UMass Boston

Biotechnology Professional Science MS

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Take your life sciences career to the next level.

UMass Boston's Biotechnology Professional Science Master's (PSM) is designed for life sciences technicians who want to take their career to the next level. Unlike a thesis-based master's, this program develops applied skills to equip you to make management decisions. Specialize in an area of interest, such as physiology, cell and molecular, biochemistry, or genetics and genomics. Then take business courses and complete a professional internship to gain practical, hands-on experience. Whether you complete the Biotech PSM on a full-time or part-time schedule, you'll graduate with the knowledge and connections to become a leader in the fast-growing life sciences field.

Professional Internship

The professional internship allows students to apply their training to the workplace and increase their linkages to employers. Since a crucial element of the PSM track is the professional internship, we prefer applicants who have identified a host firm/agency to support the internship (or whose application materials indicate that the applicant has carefully considered potential firm/agency hosts). Most students arrange to conduct their internship at their current job. The UMass Boston Office of Career Services can help you secure an internship if needed. Your internship must include technical writing and oral presentations, culminating in a final oral public presentation and report. The final presentation follows the typical format of scientific seminars which have a goal of informing and educating attendees about the topic of the internship project. For example, the seminar would likely have an introduction to the topic being investigated, materials and methods used during the internship, and a discussion of what was accomplished and how this might apply to future work. We expect students to devote the equivalent of approximately 20 hours a week for one semester (240 hours) to their internship project.

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Plan Your Education

How to Apply

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

Test Scores: GRE
Letters of Recommendation: 3

Deadlines & Cost

Deadlines: January 2 (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.

Curriculum

Required Core Courses (21 Credits)

Complete 7 courses across the six core clusters

Molecular and Cellular Biology Core (3 Credits)
Take one of the following.

  • BIOL 612 - Advanced Cell Biology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 674 - Cell Signaling 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 676 - Advanced Molecular Biology Lecture 3 Credit(s)

Genomics and Genetics Core (3 Credits)
Take one of the following.

  • BIOL 611 - Epigenetics 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 625 - Genomics and Biotechnology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 677 - Advanced Eukaryotic Genetics 3 Credit(s)

Bioinformatics Core (3 Credits)
Take one of the following.

  • BIOL 680L - Physical Biochemistry 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 691 - Seminar in Developmental Biology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 693 - Seminar in Neurobiology 3 Credit(s)

Biochemistry and Physiology Core (3 Credits)
Take one of the following.

  • BIOL 680L - Physical Biochemistry 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 691 - Seminar in Developmental Biology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 693 - Seminar in Neurobiology 3 Credit(s)

Communication Core (3 Credits)
Take one of the following.

  • BIOL 650 - Scientific Communication 3 Credit(s)
  • MBAACM 683 - Business Communication for Managers 3 Credit(s)

Management Core (6 Credits)
Take two of the following.

  • MBAMS 630 - Statistical Analysis for Managers 3 Credit(s)
  • MBAMS 635 - Operations Mgt 3 Credit(s)
  • MBAMS 638 - Management Decision Models 3 Credit(s)
  • MSIS 630 - Project & Change Management 3 Credit(s)

Professional Internship and Final Presentation (1 Credit)

  • BIOL 698 - Projects in Biology 1-6 Credit(s)

Electives (9 credits)
Take 3 elective courses to develop specialized training in your area of interest.

  • BIOL 607 - Biostatistics and Experimental Design 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 609 - Advanced Data Analysis for Biology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 611 - Epigenetics 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 612 - Advanced Cell Biology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 617 - Biostatistics and Experimental Design Lab 1 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 625 - Genomics and Biotechnology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 629 - Host Microbe Interactions 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 634 - Methods in Phylogenetics and Macroevolutionary Analysis 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 635 - Population Genetics and Diversity 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 637 - Climate Change: Mechanisms and Biological Impacts 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 638 - Advanced Ecology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 646 - Disease Ecology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 647 - Data Analysis for Disease Ecology 1 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 650 - Scientific Communication 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 652 - Biological Diversity and Evolution 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 654 - Sustainability Science: Environment, Economy and Equity 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 664 - Bioinformatics for Molecular Biologists 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 674 - Cell Signaling 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 676 - Advanced Molecular Biology Lecture 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 677 - Advanced Eukaryotic Genetics 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 680L - Physical Biochemistry 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 691 - Seminar in Developmental Biology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 693 - Seminar in Neurobiology 3 Credit(s)
  • BIOL 698 - Projects in Biology 1-6 Credit(s)

Graduation Criteria

Complete 31 credits from 11 courses including seven core courses, one internship, and three additional electives.

Capstone: Complete 240 hours in a research internship, culminating in a final oral public presentation and a written report as part of BIOL 698. This is typically taken in the final semester.

Statute of limitations: Six years.

Contact

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

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

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