Few graduate programs provide the opportunity to focus on a single subspecialty suited to the employment needs of the non-traditional student. 

The M.B.S. program is a multi-college, cooperative degree program with faculty derived from

Academic Health Center (AHC).
College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS)
College of Biological Sciences (CBS)

 
 
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.