 | THE MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE
Admission Requirements
1) Applicants with an honours degree in Biological Sciences or a related field may be admitted to the Master's Candidacy (M2) program.
2) Applicants with a general B.Sc. degree in Biological Sciences or a related field may be admitted to the Master's Qualifying (M1) program.
3) For the Behaviour and Neuroscience field, agreement with a research supervisor for supervision will also be required.
Degree Requirements
Students may pursue one of the following fields within the MSc in Biological Sciences: 1) Molecular/Cellular Biology; 2) Ecology, Evolution, Environment, and Behaviour; and 3) Behaviour and Neuroscience.
1) Students admitted to the Master's Candidacy program will be expected to:
(a) comply with the general regulations;
(b) attend all departmental seminars in Biological Sciences (formal presentations of visiting speakers, graduate student seminars, thesis defense presentations and dissertation defense presentations) each year of full-time registration;
(c) present a departmental seminar in each year of enrollment (the thesis defense may count as one of these);
(d) successfully complete a minimum of two graduate courses with approval of the Master's Committee, courses may be in a cognate area;
(e) complete an original research project and embody it in a thesis;
(f) defend the thesis orally at a public lecture or seminar.
2) Students admitted to the Master's Qualifying program, besides meeting the minimum requirements of the Master's Candidacy program, are expected in the first year of the two-year program to achieve a level of qualification equivalent to an honours degree through research and a minimum of four courses.
3) Grading: A student must maintain at least a 70% in each Biological Sciences course and at least a 70% average in any non-Biological Sciences courses.
4) Master's Committee: Within one term of the student's registration in the program, the research committee will be formed and the names submitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies. The full committee will consist of at least three members - the research supervisor, one other faculty member from within Biological Sciences, and one University faculty member from outside of Biological Sciences.
The student should meet with individual committee members on an informal basis at least twice a year. The committee, in turn, must meet to:
(a) review and approve course work and the research proposal no later than six months into the program;
(b) discuss the student's research and thesis at least six months before the anticipated time of the final oral examination;
(c) participate in the final oral examination.
Research Progress: Each year from the date of initial registration, the student must submit a Research Progress Report to and meet with his or her Master's committee. In addition, the student must review his or her research in a meeting with the Master's committee at least six months before the anticipated date of the final oral examination.
Research Thesis: A thesis embodying the results of an original investigation in the student's major field is required of all candidates. The student must defend the thesis orally at a public lecture or seminar, which will be the final oral examination.
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