Graduate Programs

    The Biology Department offers full-time graduate programs leading to master's (Ms) and doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees.  It is a research-based program with all candidates required to write a thesis based on original research. The fields of inquiry include molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, cell biology, neurobiology and ecology.  For information about research by individual faculty please click on Research.  Currently we have approximately 30 graduate students enrolled in the program.

    Master's and doctoral students are required to take 24 semester hours of formal class work (8 courses).  The average time for completing all MS requirements (including research thesis) is approximately 2 years and for the doctoral program it is approximately 5 years.  Most students are supported by teaching assistantships, research assistantships and fellowships, all of which provide a stipend and cover all tuition costs.  Teaching assistantships for new graduate students are offered preferentially to those who have been admitted to the doctoral program.  Students in the master's program can transfer to the doctoral program after three semesters if they are making satisfactory progress and their research supervisor agrees to sponsor them. 

    Graduate students are encouraged to meet with potential research advisors in their first semester in the fall.  They can then begin research rotations in selected laboratories.

    Depth of knowledge for doctoral students is assured by the research experience that leads to the research thesis.  To assure breadth of knowledge in biology, students are required to take courses from three diverse areas of biology.  Further, doctoral students are given a qualifying examination covering a broad spectrum of topics in biology at the end of the first academic year.  By the beginning of the 4th semester the doctoral candidate should have enough research experience to write a research  proposal for the Ph.D. research.  The proposal is due by April 1.  An examining committee of three biology graduate faculty reviews the written proposal and if satisfactory, conducts an oral examination on the proposal and the scientific context of the proposal.  If the oral examination is passed the student is then elevated to candidacy.  A thesis committee is constituted including the student's research advisor.  Formal annual reviews of research progress are carried out.  Once a first draft of a doctoral thesis is completed a formal Initial Defense of Thesis is held which includes the thesis committee and an external examiner.  This defense should result in an explicit plan to complete the research and writing of the thesis.  When the thesis is revised and completed a Final Defense of Thesis is held.

    Successful doctoral students usually have several offers for post-doctoral training at a variety of excellent institutions.  Many of our former doctoral students are on the faculties of universities and colleges.

   Application to the program can be on-line or by paper.  Included should be official transcripts from previously attended institutions, three letters of recommendation from individuals who have knowledge of aptitude for biology, results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), results of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL, required for applicants whose first language is not English or who have not earned a bachelor's degree from a U.S. institution). There should be also be a personal statement explaining why the applicant wants to do graduate study in biology. 

For more information please contact:

Regee Neely
Administrative Assistant
Department of Biology
215-204-8854
rneely@temple.edu

Edward Gruberg, Ph.D..
Professor of Biology
Chair, Biology Graduate Committee
215 204 1920
e.gruberg@temple.edu