Biology, Accelerated M.A.

Danny J. Gustafson, Ph.D.
Program Director
843-953-7876
gustafsond1@citadel.edu

843-953-5203
www.citadel.edu/root/biology

Mission Statement

The Accelerated Master of Arts in Biology program is designed to provide Citadel undergraduate students an accelerated route to obtain a Master’s degree in Biology. The purpose of this program is to offer advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to begin taking graduate-level courses during their senior year, and have those courses be applied toward an MA in Biology degree.

After earning a Bachelor’s degree, students in this program will continue their graduate coursework until completing the requirements for the MA in Biology program. It is expected that students in this program will complete the requirements for both the Bachelor’s degree and the Master’s degree in a total of five years. Undergraduates in this program will acquire a broader and deeper education in modern biology through additional advanced coursework. An advanced degree in Biology can provide employment opportunities that the Bachelor’s degree alone cannot provide. This program will also provide students looking to strengthen their application credentials to professional schools, including medical and dental schools, an opportunity to pursue an advanced degree in an accelerated timeframe.

Admission Requirements

The program is available to Citadel undergraduate students majoring in any discipline as long as they have successfully completed a minimum of eight credit hours in biology coursework. Students interested in this program should apply during their junior or senior year. However, students are encouraged to apply by the end of their junior year to help ensure that they have the full subsequent year, including the summer, to begin taking courses for graduate credit. This program is not available to undergraduates enrolled at other institutions, or who have completed a Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree at another institution.

Complete and return an online application form along with the non-refundable application fee to The Citadel Graduate College.
Applicants are expected to have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Senior (1A) classification

Program Requirements

Program requirements for the Accelerated Master of Arts in Biology are identical to that of the Master of Arts in Biology program. A student enrolled in the Accelerated Master’s Program can register for up to two graduate level courses during the summer and one graduate level course during each of the fall and spring semesters. Undergraduate students enrolled in graduate classes will be held to The Citadel Graduate College policies in those classes. Cadets in graduate classes will continue to be subject to the honor system as prescribed by “The Honor Manual of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets.” Following successful completion of the requirements for the Bachelor’s degree, students would be classified as graduate students by The Citadel Graduate College and follow all of their policies and procedures.

At the discretion of the graduate program director and the student’s undergraduate major dean/department head, the student may have up to two courses, or eight credit hours, waived from their undergraduate major degree requirements for completing graduate level courses with a grade of B or higher.

Graduate Requirement (Non-Credit Bearing)

LDRS 500 - Introduction to Principled Leadership - The Citadel’s graduate level leadership seminar

Courses

BIOL 502 - Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 505 - Biometry Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 506 - Ecology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 508 - Genetics Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 509 - Marine Biology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 510 - Vertebrate Natural History Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 512 - Descriptive Histology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 518 - Ornithology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 519 - Economic Botany Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 526 - Freshwater Biology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 532 - Developmental Biology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 601 - Evolution Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 602 - Morphological Survey of the Plant Kingdom Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 603 - General Physiology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 604 - Marine Invertebrates Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 605 - Laboratory Methods in Biology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 606 - Field Methods in Biology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 607 - Microbiology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 609 - Seminar in Environmental Studies Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 610 - Special Topics in Biology Credit Hours: 1 to 4
BIOL 611 - Graduate Research Credit Hours: 1 to 4
BIOL 612 - Cell and Molecular Biology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 621 - Aquatic Toxicology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 624 - Molecular Genetics and Recombinant DNA: Theory, Practice and Issues Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 625 - Tropical Rainforest and Reef Ecology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 631 - Environmental Physiology Credit Hours: 3