how to write a master's thesis in biology

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M.S. Qualifying Research Paper Writing Guidelines

An important part of your master’s education is the writing of your final master’s qualifying research paper (also called a master’s thesis). To aid you in this process we have assembled the following guidelines.

Qualifying research papers fall into two categories, those based on laboratory research and those based on literature research. Both types are mentored by a faculty member or principal investigator of a research laboratory sought by the student. For laboratory research, the student will write the paper based on original experimental results obtained in the laboratory of the mentor. For a literature-based thesis, after selection of a suitable topic by the student and mentor, the student will research the topic by reading and analyzing original literature on the subject, and then prepare a substantive analysis that will constitute the paper. All qualifying papers are graded "Pass", "Pass with Distinction" or "Fail". Further information can be found at the  M.S. in Biology website .

STYLE INFORMATION

Qualifying papers in the Department of Biology should follow the structure of the types of papers that appear in the journal Cell. Laboratory research based papers should be modeled after a Cell research style articles and library research based papers should be modeled after Cell review style articles. Example articles with links are listed in the notes below.  

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Plagiarism is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author: This means that you cannot copy lines of text from another source without noting that it is a quote (“put quotes around the text”) and citing the reference. In general avoid direct quotes from other sources unless the quote makes a strong point. General facts do not need to be referenced, but more specific facts and ideas must be referenced, even if they have been rewritten in your own words
• Litertaure Review:  Lopez-Otin et al., 2023. Hallmarks of Aging: An Expanding Universe. Cell 186(2), 243-278 .
• Research Research:  Lyons et al., 2023. Functional partitioning of transcriptional regulators by patterned charge blocks. Cell 186(2), 327-345 . 
• Seek a thesis mentor and decide on a topic to study.
• After beginning your literature research, provide a list of references you are reading to your mentor.
• Proceed to write a brief outline of the paper with subsection ideas, then a more detailed outline with subsection descriptions, and share with mentor for comment.
• Proceed to write a first draft of paper, which the mentor will read and provide suggestions/questions for comment.
• Revise accordingly and submit the final version of your paper (~ 25 pages double spaced and reference list). Use citation format (Jones et al., 2023) and reference list as done in Cell papers (see above links). All figures taken from articles must be cited in the legend.

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Current Masters Students

• Masters Thesis Standards

Successfully defending a thesis requires that the student has obtained sufficient data to make a significant contribution to a research paper that could be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Such contribution could consist of one or more of the following:

• The student produces at least one figure or a table that could be included in a peer-reviewed research paper.
• The student's work lays a significant foundation for further research (for example, the student conducted a genetic screen).
• The student develops a new technique or improves an existing method, producing a significant, applicable technical advance.

Thesis Assessment Criteria

The Master’s Thesis should contain the following components. Please be sure that the thesis addresses each of the bullet points within. The thesis may address more points than listed below. The following general criteria should be applied when assessing the overall quality of a Master’s thesis:

• Does the student briefly and clearly state the focus of the described research, experimental design and methods of data collection?
• Does the abstract provide a summary of the most important findings and conclusion?

Introduction

• Does the student provide the background information for understanding the problem, its significance, and how it fits in biology at large?
• Does the student support the background information, ideas, and hypotheses with citations of the appropriate scientific sources?
• Does the student identify the gap of knowledge and clearly state the questions being answered/hypotheses being tested?

Materials & Methods

• Are the experimental or analytical/modeling approaches appropriate to tackle the specific biological question?
• Are the methodologies described in sufficient detail for another researcher to be able to repeat the experiments?
• Are the experiments clearly described, and their results presented in the appropriate visual formats (graphs, tables)?
• Are the figures and tables of sufficiently high quality and well labeled? Are figure legends concise and informative? Are the figures and tables appropriately referred to and described in the text of the thesis?
• Were the appropriate control experiments carried out?
• Were the appropriate statistical analyses employed?
• Are the interpretations of the experiments supported by the data?
• Are the data collected adequate for the solution of the problem?
• Has the student obtained sufficient data to make a significant contribution to a research paper that could be published in a peer-reviewed journal?
• Does the discussion provide a thoughtful summary of the data and draw the appropriate conclusions?
• Does the student discuss whether the questions posed at the beginning of the study have been answered, and address the adequacy of the obtained data in answering these questions?
• Are there any discrepancies/unexpected results and, if such were encountered, addressed?
• Does the student discuss how her/his findings contribute to our understanding of the area of study?
• Does the student cite relevant literature sources?
• Does the student identify questions that remain unanswered and suggest possible follow-up directions?
• Does the student use a sufficient number of primary and secondary, peer-reviewed literature sources?
• Are all citations in a uniform, accepted reference format?

Updated Thesis and Graduation Requirements

The following includes updated requirements for Biology Master's students in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes to the original requirements are italicized.

The research requirements of the program can be accomplished either as bench- or field-based research, data analysis, a literature-based research, or co-writing a research proposal with the PI. Students must complete at least 24 units of research over a two years period that includes both the BS and the MS parts of the program (BISP193/196/199 and BGGN 271). This research needs to span six consecutive quarters, with at least three quarters at the graduate level. The student's faculty advisor will determine the need for modifications in the original research plan and the specific way in which a student will complete his or her research requirements (e.g., decrease in bench research and increase in data analysis or literature research).

The total number of units students must take in their graduate year is 36, including research (BGGN 271). The number of coursework units (not BGGN 271 course) should be no less than 12, but can be increased, as long as the total number of research units (BISP193/196/199 and BGGN 271) is no less than 24. The course of study must be approved by the faculty advisor.

Thesis preparation and defense

In addition to completing the required coursework, students will write and defend their thesis. In lieu of completing their experiments and obtaining sufficient data to make a significant contribution to a research paper, students can provide a more extensive literature review in the Introduction section of the thesis or a more extensive and detailed proposal of future experiments in the Discussion section of the thesis. The student's faculty advisor, in consultation with the student's thesis committee, will determine the appropriate way for the student to complete his or her thesis if the completion of experiments is not feasible.

Questions? Current UCSD students: Please submit your questions via the VAC . An advisor will respond in 1-3 business days. Drop-in Advising times are posted on the Advising Calendar .

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Master's Thesis

Writing, defending and filing your master's thesis.

Your thesis is based on original research. The subject, format and all other aspects of the research are guided by the students thesis committee.

During the semester in which you intend to complete and file your thesis, you will enroll in Biology 898 (Thesis Research) — except when the thesis is filed during summer (see below). To register in Biology 898 a student must be fully classified and have: filed an approved ATC Form, a Thesis Prospectus and a Proposal for Culminating Experience Form. Students generally will have completed 3 - 6 units of research course work prior to registering for Biology 898. This course is completed when the Master's Thesis has been approved by the student's graduate committee and by the University Graduate Office.

Summer Filing. If you intend to file your thesis in the summer, you must enroll in Biology 898 in the spring semester — not during the summer. This means that your GAP, etc. must be filed in the previous fall semester.

Master's Applied Research Project

 In lieu of a thesis, Biology graduate students may elect to undertake an Applied Research Project. This option is nearly identical to the thesis option, with similar requirements. The differences are:

• The Culminating Experience course is Biology 895 (3 units)
• The final research project does not go forth to the Division of Graduate Studies

Thesis/Project Committee

You must arrange for three faculty members to be on your thesis committee. At least two of these members must be tenured or tenure-track faculty of Biology at SF State.

Your major advisor must be a regular faculty member of the Biology Department at SF State, Research Faculty at the California Academy of Sciences or graduate faculty at the Romberg Tiburon Center.

Occasionally the third reader on a committee will be outside of the Biology Department. Outside readers must hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent.

It is your responsibility to confer with the committee about your research program.

All members of the committee will read your thesis/project prior to your preparing the final copy. The major advisor has the principal responsibility for approving the thesis and adjudicating disagreements.

All members of the committee must sign the Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement and the Approval Page in the written thesis/project.

Oral Defense of the Thesis/Project

All Biology graduate students are required to present an Oral Defense of Thesis/Project at about the same time that they file their thesis/project.

All defenses are to be held on the SF State campus or at the Romberg Tiburon Center and are open to the public.

At least two of the three committee members must be present at the defense. The major professor is required to be in attendance.

The format of the defense should be decided by the committee.

Fliers announcing the defense must be posted in Hensill Hall at least one week prior to the defense. You should also request the Graduate Secretary to send an email announcement of your defense to the faculty and graduate students in Biology.

Take to your defense a  Report of Completion of Requirements  form (not downloadable — get the form from the Biology Office), have it signed and return it to the graduate secretary.

Filing the Thesis

Once your committee has approved your thesis you must file it with Graduate Studies. Guidelines for formatting the thesis are detailed on the  Graduate Studies  website. Follow their guidelines precisely.

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How to Write a Master's Thesis

• Yvonne N. Bui - San Francisco State University, USA
• Description

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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“Yvonne Bui’s How to Write a Master’s Thesis should be mandatory for all thesis track master’s students.  It steers students away from the shortcuts students may be tempted to use that would be costly in the long run. The step by step intentional approach is what I like best about this book.”

“This is the best textbook about writing an M.A. thesis available in the market.” 

“This is the type of textbook that students keep and refer to after the class.”

Excellent book. Thorough, yet concise, information for students writing their Master's Thesis who may not have had a strong background in research.

Clear, Concise, easy for students to access and understand. Contains all the elements for a successful thesis.

I loved the ease of this book. It was clear without extra nonsense that would just confuse the students.

Clear, concise, easily accessible. Students find it of great value.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:             

• Concrete instruction and guides for conceptualizing the literature review help students navigate through the most challenging topics.        
• Step-by-step instructions and more screenshots give students the guidance they need to write the foundational chapter, along with the latest online resources and general library information.          
• Additional coverage of single case designs and mixed methods help students gain a more comprehensive understanding of research methods.           
• Expanded explanation of unintentional plagiarism within the ethics chapter shows students the path to successful and professional writing.       
• Detailed information on conference presentation as a way to disseminate research , in addition to getting published, help students understand all of the tools needed to write a master’s thesis.    

KEY FEATURES:  

• An advanced chapter organizer provides an up-front checklist of what to expect in the chapter and serves as a project planner, so that students can immediately prepare and work alongside the chapter as they begin to develop their thesis.
• Full guidance on conducting successful literature reviews includes up-to-date information on electronic databases and Internet tools complete with numerous figures and captured screen shots from relevant web sites, electronic databases, and SPSS software, all integrated with the text.
• Excerpts from research articles and samples from exemplary students' master's theses relate specifically to the content of each chapter and provide the reader with a real-world context.
• Detailed explanations of the various components of the master's thesis and concrete strategies on how to conduct a literature review help students write each chapter of the master's thesis, and apply the American Psychological Association (APA) editorial style.
• A comprehensive Resources section features "Try It!" boxes which lead students through a sample problem or writing exercise based on a piece of the thesis to reinforce prior course learning and the writing objectives at hand. Reflection/discussion questions in the same section are designed to help students work through the thesis process.

Sample Materials & Chapters

1: Overview of the Master's Degree and Thesis

3: Using the Literature to Research Your Problem

For instructors

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GBIO 1000: Principles of Biology

• Thesis Statement
• Research Paper: Instructions
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• APA Style Format

Nathanael Davis STEM/Business Librarian

Writing a Thesis Statement

Writing a Thesis Statement  doesn't have to be difficult.  Here is some meaningful advice for developing your thesis statement for this project:

Every Thesis Statement has the Following Elements :

• A  Topic : What is the essential matter of your research paper (ex: Christian Worldview and Origins )
• A Position:  State your position or argument (ex: for or  against a specific worldview perspective)
• And Evidence: Summarize the evidence that you will use to support your worldview perspective in short phrases beginning with a strong verb (ex: provides , communicates , establishes , etc.) that supports your evidence (ex: intimate understanding of the nature of the universe,  express purpose for human life, a means to personal fulfillment ).

Together these elements combine to communicate a defensible thesis statement:

EX: The Christian worldview, as supported by the Biblical scripture, outlines a clear and sufficient perspective on the origins of life as it provides an intimate understanding of the nature of the universe, communicates the express purpose for human life, and establishes a means of personal fulfillment.

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• Thesis Guidelines

A thesis for Distinction in Biology is a wonderful way for you to close the loop on your undergraduate research experience and showcase your scientific scholarship. Your thesis will be evaluated by the Faculty in Biology and answers the following questions: What did you do? Why did you do it? What is the significance of your results? What else would you do, were you to continue the project?

In answering the above questions, you have an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding and intellectual ownership of a project; not simply your productivity in the lab. The volume of results or completeness of the study is not critical for a successful thesis. Instead, we will be looking for the following:

• An argument for the significance of your research, contextualized within the scientific literature;
• A review of appropriate literature as evidence in support of claims you make in your argument;
• A statement of your research goals, i.e., a meaningful question of biological importance;
• A description of experimental approaches and methods ;
• Appropriate presentation of results through tables, figures, and images;
• A discussion of the meaning and significance of your results;
• A description of limitations and future directions for the project.

Expanded guidelines can be found in the Biology Thesis Assessment Protocol (BioTAP):

Format of the Thesis

The basic format of the thesis should resemble that of any scientific journal article that is common in your subdiscipline. It generally includes the following sections: Introduction & Background; Methods; Results; Discussion; Acknowledgements; and References. In some instances, it may be useful to sub-divide the Methods & Results section to correspond to multiple aims. However, if you chose to take this route, remember that there should still be a general Introduction and Discussion sections that address the project as a whole. The thesis should not consist of several "mini-papers" that are unconnected.  

Submission Guidelines

The format of the final copy should follow these guidelines:

• Cover Page ( sample ): Title; student's name; supervisor's name; date of submission; 3 signature lines at bottom right (Research Supervisor, DUS, Reader). Please follow the format and language of the sample.
• Abstract Page: single-spaced, roughly 250 words.
• Thesis should be double-spaced
• Pages should be numbered at the top right corner of the page
• It is preferred that figures are embedded within the document instead of all at the end
• There is no minimum page requirement or limit, although most are approximately 25 pages. 

Sample Theses

Examples of Distinction papers from previous years are available for examination in the Undergraduate Studies Office (Rm 135 BioSci).  Several samples are also available below as PDF files.

• Tracing the origins of antimalarial resistance in Plasmodium vivax
• Interaction network optimization improves the antimicrobial efficacy of phage cocktails
• Identifying how ufmylation of RAB1B regulates IFN-β signaling

Additional Resources

• Library Resources for Students Writing Theses
• How to write and publish a scientific paper by Barbara Gastel and Robert A. Day
• Biology 495(S): Scientific Argument in Writing . This course is particularly appropriate for seniors working on an undergraduate thesis or major research paper and is recommended, although not required, for all candidates for Graduation with Distinction in biology. The course is writing intensive and carries a “W” designation and, in the fall semester only, is a seminar and carries an “S” designation.
• Biology Writes  offers writing resources, feedback, one-on-one consultations, and more.  
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How to Tackle Your Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis in Science* Without Losing Your Mind

* Based on my personal experience in successfully writing a bachelor’s thesis in biology and a master’s thesis in neurosciences in Germany. My view might be biased, but a lot of things probably apply across different fields and borders.

First of all, congrats! You made it! You are currently taking your first step into the direction of independent research. The only thing that is still separating you from your degree is your bachelor’s or master’s thesis work (and maybe some assignments and the last exam). You already heard from other people that stressful times are coming ahead and you are worried that everything will go wrong? It will not! To help you not loose your mind during the process, I put together some tips for you. I was lost in the beginning, too, and as a firstgen I thought I would never be able to find through the jungle and graduate. But here I am, holding a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and currently starting the most scary one so far: the PhD.

The Research Process

The research process of a bachelor’s or master’s thesis itself typically starts with an idea and is followed by a literature research identifying the status quo in the research field, resulting in refinement of the idea and the formation of a research question. Then, adequate methods to answer the question are decided, followed by data collection and analysis. The whole work is then finished off by writing the ‘thesis’.

As a bachelor’s or master’s student, you can technically jump in at any point of this process. Some labs have already decided on a question and the methodology you are going to use because it belongs to an ongoing project. This was for example the case in my bachelor’s thesis. As the bachelor’s thesis at my university needed to be conducted in a time frame of 12 weeks, I was working together with a PhD student collecting data (I was mainly staining brain sections, imaged them, and counted cells!). In my master’s thesis work (duration: 6 months), however, I was allowed to design my own project from beginning to the end and worked independently.

“Es ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen”

German for: A master has never come falling from heaven.

Lab work can be scary, you can feel like you are not good enough. I still remember how insecure I was on my first day in the lab as a bachelor’s student. I was shaking while pipetting under supervision because I was so nervous and didn’t want to do anything wrong. I thought my supervisor would think I was not made for the lab. But oh boy, was I wrong! No one, and I say NO ONE, expects you to be a perfect scientist already! You are in the process of learning the scientific method and getting trained! It is ok to make mistakes and ask for help, it is part of the learning process and will help you when conducting research in the future! Back then, thanks to great supervision, I gained confidence over time and was rewarded with beautiful immunofluorescence-stained brain sections!

How Do I Start?

1. choose a project you find interesting and a supervisor you feel comfortable with.

BOTH are important. You should choose a project you find interesting, in which you would enjoy working towards answering the research question and reading up on the literature. This will make it way easier to stay motivated. However, you should also be comfortable in your research environment. You will probably spend a lot of time with your supervisor and your supervisor might be the one grading you.

2. Ask for Important Literature and Example Theses

In order to gain a good overview of the field you will conduct your research in it is helpful to read up on literature straight ahead. A good way to do so and not miss the key concepts is to ask your supervisor. They are the expert in the field and can give you the most important papers. From there on you can guide your literature research looking through the names and references and checking related topics. Also, ask which data base (PubMed, WebOfScience, etc.) is commonly used in your field.

Since every university, even every faculty, and every professor has different guidelines and expectations for the thesis, try to get hold of theses from prior bachelor or master students. Often your supervisor or university library can provide them.

3. Create an Outline of Your Thesis

Maybe start out with a mind map. Write down EVERYTHING that comes to your mind when thinking about your topic. Write down what you already know. Write down your questions, which methods you are using. And then, connect the dots . Try to find a ‘red thread’ (= Roten Faden ) that you can weave through your text. Find the story you want to tell and arrange it in an order.

Then, open a word document and create the skeleton of your thesis. Put all headings and subheadings in an order. Start with the most obvious things: Create a space for your cover, the table of contents. Add the title ‘abstract’, introduction, material and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Then add subheadings and a few bullet points about what you would like to write about in this section. This way you will already have a document that you can slowly feed with more information. And you will see your pages filling faster, which will give you a boost in motivation.

You don’t need to finish this all in one day. This can be a growing document meanwhile you are working in the lab.

4. Create a Schedule

If you are like me, you will probably still end up working up until the last minute, even if you scheduled everything perfectly and worked accordingly. However, it is definitely important to make a schedule of the whole time-frame of your research project. Schedule your experiments and when you are writing which chapter. Schedule how long the data analysis will probably take. Schedule the proof-reading, corrections, and formatting. Schedule the printing. Leave one- to two weeks extra for emergencies. Also, because it WILL take longer than you initially think. Especially, because you WILL probably be procrastinating at some points. But keep in mind: In case you get sick or something doesn’t work, most universities offer an extension of the deadline.

Also, try to schedule normal workdays for your thesis, include regular breaks, and enjoy time off (Feierabend!) of your thesis, too! This will keep you sane.

Tip: Check out how long copy shops take for printing BEFORE it is time for printing. Also make sure to put away some money, as it can sadly be quite expensive.

5. Invest Time in Learning a Citation Manager

It might take a moment, but will definitely pay off. When working on my bachelor’s thesis I made the mistake to not use one. I had more than 10 pages of references and sorting and formatting them took several days. Days that I could have used for proof-reading, or, finally relaxing for a bit 😉 Some examples are EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero.

Actually, I don’t understand why they don’t teach this in uni…

What to Think About When Writing the Different Parts of Your Thesis

Some general things on writing: don’t try to show off too much. Yes, it is important to use the adequate vocabulary when writing, but don’t make your sentences unnecessarily complicated. On a side note: not everyone is a native English speaker. I’m not. I actually wrote my bachelor’s thesis in German and only my master’s thesis in English. Looking back at it, I would choose to write the bachelor’s thesis in English, too, as it is easier to stick to the specific terms of the field, because most findings are reported in English. Besides, try to write every other day, even if it is just one sentence. Just write down what comes to your mind and directly put the reference next to it. It does not have to be a beautiful sentence. Beautiful sentences get born in the editing process. The flow of your text comes with time. Since we got that sorted now, let’s get to the different parts of your thesis!

Introduction

In this part you want to give an overview of the field of your research. Why is this research important (why important for scientists? why for the general public?)? Is it about a disease? How many people suffer from it? Why should people care? What has been done in this field already? Where are the gaps? Maybe there are controversial results? Typically the introduction ends with the aim/research question that is based on the literature review. How does the aim relate to findings of previous studies? What is the main question? What are the subquestions? With which methods are you going to tackle them?

Tip: As you do your literature research for the introduction, summarize the main findings of the paper already with the reference in form of bullet points and put them in the corresponding chapter of the introduction. This way you will already have a skeleton that you can use for writing. The introduction should have the ‘shape’ of an inverted cone in the end, meaning that you should go from the broader topic to the specific question.

Material and Methods

Here you want to describe the material and methods you have used and why you have used them. Don’t only write down the steps of the protocol you applied, but also write down how the method works and why you used the substances (for example: To remove DNA, an additional DNAse treatment was performed applying DNAsI solved in RDD buffer directly on the column and incubating it for 15 minutes at room temperature).

Don’t forget to explain your analysis

Your results depend on the analysis/statistics you applied, therefore it is crucial to describe the program and the statistical tests you used and WHY they fit your data. What kind of data do you have? What results to you consider as significant (p-value below 0.05?)?

Tip: Write the methods as you apply them in the lab. Since you are basically writing down a protocol, it is a fast way to fill your pages and feel like you already made progress. Also your memory is still fresh. Make sure to write down from which company your substances and programs are.

Describe your results, but don’t interpret them yet. Put the description of a table ABOVE the table and the description of a figure BELOW the figure. The description should be written in a way that one can understand the table/figure without reading the main text. You don’t need to arrange the results in a chronological order, you can also put them in an order that helps you tell your story. This order should be consistent over sections (use the same order in the discussion!). Besides, don’t put too many figures. Put the most important ones that help you tell your story. Any additional figures can be put into the appendix.

This section can naturally feel like it is the most important part of your thesis. A lot of people were stressing out about not having good results or not having the results they wanted. I can assure you: IT DOESN’T MATTER. Experiments do not always work how we wanted it and in such a limited time frame it is totally normal that you might not get ‘good’ results. No one will give you a bad grade for that. The point of your thesis is to show that you understood how scientific research is conducted and how to wrap it up. YOU DON’T NEED TO WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE (if you do tho, congrats!). If you don’t have good results, put more effort into a great discussion and the introduction and you will be fine.

Tip: It can help to arrange your results figures in a PowerPoint first to create your story. Put the numbers to the figures last. Make sure you refer to the correct figures.

Discuss your results based on previous literature/similar studies and your aims. Did you answer your question? Are your data analysed correctly? Were there any problems while running the experiments? Did the problems influence the results? How could one eliminate the problems? How can you apply your results on further research? Write a good conclusion of your findings after the discussion.

Usually the first thing after the table of contents, but often written last. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR THESIS. It is the part, that everyone will read first. It is there to quickly give an overview of your work and should include a few words about the background, the question, the methods, and the main findings. Try to not exceed one page.

Acknowledgements

You can put these in the beginning (before the table of contents) or the end (before or after literature) of your thesis. They are not only a way of showing your gratitude towards your supervisors, but also a way to state the resources you used for your thesis, such as intellectual input! So maybe also consider including the technical assistant or fellow student that helped you or teached you a new technique.

Make Your Supervisor Your Best Friend

Maybe not literally, but definitely stay in contact, send them the chapters of your thesis for feedback, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Your supervisor might be the one grading your thesis or writing a recommendation letter for you.

I had weekly meetings with the direct supervisor of my master’s thesis. These were extremely helpful to stay on track, give updates, and receive valuable input. If you are stuck somewhere (e.g. data analysis), your supervisor can help you. Asking for help it is not a sign of weakness. In fact, your supervisor might even get suspicious if you don’t ask for help at all.

But please, also keep in your mind that your supervisors are busy people (they are first of all people!). Don’t expect them to tell you each and every step and plan all the meetings. Do your work and initiate meetings. They will happy to meet with you. Don’t send them your thesis one week before handing in and give them enough time to get back to you.

General Tips for Motivation

Find the right workplace for you. Some people work best in the library, some at home in pajamas (but keep the work out of your bedroom!). Try to incorporate rituals to condition yourself into a working mood. I was for example always lighting a scented candle when working and drinking coffee. I liked to have music or even Netflix in the background. Others prefer it quiet. Try what works for you.

Also, finding yourself a group of other students working on their theses, too, can be very helpful for motivation, but also for helping each other proof reading. Try to update each other regularly.

Accept That You Will Find Typos After Submission

Despite having it proof-read by supervisor and friends, I still had an extra word in the abstract of both my bachelor’s and my master’s thesis. After submission, I noticed several typos. THIS IS NORMAL. After having worked on your thesis for so long, it is hard to notice mistakes. As long as you don’t get stuck in every paragraph, no one will care.

Last but not Least: Make it Pretty!

You shouldn’t underestimate the importance of good formatting. If your thesis looks good to begin with, your examiners will be more pleased to read it (even if it might be subconscious) and vice versa . Try to deep dive a bit into the formatting functions of Word/your writing program (but of course stay also within the guidelines of your university).

Here are some of my suggestions:

• Use ‘styles’ for your headers and sub-headers. This way they will be already assembled in a hierarchy in the table of contents you are going to add in the end. Additionally, when converting your document into a PDF, you can just click the chapter titles and it will automatically jump to the corresponding section. Keep in mind that your examiner might read your thesis as a PDF 🙂
• Justify your text .
• Put conceptual paragraphs within chapters for easier reading.
• Turn on the non-printable signs to check for double-spaces and returns .
• Make sure you wrote out each term before you make it an abbreviation. If you created an abbreviation, use it throughout the whole text. If you have a lot of abbreviations, create a table of them.
• Use margins big enough for binding your printed thesis. The margins in my bachelor’s and master’s thesis were 3cm on both sides.
• Add a page number and automatically add the name of the chapter in header or footer. This helps orientation when reading the printed version of your thesis. For adding the name of the chapter, create a header. Go to the design tab and choose quick parts > field… A dialog box should pop up. Select Link and references from the drop down list, in field names you choose ‘StyleRef’. Then choose ‘Heading 1’ so you always get the heading of the first level displayed. Click ok. The name of the chapter can only be added automatically if a header style is applied.
• Use page breaks to arrange your text and figures so they don’t break off in weird places. I for example prefer to have the beginning/heading of the introduction/material and methods/results/discussion always at the top of the page. Also I don’t like it when the figure description is cut off.
• Use the same color scheme for figures throughout the whole thesis . Be consistent, for example the control group is always blue and the treatment group orange. You can find inspiration for well-fitting colors googling color palettes.
• Create your own figures. If you have that extra time, definitely invest it in creating ‘your own’ scientific illustration. A great website that makes it very easy in a consistent style is biorender.com .

Take Home Message

Remember, the first version will never be the final one. The beautiful sentences get born in the editing process. You will be stressed, but you will be able to handle it. You are not alone! Ask for help when you need it. I wish you all the best in your process, and hope that your labs find a way to still operate during these difficult times. If you have any further questions, leave a comment.

Remember: YOU CAN DO IT. YOU HAVE COME THIS FAR.

Stay safe. Stina. ❤

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Published by Stina Börchers

Stina Börchers is a German neuroscience PhD student at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She completed her undergrad studies in biology in 2017 and her master's in neurosciences in 2020. Next to studying, Stina blogs about scientific topics, her daily life and experiences as a student here and on instagram. View all posts by Stina Börchers

6 thoughts on “ How to Tackle Your Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis in Science* Without Losing Your Mind ”

I am currently writing my Master’s thesis. This is incredibly helpful, thank you 🥰

Oh great to hear that! I wish you the best of luck, you are going to nail this! ♥️

Thank you so much ! deffo really helpful and motivating to finally complete my thesis 🙂

Yay! Happy to hear that! Good luck with your thesis! Take care!

Ausgezeichnet, sogar glänzend! 🤠🎷🎼🎶🎶🎶

Thannks for this

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Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche fakultät, sektion biologie.

• Studienangebot
• Master of Science in Molecular Biology and Evolution (MAMBE) (1-Fach)

Advice for writing your Master thesis

General notes.

Your thesis shall give a precise summary of your experiments/studies. Thus, it shall be easy to read, while containing sufficient detail that permit a complete reconstruction of the experiments/studies performed. Note that the thesis must be your own work - both regarding the data and the concepts. Any copy-pasting of entire sentences or even paragraphs from the literature or webpages is plagiarism - equivalent to theft - and absolutely not acceptable!

Scientific reports should have a consistent structure that allow the reader to understand the purpose of the study, the results obtained, and how these results advance our current knowledge. The following structure should be used:

Title page , including title, names of author, and affiliations. The title should be concise, easily understandable, and still precise. It should raise the reader's interest into the topic.

The Abstract provides a short summary of your study, including background and goal ( 1 - 3 sentences ), main findings ( 1 - 5 sentences ), and main conclusions ( 1 - 3 sentences ).

Introduction : Conceptual background ("Why is this interesting?"). 3 - 10 pages for a Master thesis.

Objectives : What is your main research objective? What is your hypothesis? The formulated hypothesis must be precise! The objectives may be an integral part of the introducion (presented at the end of the introduction) or be a separate section of your thesis. 0.5 page.

Materials and Methods : The description of the methods should be sufficiently precise to allow complete reconstruction of the experiments/studies performed. At the same time, it is important that they are not "flooded" with unimportant details, which then may make it impossible to read and understand the approaches used. In case of complicated experiments, use graphical illustrations. The experimental design of the study must be suited to address the main research question or hypothesis! Up to 20 pages.

Results : The results should be sufficiently long and present all results obtained in an objective format. Results are ideally shown in graphs and tables. The accompanying text should be short and focused on the main patterns found, and then refer to the tables and figures  (and not repeat all the tiny little details shown in the tables and graphs). The results should be evaluated with the help of statistical methods. Avoid any interpretation and discussion of the results. Up to 20 pages.

Discussion : The discussion should critically evaluate the results obtained in consideration of the main research question/hypothesis (e.g., "Were the expecations met?"). It should critically and objectively discuss alternative explanations for the results. Do not be misled by your expectations! Moreover, it should take into account the current literature on the topic and explain in how far the results advanced our understanding of the topic. Up to 20 pages for your Master thesis .

Acknowledgments : Point out who provided support for your study. 0.5 page.

References : List all references which were quoted in the report. Usually 1 - 3 pages.

Appendix : Include extra information on methods and results that are not essential for the main report but that may still be useful for understanding of results or future studies (may be long).

The main parts (Introduction, Objectives, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion) should not exceed 40 - 60 pages for a Master thesis! The quality of your thesis is not equivalent with its length. An excellent paper should be concise!

Use a standard font and a font size of 11 (e.g. Arial) or 12 (e.g. Times New Roman). Headers may be larger or in bold. Additionally, use a line spacer of 1.5 or more (at least 1.15) and leave sufficient space at the page margins (at least 2 cm; ideally 2.5 cm).

In order to reach your audience, clarity of arguments and findings is essential. Many important findings were overseen because the articles were written in an incomprehensible format. Here are some tips on how a clear thesis can be managed:

Use short sentences. Build up arguments step-by-step. Use graphics to illustrate complex relationships.

Use graphics and tables to present your findings. Think about how the reader may best understand your results. Use symbols and colours to emphasize different treatment groups. It is helpful if you use the same X-axis, Y-axis, symbols, colours for related graphs. Graphs should be large enough. Include a legend to explain the details (axes, symbols, etc.) of the graphs.

Avoid unimportant details that do not directly relate to your main study question/hypothesis.

Avoid unjustified speculations in your discussion of the results.

You may use headers for subsections in methods, results, and perhaps discussion.

To ensure clarity of arguments, especially in the introduction and discussion, it is usually a good idea to start formulating internal headers for each single paragraph (i.e. headers that you do not use in the final version of the manuscript), and then add more and more details. It may then be useful to start each paragraph with a clearly formulated statement that is subsequently evaluated/discussed in more detail in the following part of the paragraph. If you have several related points that you would like to introduce or discuss, then it is useful to present them as a numbered list of points. (An example for the discussion: "I can draw three main conclusions from my results: 1) xxx, 2) xxx, 3) xxx"; each listed point should start on a new line.)

Use a format that is appealing to the eye. For example, larger font size or bold font for headers, etc.

Always use a concise and clear title for a table. The title should be given above the table itself. Include a legend (usually below the table) to explain further details or abbreviations. Use an open and simple format, too. Only show horizontal lines of your table, no vertical lines. Headers may be given in bold.

Use a concise and clear title for figures. The figure title and subsequentlegend are presented below the figure.  Include a legend to explain further details, abbreviations, symbols or colours. This should be understandable as stand alone - without any further information from the text. You may also include a symbol legend within the figure. Always use the same standard pattern and colour for the same subgroups throughout the text.

Organize the axes in a meaningful way: The explanatory variable should be given on the X-axis, whereas the response variable should appear on the Y-axis. The chosen axis titles should be brief but sufficiently precise. Include information on the error margin, either standard error, standard deviation, or confidence intervals. Select axis-ranges in such a way that not too much empty space is left. Log transform where useful.

Provide statistics either as part of a figure, table or in text. For statistical tests, always include the following information: Name of the test (e.g. ANOVA), value of the test statistic, sample size or degrees of freedom, probability (p value). The abbreviations of the calculated variables (test statistic and probability) are always given in italics. The methods must include sufficient detail on how the statistical analysis was done.

Use a consistent format for the references in the reference list. The references can be most easily added and formatted with the help of the programmes such as Zotero, Endnote or Reference Manager. Please only cite papers that you actually read!

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Home > CNS > BIOCHEM > MCB > MCB_THESES

Molecular and Cellular Biology Masters Theses Collection

Theses from 2024 2024.

The Impact of a Non-ionic Adjuvant to the Persistence of Pesticides on Produce Surfaces , Daniel Barnes, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Investigating the Role of Got2 in Murine Organogenesis and Placenta Development , Olivia Macrorie, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Chromatin Accessibility Impacts Knockout of Mt-Bell4 Transcription Factor , Thomas Redden, Molecular & Cellular Biology

UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTIONAL IMPACT OF DISEASE-ASSOCIATED PHOSPHORYLATION SITES ON THE NEURODEGENERATIVE PROTEIN TAU , Navya T. Sebastian, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2023 2023

Elucidating the Priming Mechanism of ClpXP Protease by Single-Domain Response Regulator CpdR in Caulobacter crescentus , Kimberly E. Barker, Molecular & Cellular Biology

The Discovery of a Novel Bacteria from a Large Co-assembly of Metagenomes , Matthew Finkelberg, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Investigating Diterpene Biosynthesis in Medicago Truncatula , Sungwoo Hwang, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Combining Simulation and the MspA Nanopore to Study p53 Dynamics and Interactions , Samantha A. Schultz, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Caulobacter ClpXP Adaptor PopA’s Domain Interactions in the Adaptor Hierarchy of CtrA Degradation , Thomas P. Scudder, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Climate Change, Giant Viruses and Their Putative Hosts , Sarah K. Tucker, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2022 2022

Changes in Gene Expression From Long-Term Warming Revealed Using Metatranscriptome Mapping to FAC-Sorted Bacteria , Christopher A. Colvin, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Determining CaMKII Variant Activities and Their Roles in Human Disease , Matthew J. Dunn, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Developmental Exposures to PFAS Mixtures Impair Elongation of the Exocrine Pancreas in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) , Emily M. Formato, Molecular & Cellular Biology

A Metatranscriptomic Analysis of the Long-Term Effects of Warming on the Harvard Forest Soil Microbiome , Brooke A. Linnehan, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Characterization of the Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Family in the Fusarium oxysporum Species Complex , Daniel Norment, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2021 2021

Exploring Knockdown Phenotypes and Interactions between ATAD3 Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana , Eli S. Gordon, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Development of a Site-Specific Labeling Assay to Study the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type III Secretion Translocon in Native Membranes , Kyle A. Mahan, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Liposomal Nanoparticles Target TLR7/8-SHP2 to Repolarize Macrophages to Aid in Cancer Immunotherapy , Vaishali Malik, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Hsp70 Phosphorylation: A Case Study of Serine Residues 385 and 400 , Sashrika Saini, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Activation of Nrf2 at Critical Windows of Development Alters Protein S-Glutathionylation in the Zebrafish Embryo (Danio rerio) , Emily G. Severance, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Utilizing Fluorescence Microscopy to Characterize the Subcellular Distribution of the Novel Protein Acheron , Varun Sheel, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2020 2020

The Association Between Sperm DNA Methylation and Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number , Emily Houle, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Gene Expression Regulation in the Mouse Liver by Mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin Complexes I and II , Anthony Poluyanoff, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Biomarkers as a Measure of Male Fecundity and Overall Sperm Quality , Allyson Rosati, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Exploration of the Association between Muscle Volume and Bone Geometry Reveals Surprising Relationship at the Genetic Level , Prakrit Subba, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2019 2019

Studies on the Interaction and Organization of Bacterial Proteins on Membranes , Mariana Brena, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Investigating The Role Of LBH During Early Embryonic Development In Xenopus Laevis , Emma Weir, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2018 2018

Exploring the Influence of PKC-theta Phosphorylation on Notch1 Activation and T Helper Cell Differentiation , Grace Trombley, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2017 2017

Partial Craniofacial Cartilage Rescue in ace/fgf8 Mutants from Compensatory Signaling From the Ventricle of Danio Rerio , Douglas A. Calenda II, Molecular & Cellular Biology

THE FAR C-TERMINUS OF TPX2 CONTRIBUTES TO SPINDLE MORPHOGENESIS , Brett Estes, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Characterization of Calcium Homeostasis Parameters in TRPV3 and CaV3.2 Double Null Mice , Aujan Mehregan, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Microtransplantation of Rat Brain Neurolemma into Xenopus Laevis Oocytes to Study the Effect of Environmental Toxicants on Endogenous Voltage-Sensitive Ion Channels , Edwin Murenzi, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Regulation of Katanin Activity on Microtubules , Madison A. Tyler, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2016 2016

The Role of MicroRNAs in Regulating the Translatability and Stability of Target Messenger RNAs During the Atrophy and Programmed Cell Death of the Intersegmental Muscles of the Tobacco Hawkmoth Manduca sexta. , Elizabeth Chan, Molecular & Cellular Biology

An in Vivo Study of Cortical Dynein Dynamics and its Contribution to Microtubule Sliding in the Midzone , Heather M. Jordan, Molecular & Cellular Biology

A Genetic Analysis of Cichlid Scale Morphology , Kenta C. Kawasaki, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Modulation of Notch in an Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis , Manit Nikhil Munshi, Molecular & Cellular Biology

One-Carbon Metabolism Related B-Vitamins Alter The Expression Of MicroRNAS And Target Genes Within The Wnt Signaling Pathway In Mouse Colonic Epithelium , Riccardo Racicot, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Characterizing the Inhibition of Katanin Using Tubulin Carboxy-Terminal Tail Constructs , Corey E. Reed, Molecular & Cellular Biology

The Identification of Notch1 Functional Domains Responsible for its Physical Interaction with PKCθ , Wesley D. Rossiter, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Dynamics of Microtubule Networks with Antiparallel Crosslinkers , Kasimira T. Stanhope, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Modifications of Myofilament Structure and Function During Global Myocardial Ischemia , Mike K. Woodward, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2015 2015

Regulation of Jak1 and Jak2 Synthesis through Non-Classical Progestin Receptors , Hillary Adams, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Antineoplastic Effects of Rhodiola Crenulata on B16-F10 Melanoma , Maxine Dudek, Molecular & Cellular Biology

RNAi Validation of Resistance Genes and Their Interactions in the Highly DDT-Resistant 91-R Strain of Drosophila Melanogaster , Kyle Gellatly, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Characterization of Protein-Protein Interactions for Therapeutic Drug Design Utilizing Mass Spectrometry , Alex J. Johnson, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Promoting Extracellular Matrix Crosslinking in Synthetic Hydrogels , Marcos M. Manganare, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Characterization of the Reconstituted and Native Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type III Secretion System Translocon , Kathryn R. Monopoli, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Thermocycle-regulated WALL REGULATOR INTERACTING bHLH Encodes a Protein That Interacts with Secondary-Cell-Wall-Associated Transcription Factors , Ian P. Whitney, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2014 2014

Engineering Camelina sativa for Biofuel Production via increasing oil yield and tolerance to abiotic stresses , Kenny Ablordeppey, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Designing a Pore-Forming Toxin Cytolysin A (ClyA) Specific to Target Cancer Cells , Alzira Rocheteau Avelino, Molecular & Cellular Biology

The Role of the Novel Lupus Antigen, Acheron, in Moderating Life and Death Decisions , Ankur Sheel, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Expression and Purification of Human Lysosomal β-galactosidase from Pichia Pastoris , Sarah E. Tarullo, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Properties of Potential Substrates of a Cyanobacterial Small Heat Shock Protein , Yichen Zhang, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2013 2013

Characterizing the Heavy Metal Chelator, Tpen, as a Ca2+ Tool in the Mammalian Oocyte , Robert A. Agreda Mccaughin, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Sustainable Biofuels Production Through Understanding Fundamental Bacterial Pathways Involved in Biomass Degradation and Sugar Utilization , James CM Hayes, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Stiffness and Modulus and Independent Controllers of Breast Cancer Metastasis , Dannielle Ryman, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2012 2012

The Pyrethroid Deltamethrin, Which Causes Choreoathetosis with Salivation (CS-Syndrome), Enhances Calcium Ion Influx via Phosphorylated CaV2.2 expresssed in Xenopus laevis oocytes , Anna-maria Alves, Molecular & Cellular Biology

A Test of the Hypothesis That Environmental Chemicals Interfere With Thyroid Hormone Action in Human Placenta , Katherine Geromini, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Analyzing the Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Male-Female Interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana. , Eric A. Johnson, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Rhythmic Growth And Vascular Development In Brachypodium Distachyon , Dominick A. Matos, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Polymer Prodrug Conjugation to Tumor Homing Mesenchymal Stem Cells , Nick Panzarino, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Investigation of Differential Vector Competence of Bartonella quintana in Human Head and Body Lice , Domenic j. Previte, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Downregulation of Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase or Caffeic Acid O-Methyltransferase Leads to Improved Biological Conversion Efficiency in Brachypodium distachyon , Gina M. Trabucco, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2011 2011

Evolutionary Relationship of the ampC Resistance Gene In E. cloacae , Shanika S. Collins, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Sex Difference in Calbindin Cell Number in the Mouse Preoptic Area: Effects of Neonatal Estradiol and Bax Gene Deletion , Richard F. Gilmore III, Molecular & Cellular Biology

In Vivo Investigations of Polymer Conjugates as Therapeutics , Elizabeth M. Henchey, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Examination of Sexually Dimorphic Cell Death in the Pubertal Mouse Brain , Amanda Holley, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Human Niemann-Pick Type C2 Disease Protein Expression, Purification and Crystallization , Yurie T. Kim, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Revealing the Localization of the Class I Formin Family in the Moss Physcomitrella patens Using Gene Targeting Strategies , Kelli Pattavina, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Connecting Motors and Membranes: A Quantitative Investigation of Dynein Pathway Components and in vitro Characterization of the Num1 Coiled Coil Domain , Bryan J. St. Germain, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2010 2010

The Protective Effects A Full-term Pregnancy Plays Against Mammary Carcinoma , Matthew p. Carter, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Analysis Of An Actin Binding Guanine Exchange Factor, Gef8, And Actin Depolymerizing Factor In Arabidopsis Thaliana. , Aleksey Chudnovskiy, Molecular & Cellular Biology

The Role of Ykl-40, a Secreted Heparin-Binding Glycoprotein, in Tumor Angiogenesis, Metastasis, and Progression: a Potential Therapeutic Target , Michael Faibish, Molecular & Cellular Biology

In Vivo Visualization of Hedgehog Signaling in Zebrafish , Christopher J. Ferreira, Molecular & Cellular Biology

An In Vivo Study of the Mammalian Mitotic Kinesin Eg5 , Alyssa D. Gable, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Identification of Dynein Binding Sites in Budding Yeast Pac1/LIS1 , Christopher W. Meaden, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Functional Characterization of Arabidopsis Formin Homologues Afh1, Afh5, Afh6, Afh7 and Afh8 , Shahriar Niroomand, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Regulation of Crbp1 In Mammary Epithelial Cells , Stacy L. Pease, Molecular & Cellular Biology

In Vivo Labeling Of A Model β-Clam Protein With A Fluorescent Amino Acid , Mangayarkarasi Periasamy, Molecular & Cellular Biology

In Vivo Characterization of Interactions Among Dynein Complex Components at Microtubule Plus Ends , Karen M. Plevock, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Anti-Diabetic Potentials of Phenolic Enriched Chilean Potato and Select Herbs of Apiaceae and Lamiaceae Families , Fahad Saleem, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Interconversion of the Specificities of Human Lysosomal Enzymes , Ivan B. Tomasic, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Deletions of Fstl3 and/or Fst Isoforms 303 and 315 Results in Hepatic Steatosis , Nathan A. Ungerleider, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2009 2009

A New Laser Pointer Driven Optical Microheater for Precise Local Heat Shock , Mike Placinta, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2008 2008

Cysteine Dioxygenase: The Importance of Key Residues and Insight into the Mechanism of the Metal Center , Jonathan H. Leung, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Invertebrate Phenology and Prey Selection of Three Sympatric Species of Salmonids; Implications for Individual Fish Growth , Jeffrey V. Ojala, Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation

Paralemmin Splice Variants and mRNA and Protein Expression in Breast Cancer , Casey M. Turk, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Stability of the frog motor nerve terminal: roles of perisynaptic Schwann cells and muscle fibers , Ling Xin, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Theses from 2007 2007

Antioxidant Response Mechanism in Apples during Post-Harvest Storage and Implications for Human Health Benefits , Ishan Adyanthaya, Molecular & Cellular Biology

Progress Towards A Model Flavoenzyme System , Kevin M. Bardon, Molecular & Cellular Biology

The effect of Rhodiola crenulata on a highly metastatic murine mammary carcinoma , Jessica L. Doerner, Molecular & Cellular Biology

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M.S. in Computational Biology

Research thesis requirements and timeline, before beginning.

Students who wish to do a Master's Thesis should find a research lab. In order to do a thesis, a student must work a minimum of 1 semester (although more typically 1 semester plus a summer) in a research lab before beginning their last semester in the MS program. The following steps will begin before the start of the last semester in the program and go through until the weeks leading up to completion of the degree. Students who want to have help finding a research lab should contact the program academic advisor .

Step 1: Thesis Proposal

Begin at least 9 months prior to graduation

Must be completed at least 5 months prior to graduation

Step 1a: Pre-Proposal Planning

Students meet with their planned thesis advisor at least 5 months prior to graduation (preferably 9-12 month prior to graduation).   In this meeting they should review all the thesis steps in the thesis.   If both agree that a thesis is a valuable endeavor, they should begin to work together on thesis proposal and identifying committee members.   Following the meeting, the student should e-mail [email protected] and CC the advisor stating that s/he is planning to complete an honors thesis and a draft title.

NOTE: This is a separate process from research for credit , which is done with 03-699 or 02-700. Students doing research may be paid or may be given credit (depending on the advisor's ability of funds). Students who are writing a thesis may also enroll in up to 12 units of 03-700 (MS Honors Thesis Research). However, it is also acceptable to do thesis research for pay as well if the faculty advisor has funds to pay the student for their thesis work.

Step 1b: Proposal Writing

Students should work with their advisor to write a 2-4 page thesis proposal document.   The proposal should demonstrate understanding of the background material, project rationale, experimental design, methods underlying the proposed project and possible outcomes.   The Thesis Proposal should have the following sections:

• Specific Aims (1-2 aims, appox. 0.5 page). State concisely and realistically what your research is intended to accomplish and what hypotheses are to be tested.
• Background & Significance (appox. 1 page). Briefly sketch the background to the proposal, critically evaluate existing knowledge and specifically identify the gaps that the project is intended to fill, i.e., summarize the general knowledge of the field, and identify where your questions fit in. This important section displays your knowledge and understanding of the field and its current shortcomings. What are the major unanswered questions? Include previous work done by yourself, your lab, and other labs.
• Experimental Design and Methodologies (approx. 1 page). Discuss the experimental design and the procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Include potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures, and alternative approaches to achieving the aims.
• Literature Cited. References should be cited within the text by first author and year (Smith et al., 1888; Wilson and Jones, 1919) and listed at the end of the proposal in alphabetical order by first author’s last name. The page limit does not include references.

The proposal should be sent to the thesis advisor (faculty member in charge of the lab) at least 3.5 months prior to planned graduation so that the advisor can review the document before the student sends it along to the committee and to the academic advisor (step 1d).

Step 1c: Committee Make-up and Members

The student and advisor should identify at least two other faculty committee members.   The thesis advisor will serve as the chair of the thesis committee.   At least two members of the thesis committee must be full-time faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, including at least one person who holds the rank of Tenure-Track Assistant Professor or higher in either the Department of Biological Sciences or the Computational Biology Department; if the thesis advisor is not a tenure-track professor, then at least one other member of the committee must be.   The committee must also include representation from two departments in Carnegie Mellon University *or* one department in Carnegie Mellon University and one full-time faculty member from another university. 

Step 1d: Proposal Review

At least 5 months prior to the student’s planned graduation date, the completed proposal (which must have already been reviewed by the thesis advisor, see step 1b, above) should be e-mailed to [email protected] (academic advisor), plus the full thesis committee, with the advisor CC’d.   Within 2 weeks, the committee members need to acknowledge the proposal and submit comments to the student.   A revised proposal is due to the committee and academic advisor 2 weeks later and is subject to final approval by the thesis committee and the program Steering Committee.

Step 2: Research & Progress Report

It is expected that the student will be conducting research and data analysis during the entire academic year leading up to thesis defense and graduation.   The student should be meeting regularly with their advisor and other lab personnel and/or collaborators.   The thesis committee and academic advisor should be consulted by the student and/or advisor when challenges arise.   A formal progress report is due to the committee and academic advisor 3 months prior to graduation.   This progress report should follow include a summary of results and progress on each specific aims and any changes to experimental design or research plan. Completion of this progress report is required for all students enrolled in 03-700.

Step 3: Plan and Write Thesis

Writing the thesis typically takes 3-5 months.   A template is available here . The thesis should have the following sections:

• Title page & Dedication/Acknowledgements
• Abstract (1 page)
• Introduction chapter (4 or more pages). Separate from introduction sections in other chapters, this is a place for the student to put the entire thesis in context.
• 1 or more additional chapter (20 or more pages each). Chapter format should be consistent and may match the format of any journal article in the field of study.
• Bibliography (pages are enumerated but do not count toward page total). This may be a standalone bibliography for the whole thesis or each chapter may have its own bibliography.

Step 4: Schedule & Plan the Thesis Defense

The thesis defense must be completed at least 2 weeks prior to graduation.   Planning and scheduling should begin well in advance.   All members of the thesis committee must be present for the defense. The defense will last between 1-2 hours.   Once a date and time are selected the student should work with either the academic advisor or the thesis advisor to reserve a suitable room that can seat at least 10 people (or more if the student expects more).

Step 5: Publicize the Defense Date

Student contacts the Multimedia Designer and Academic Advisor with:

• Defense title
• Research Advisor and committee members’ names (external committee member's school and dept. must be listed)
• Date and time of defense
• Location (Reserved room)

A research-related photograph should also be provided. The Multimedia Designer designs a flyer and posts it throughout the Mellon Institute, and also sends an email to the department to publicize the event.   The student should also invite others to attend the event.

Step 6: Finish Thesis and Prepare Defense 

Step 7: thesis defense, step 8: revisions.

1-2 weeks following the defense, any requested revisions need to be submitted to the thesis committee and the academic advisor.   After a 3 year embargo, completed thesis documents will be publicly available in ProQuest and/or program website.

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I. Thesis Proposal Requirement

As a graduate student in the Department of Biology, you are required to write and defend a thesis proposal. This requirement has been formalized as a milestone credit. The thesis proposal is most helpful when it is completed in the first term, especially for M.Sc. students, but it must be completed by the end of the second term of your graduate program at the latest.

If you would like to try to transfer form the M.Sc. program to the Ph.D. program without first completing the M.Sc. degree, and you have the approval of your Graduate Supervisory Committee to attempt the transfer, then you must also defend a Ph.D. thesis proposal by the end of the third term of your program. Your performance in the thesis proposal along with your performance in the first year of the M.Sc. program form the basis for determining whether a transfer is warranted. Your Graduate Supervisory Committee, along with the Graduate Officers and an additional arms-length committee member, will base the decision on three criteria: excellent academic performance, a M.Sc. research project of sufficient breadth and depth that it can be expanded into a Ph.D. project and evidence that your analytical and writing skills are very strong.

II. Evaluation of the Thesis Proposal

The purpose of the thesis proposal is the clearly identify the scientific question(s) that will be the focus of your graduate research, explain why the question(s) are important, and describe how you will go about answering them. Your Graduate Supervisory Committee will evaluate the written proposal, which they should receive at least two weeks before your scheduled defense of it. The defense normally consists of a short (20 minute) oral presentation followed by questions from the committee. Spectators are not only permitted but invited to the defense and are entitled to ask reasonable questions after the committee has finished its questioning. The committee will take both your written and oral presentation as well as your responses to all questions into account in reaching its decision. The decision may be pass, fail, or deferred. A failure requires withdrawal from the program. A deferred decision requires a written explanation by the committee and a fixed date for a revised proposal and subsequent defense. Decisions cannot be deferred a second time.

At the defense you should show the committee that you have suitable knowledge of your field, grasp of the necessary methods, understanding of the scientific context of the work, and a credible plan for bringing the project to completion within the normal time limits for your program. The depth and sophistication of both knowledge and study design is naturally expected to differ between M.Sc. and Ph.D. proposals. Both should include clearly identified questions, or hypotheses, and an explanation of how the questions will be addressed. The committee will also probably expect to see a defined time line, showing the major milestones and planned completion dates for your project. Progress in your research to date is an additional consideration.

III. Thesis Proposal Format

A good model for the thesis proposal might include the following sections.

1. Introduction and review of prior knowledge. This would typically take the form of a concise literature review to show that you know the background for your work and to show the reader the context and importance of your questions. With limited space (see below) you have to be very judicious in selecting the references. You want the review to be up-to-date and representative of the field; it should not be limited to the writings of those associated with just one or two research groups.

2. Research progress to date. A separate section to describe your own contributions to date may be appropriate, particularly in the case of those attempting to transfer from M.Sc. to Ph.D. In other cases, it may be necessary only to indicate how you have managed to progress relative to the time line for your project.

3. Objectives of proposed research. Include long- and short-term objectives and testable hypotheses.

4. Proposed experiments (from “How to get and keep an NSERC research grant” by I.H. Witten and J.I. Glasgow of Queens University)

“A majority of your proposal should be devoted to a careful description of your research objectives and the methodology by which these objectives will be achieved. For the research plan, you should at least know how you are going to start out and have some ideas for future options. Be prepared to describe alternative scenarios for the later stages, which hinge on how the early research turns out. Be mindful of the need to evaluate your ideas, not just develop and implement them. If successful, what will be the effect of the research? Remember that your methodology must include a clear description of your overall experimental design and some indication of the statistical methods you will undertake to analyze your data.”

5. Milestones/Time line. Provide a term by term list of objectives for your planned graduate program, including coursework, important goals for your experiments, data analysis and writing and defense of the thesis.

The completed thesis proposal should be no longer than 12 pages of text, not including figures and references, double-spaced with 1 inch margins and size 12 font. Figures may be presented on additional pages only if they are informative and are mentioned in the text. References should be presented in full (no abbreviations other than initials and journal titles) in a format similar to a journal in your field of study. Deliver a copy to each committee member and one copy to the Biology Graduate Coordinator, who will handle the details of your defense, at least two weeks in advance of your scheduled defense.

IV. Research Ideas

The supervisor and supervisory committee should be important resources as you develop your research questions and the rest of the proposal. Your questions, and even the major methods, may already be largely formulated for you by your supervisor, or you may be expected to develop them mainly on your own. Generally, more responsibility for formulation of the main questions and the approach to their solution is expected from Ph.D. candidates. In any case, you have the right to expect helpful discussion and guidance from your supervisor and the committee as you develop your proposal.

The following material is modified from “How to get and keep an NSERC research grant” by Witten and Glasgow, which was aimed at professional researchers who deal with the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada funding. There are important similarities between a good thesis proposal and a good NSERC proposal, and so the comments below may help you in designing your study and carrying out your research.

To do research well, you must formulate a question or hypothesis that forms the basis for your work. This should not be an isolated question, but one related to a particular field of inquiry and one designed to increase our understanding within that field. How do you generate specific, interesting and relevant research questions? Read current research papers and reviews in areas that are relevant to your field. Read more widely in general journals or in areas that overlap your field of research. Good ideas often come from reading, discussing and explaining what someone else is doing. Group discussions can be fertile breeding grounds for new ideas. Force yourself to understand new ideas, perhaps by presenting and explaining them to others, and ideas will strike you. When you think about these papers, it is worthwhile to capitalize on your own detached position to escape from the authors’ mindset and think more laterally.

By its very nature, research is unpredictable, and any avenue of inquiry – no matter how good the idea was originally – may turn out to be sterile, infeasible, or simply incorrect. Propose a mix of questions to work on – some short-term and obviously answerable, others long-term, more risky, but potentially more valuable. On the other hand, beware of promising to work on too many things, for your proposal will be criticized as being “unfocused”. Reviews of proposals sometimes state explicitly that the evaluation would have been higher if fewer ideas had been included. You can spoil a good proposal by adding more to it.

You have to evaluate your own ideas, assess their strengths and weaknesses, sharpen them, and present them clearly. When you specify a goal, how will you know if you reach it? Many research proposals state goals that are so vague they could never be reached. Thus, it is essential to formulate goals precisely and to be able to explain why they are worthwhile. If you do succeed, it is reasonable to ask what contributions will have been made to scientific knowledge or to practice. It is also essential to have some idea of what methods you will attempt to solve your proposed problem. You must plan something concrete. However, because research in unpredictable, it is also useful to think about alternative approaches to solving the problem of proving the hypothesis.

Your proposal will be evaluated by experienced researchers. They understand the difficulty of proposal writing and conducting research. They do not expect to glean every last detail of what you want to do by reading the proposal. However, they can tell a lot about you, and the way you think, from your writing. They expect you to have thought pretty hard about your ideas, and to have worked conscientiously to explain and present them as clearly and straightforwardly as possible. It is up to you to provide evidence for a positive decision.

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Choosing Between a Thesis or Non-thesis Master's Degree

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•       Resources       Choosing Between a Thesis or Non-thesis Master's Degree

As of 2015, approximately 25.4 million Americans held advanced degrees , with more citizens joining these ranks each year. As studies continue to show the career advancement and salary benefits of completing a master's degree, more and more students elect to pursue advanced educations. When considering their options, many question whether to enroll in a master's requiring a thesis or not. The following guide examines some of the reasons degree seekers may want to write a thesis while also highlighting why they might not. Students on the fence about this important decision can find expert advice, actionable tips, and relevant guidance to help them make an informed choice in the guide that follows.

Understanding the Master's Thesis

What is the difference between a thesis & non-thesis master's program, the decision not to do a thesis.

As students research various master's programs in their chosen discipline, it's common to find that many degrees require a thesis – especially if they want to enter a research-heavy field. While this word gets thrown around a lot in academia, some learners may want more information regarding what it entails in order to make an informed decision.

What is a Master's Thesis?

The master's thesis is an original piece of scholarship allowing the student to dig into a topic and produce an expanded document that demonstrates how their knowledge has grown throughout the degree program. These documents require significant independent research of primary and secondary sources and, depending on the subject, may require interviews and/or surveys to support the overarching argument.

Individual schools and departments dictate the length of these documents, but they typically range between 60 and 100 pages – or approximately 20,000 to 40,000 words. While tackling a document of such heft may seem overwhelming at first, learners need not fret. Each master's candidate receives a faculty advisor early in their tenure to provide support, feedback, and guidance throughout the process. Because the final thesis is expected to be of a publishable quality, learners seeking the highest marks typically send their supervisor excerpts of the document as they write to ensure they are on the right track.

When picking a thesis topic, no magical formula exists. Students should consider their interests and read extensively on that topic to get a better sense of existing scholarship. They should also speak to other academics working in that sphere to familiarize themselves with ongoing projects. Only after they feel reasonably well-read should they begin looking for uncovered angles or interesting ways of using emerging methodologies to bring new light to the topic.

When considering formatting, degree seekers should check with their specific schools and departments, as they may have unique requirements. To get a general understanding of what to expect, learners can review Simon Fraser University's guidelines on thesis formatting. After completing the thesis, some programs require an oral defense before a committee while others read the document and provide a grade. Check with your prospective schools to get a better sense of procedure.

Format & Components of a Master's Thesis

While this guide attempts to provide helpful and actionable information about the process of deciding whether to follow a thesis or non-thesis track in a master's program, readers should remember that specific components and requirements of a thesis vary according to discipline, university, and department. That being said, some commonalities exist across all these – especially when it comes to what students must include in their final drafts.

As the first section a reader encounters after moving through the table of contents and other anterior text, the introductory allows the writer to firmly establish what they want to accomplish. Sometimes also called the "research question" section, the introductory must clearly state the goals of the paper and the overarching hypothesis guiding the argument. This should be written in a professional yet accessible tone that allows individuals without specializations in the field to understand the text.

This section allows learners to demonstrate their deep knowledge of the field by providing context to existing texts within their chosen discipline Learners review the main bodies of work, highlighting any issues they find within each. Constructive criticism often centers around shortcomings, blind spots, or outdated hypotheses.

Students use this section to explain how they went about their work. While scientists may point to a specific method used to reach conclusions, historians may reference the use of an emerging framework for understanding history to bring new light to a topic. The point of this section is to demonstrate the thought processes that led to your findings.

This section allows for learners to show what they learned during the research process in a non-biased way. Students should simply state what information they gathered by utilizing a specific framework or methodology and arrange those findings, without interpretation, in an easy-to-read fashion.

After providing readers with all the necessary information, the discussion section exists for candidates to interpret the raw data and demonstrate how their research led to a new understanding or contributed a unique perspective to the field. This section should directly connect to the introduction by reinforcing the hypothesis and showing how you answered the questions posed.

Even though the previous sections give prospective degree seekers a better sense of what to expect if they decide to write a thesis during their master's program, they don't necessarily help learners decide whether to pursue a thesis or non-thesis track. The following section highlights some of the reasons students frequently choose to complete a thesis or bypass the process altogether by providing a pros and cons list.

Why a Thesis Program

• Especially when entering a research-heavy discipline, completing a thesis shows prospective schools and employers that you possess the skills needed for researching and writing long-form reports.
• Students hoping to pursue a Ph.D. stand in better stead with admissions panels if they wrote a thesis during a master's program.
• Individuals hoping to enter a field that values syntax and grammar often better their writing skills by completing a thesis.
• Students who write a thesis can submit the final product to various academic journals, increasing their chances of getting published.
• Theses expand students' understanding of what they're capable of, deepen their ability to carry out an argument, and develop their skills in making connections between ideas.

Why a Non-thesis Program

• Because they don't require a significant written product, non-thesis master's tend to take less time to complete.
• Often mirrors a bachelor's program in terms of structure, allowing learners to complete classes and take exams without a great deal of research or writing.
• Students who excel in project-based assignments can continue building skills in this arena rather than focusing on skills they don't plan to use (e.g. research)
• Provides learners the opportunity to work more closely and more frequently with faculty on real-world projects since they don't spend hundreds of hours researching/writing.
• Allows learners to take more classes and gain hands-on skills to fill the time they would have spent researching and writing a thesis.

How to Choose a Master's Program: FAQs

Within some academic disciplines and professional fields, research and writing plays a key role in work done on a daily basis. Because of this, master's programs in these fields require learners to complete theses to compete against peers and be seen as competent in their work. Other disciplines, conversely, rely on other tools to accomplish work and progress ideas – making theses less important.

Yes. Master's programs focused more on application than research typically don't require a thesis – although they may still give students the option. Examples of common non-thesis master's programs include nursing, business, and education.

Even though non-thesis students won't be writing a 100-page paper, that doesn't mean they avoid completing a significant project. In place of a thesis, most applied master's programs require students to take part in at least one internship or complete a culminating project. These projects typically ask learners to take what they learned throughout coursework and create an expansive final project – examples include case studies, creative works, or portfolios.

While students who followed a non-thesis path routinely receive acceptance to Ph.D. programs, those with theses often find the process easier. Even if a learner pursues a Ph.D. in a discipline that isn't research-heavy, admissions panels still want to get a sense of your academic interests and ability to engage in independent, nuanced thought. Students with theses can provide solid proof of these skills, while those without may struggle to demonstrate preparedness as thoroughly.

The answer to this question depends on many factors, but typically it is okay not to do a thesis if you plan to enter a field that doesn't depend heavily on research or writing, or if you don't plan to complete a Ph.D.

Students wanting to work in academic, research, or writing should always opt for the thesis track. They should also follow this path if they have any doctoral degree aspirations.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to complete a thesis rests with the individual student. Figuring out how to proceed on this front requires lots of careful consideration, and learners should ensure they consider various aspects before coming to a final decision. The following section helps students consider how they should and should not come to a conclusion.

Dos and Don'ts of Choosing a Thesis or Non-thesis Program

• Consider the longevity of your decision: will you feel the same in 5-10 years or are you making a decision based on current desires?
• Talk to others who with experience in this area. Ask them questions about their decision-making process and if they regret their choice.
• Research potential thesis topics before starting a program. Going in with a game plan can help you feel more confident and settled about the process than if you're scrambling for a topic while in school.
• Reach out to prospective schools to speak with faculty and/or current students following both tracks. This will provide knowledge specific to the school while also expanding your network if you choose to attend there.
• Research Ph.D. entrance requirements to ascertain if the majority expect learners to possess a thesis when applying. This will give you a sense of whether you may experience issues later on if you do not complete one.
• Decide not to complete a thesis simply because you have never taken on such a task and feel overwhelmed or fearful that you will fail.
• Complete a thesis simply because you think it will look good on your resume. Theses require intense devotion over an extended amount of time; learners who complete them without conviction often find the process miserable.
• Forget to research alternatives to writing a thesis. Just because you don't complete a research paper doesn't mean a non-thesis track lacks rigor or challenging coursework.
• Forget to read examples of theses by previous students. If you feel overwhelmed by the task, reading work other people have done can often make the task at hand feel less scary.
• Let yourself off easy by taking the non-thesis path. If you find you have extra time in the program, talk to your advisor about taking more classes, develop meaningful projects for yourself, or see about presenting at an academic conference.

From the Expert

Sudiksha Joshi, Ph.D. is a learning advocate. Her mission is to empower our youth to think bigger, bolder thoughts and forge a career path that will change the world. She taps into her natural curiosity and ability to identify strengths to help students and those in transition find their path from feeling lost in the traditional ways of achieving success to charting their own path. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Medium and LinkedIn.

Why might a student decide to follow a thesis track? Why might they follow a non-thesis track?

A student might decide to take a thesis track if she/he wants to pursue a Ph.D. Also, if the students want to focus on careers where research and writing have a strong focus, the students opt for the thesis option. Research assistantships at the graduate level are also more often available to students who opt for the thesis option.

A student who might feel that writing is not one of their strengths might choose to go the non-thesis track. Likewise, a student who has other work commitments may find a non-thesis option more convenient.

Do you have any tips for deciding on a program?

I chose a thesis option because being able to conduct independent research was a big reason to go to graduate school. Also, showing the ability that I could do research was what afforded me research assistantships which meant that my tuition was paid for and I got a stipend that paid for expenses while I was in graduate school. This also allowed me the opportunity to work closely with the faculty mentor that provided me with the support and the accountability I wanted.

I would not recommend taking a non-thesis option if all the degree requires is for you to take courses. You have little to show in terms of your learning other than your grades unless you are already working on something on the side that does that for you and all you need is a certificate.

Opt for a non-thesis option if you can still work closely with a professor or on a project and if you'd rather be involved in multiple projects rather than focus on a single project. If you already have a good (informed) reason for choosing one over the other, go for it.

What's the most important thing to consider when choosing a program?

The most important thing to consider when choosing a program is getting excited about the projects that at least one of the faculty members are involved in. Do some research and see why you are excited about a particular work that at least one of the faculty members have been involved in.

Who should students talk to when considering options?

Students should talk to other students and also reach out directly to the graduate coordinator and even individual faculty members. This means that students should have done prior homework and have some good questions ready. Asking good questions will get you at least halfway through to make the right decision.

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The major begins with a variety of introductory courses related to the different fields of Biology. Students will begin taking these courses, exploratory lab courses, and a selection of additional breadth courses in Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Statistics during their first two years. Advanced elective courses will be taken in the remaining two years. Although not required for any field of study, most Biology undergraduates choose to engage in at least one quarter of research in a lab on campus. Many go on to complete independent research that culminates in an Honors thesis and presentation. More information about the requirements for the B.S. Biology are included here.

In the next step of the curriculum, students engage with fundamental areas of Biology through Bio Foundations courses, which cover key foundational disciplines of Biology. Students will take anywhere from 2-4 Bio Foundations courses depending on their subplan within the major. These courses will delve into these fundamental areas of Biology and further build students’ skills in critical scientific thinking, reading the literature, and scientific communication.

Each Bio Foundations course is offered for 4 units:

• BIO 81 – Ecology 
• BIO 82 – Genetics
• BIO 83 – Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• BIO 84 – Physiology
• BIO 85 – Evolutionary Biology
• BIO 86 – Cell Biology

The general Biology major allows students to choose any four out of the six Bio Foundation courses. Specialized fields of study will require specific Bio Foundations courses, please review each subplan for the specific number and 80-series courses required. 

The 80-level Bio Foundations courses must be taken for a letter grade. 

These courses provide hands-on exposure to scientific methodology and experimental design. They are inquiry-based and allow students to hone their scientific thinking and lab skills by conducting real biology research. Lab courses are designed to give a grounding in both lab research and field research. Please review each subplan for the specific number and list of required lab requirements.

Some lab courses include:

• BIO 43,  Introduction to Laboratory Research in Neuronal Cell Biology
• BIO 45, Introduction to Laboratory Research in Cell and Molecular Biology
• BIO 46: Introduction to Research in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (WIM course)
• BIO 47: Introduction to Research in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (WIM course)

Courses in Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Statistics will be required. Although specific requirements will vary by subplan , students can expect to take the following courses:

• 1-6 courses in Chemistry
• 1-3 courses in Math
• 2-4 courses in Physics
• 1 course in Statistics

Only one course from Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Statistics requirement may be taken credit/no credit.

Upper-level courses are offered in more specialized areas of Biology, many of them are seminar-style courses that provide opportunities to explore in depth the scientific literature and develop ideas for novel areas of research. Students have the option of pursuing a General Biology major or fulfilling specific requirements to pursue a specialized field of study. The specific number of elective requirements will vary by subplan.

General Biology and students who choose a subplan will take a unique combination of course requirements as outlined in their specific area. The fields of study are:

• General Biology
• Biochemistry/Biophysics
• Cellular, Molecular, and Organismal Biology
• Computational and Systems Biology
• Ecology, Evolution, and Environment
• Microbial Sciences
• Neurosciences

All students may take one elective course credit/no credit. 

Elective courses can include additional Biofoundations, foundational lab, and 100-level Bio courses. Also included are out-of-department STEM courses from an approved out-of-department electives list , which will include most 100-level courses in STEM subjects as well as some lower-level courses. Capstone units : a maximum of 7 units of BIO 196-199/X may be counted towards the electives.

Important note: All undergraduates matriculating as first-year students in 2021-22 or later and graduating in AY 2024-25 or later must complete a capstone. Transfer students who enter AY 2022-23 or AY 2023-24 and plan to graduate in AY 2024-2025 or later will also be required to complete a capstone.  

The capstone requirement in Biology may be fulfilled via one of four options. 

Option #1 - Honors in Biology

To pursue honors, students must submit an honors petition in the fall of senior year, complete at least 10 units of BIO 199/X or BIOHOPK 199H(Undergraduate Research), have a GPA of 3.0 or higher at the time of graduation, and present their honors thesis at the departmental Achauer Honors Research Symposium and through the Biology Virtual Showcase website.

Option #2 -  The Senior Reflection in Biology

Students interested in expressing their personal interests in biology via creative or artistic forms (such as writing, music, fine arts, performing arts, photography, film, or new media) may enroll in The Senior Reflection (BIO 196A, B, and C; all three courses are required for this track). A written proposal on the creative process and scientific significance of the selected topic is generated in the fall (BIO 196A). During the winter quarter in Bio 196B, weekly workshops support the development, production, and refinement of each project. In spring (BIO 196C), projects are finalized and curated for an exhibition, which is held at the end of the quarter. Students are also required to write a final reflection essay.

Option #3 - Independent Capstone in Biology

Students who wish to conduct an independent, individually-designed capstone project may enroll in the Senior Synthesis. Such individually-designed projects might involve research internships, business internships, travel-based study, teaching, or other forms of community service. Examples of possible products of these individually-designed capstones include the production of a teaching or business plan, a film or podcast, or a public education campaign. Students in this track will take three courses: BIO 199A, BIO 199B, and BIO 199C.

Option #4 - Approved Out-of-Department Capstone

Students may also fulfill their capstone requirement via other approved capstone programs or honors programs, provided that the student’s specific program or project contains a substantial amount of biological relevance or content. Students who wish to use this track must submit a petition to the Biology Undergraduate Studies Committee prior to the spring quarter of their junior year.

Students are required to take one of the  Biology university-approved WIM courses . WIM courses can overlap with other requirements.

Students can choose from the following options:

2023-2024- Checklist of Requirements by Subplan

• Biochemistry & Biophysics
• Computational and Systems Biology

2022-2023-Checklist of Requirements by Subplan

• General Major
• Computational Biology
• Ecology and Evolution
• Marine Biology
• Microbes and Immunity
• Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
• Neurobiology
• Approved Out of Department Electives  (applies to the general major and all fields of study)

Older Catalog Degree Requirements

2021-2022 checklist of requirements.

• All 2021-2022 Checklist folder

2020-2021 Checklist Requirements

• All 2020-2021 Checklist folder