UMass Boston

Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements in addition to the following program-specific requirements:

• General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are optional
• An applicant is expected to have a grade point average of 3.0 in all undergraduate science and mathematics courses
• The stated interests of a prospective student must coincide to an acceptable degree with faculty specialties represented in the program

Deadlines: January 1 (priority deadline for funding consideration) and April 1 (final) for fall; October 1 (priority deadline) or November 1 (final deadline) for spring.

Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.

Estimate Your Program Cost: Get a feel for your expected program costs using the Graduate Program Cost Calculator.

Program Cost Information: For more detailed information on costs, please visit the Bursar's website.

Biology Core (40 to 45 Credits)

Complete 19 credits in biology and 21-26 credits in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

BIOL 111 - General Biology I 4 Credit(s)

BIOL 112 - General Biology II 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 210 - Cell Biology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 252 - Genetics 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 290 - Population Biology 3 Credit(s)
 
CHEM 115 - Chemical Principles I Lecture 3 Credit(s)
CHEM 116 - Chemical Principles II Lecture 3 Credit(s)
CHEM 117 - Chemical Principles I Laboratory 2 Credit(s)
CHEM 118 - Chemical Principles II Laboratory 2 Credit(s)
 
MATH 135 - Survey of Calculus 3 Credit(s)
or
MATH 140 - Calculus I 4 Credit(s)
or
MATH 145 - Calculus I for Life & Environmental Sciences 4 Credit(s)
 
PHYSIC 107 - College Physics I 3 Credit(s)
or
PHYSIC 113 - Fundamentals of Physics I 4 Credit(s)
 
PHYSIC 108 - College Physics II 3 Credit(s)
or
PHYSIC 114 - Fundamentals of Physics II 4 Credit(s)
 
PHYSIC 171 - Introductory Physics Lab for Life Sciences I 1 Credit(s)
or
PHYSIC 181 - Physics Laboratory I 2 Credit(s)
 
PHYSIC 172 - Introductory Physics Lab II for Life Sciences 1 Credit(s)
or
PHYSIC 182 - Physics Laboratory II 2 Credit(s)

Advanced Courses (20 credits)

Biology courses at the 300-level or higher, including a minimum of 4 credit hours in the laboratory. Biochemistry 383 through 386 are also acceptable. Up to 8 of these 20 credits may be taken from Organic Chemistry.

Students may also elect to declare a track in biotechnology, which will fulfill the advanced course requirements.
Advanced Biology
 
Biology courses at the 300-level or higher except for: BIOL 444, 478, 479, 672, and 673

Biochemistry

BIOCHM 383 - Biochemistry I 3 Credit(s)
BIOCHM 384 - Biochemistry II 3 Credit(s)
BIOCHM 385 - Biochemistry Lab I 3 Credit(s)
BIOCHM 386 - Biochemistry Lab II 3 Credit(s)

Organic Chemistry

Note: Only one credit of each 2 credit organic chemistry lab (1 credit from CHEM 255 and 1 credit from CHEM 256) can be applied to the advanced level major lab credits.

CHEM 251 - Organic Chemistry I Lecture 3 Credit(s)
CHEM 252 - Organic Chemistry II Lecture 3 Credit(s)
CHEM 255 - Organic Chemistry I Laboratory 2 Credit(s)
CHEM 256 - Organic Chemistry II Laboratory 2 Credit(s)

Lab Courses

Four laboratory courses are required and a minimum of two must be taken from within the BIOL department at UMass Boston. 

BIOL 478 or 479, Independent Study, can be used once only as a laboratory experience. 

BIOL 306 - Marine & Coastal Ecological Research 3 Credit(s)
BIOL 309 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 310 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 313 - Developmental Biology and Embryology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 316 - Neurobiology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 321 - Plant Physiology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 328 - Plant Life 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 330 - Biology of Fishes 3 Credit(s)
BIOL 334 - Microbiology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 337 - Comparative Animal Physiology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 338 - Insect Life 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 343 - Ecology Laboratory 2 Credit(s)
BIOL 345 - Ornithology Laboratory 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 347 - Animal Behavior Laboratory 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 353 - Evolution Laboratory 2 Credit(s)
BIOL 356 - Introduction to Data Science for Biology Lab 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 358 - Microbiome and Disease Ecology Research Lab 2 Credit(s)
BIOL 361 - Bioinformatics Laboratory 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 362 - Simulating Life 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 365 - Microbial Genomics Laboratory 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 370 - Molecular Biology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 378 - Introduction to Immunology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 391 - Survey of Human Physiology Lab 1 Credit(s)
BIOL 478 - Independent Study 1-3 Credit(s)
or
BIOL 479 - Independent Study II 1-3 Credit(s)
BIOCHM 385 - Biochemistry Lab I 3 Credit(s)
CHEM 255 - Organic Chemistry I Laboratory 2 Credit(s)
CHEM 256 - Organic Chemistry II Laboratory 2 Credit(s)

Biotechnology Track

If this is the student's only or primary major, the degree requirements below must be completed for graduation. See graduation requirements for more information.

University Requirements

College of Science and Mathematics Requirements for Bachelor of Science

Major Requirements

Complete at least 62 credits from 14 core biology courses and 20 credits of advanced electives including 4 laboratory courses.

GPA: Minimum GPA of 2.0 in biology courses applied toward the major above BIOL 111 and 112.

Pass/fail: No more than one course taken pass/fail can be applied to the major.

Residency: All students, including transfer students, must take at least 12 credit hours, including two courses that include laboratory experiences, within the BIOL department at UMass Boston. These classes will be at the 300 level or above. Biochemistry 383 and 385 may count toward this requirement.The following course do not count toward this residency requirement: BIOL 444, 478, 479, 653, 672, and 673, as well as all other courses from other programs and departments.

Graduate Program Director Linda Huang
Linda.Huang [at] umb.edu
(617) 287-6674

Alexa MacPherson
Alexa.MacPherson [at] umb.edu
(617) 287-6603