Master of Science (M.S.) in Biology

Students working as Graduate Teaching Assistants will have their tuition waived by JCU, and they will receive a moderate living stipend in exchange for assistance with laboratory courses. This typically involves 20 hours per week of preparation and setup for laboratory courses, grading lab reports, and assisting in management of grades. G.A. awards are competitive and are granted only to M.S. students who are (or will be) working actively on their thesis research with a faculty sponsor in our department.

To be considered for a G.A. position, prospective students must:

• specify their intent to be considered for one of these positions during the application process.
• provide two letters of recommendation that comment on the applicant’s qualifications for this appointment as part of the application process.
• be sponsored by a faculty advisor in our department.

Applicants for the M.S. program who desire a G.A. position must consider finding a faculty advisor as central to the application process, as admission to the this program and receiving a G.A. position both require having a faculty sponsor for active thesis research.

Self-funding of the M.S. program is ideal for students who may have existing full-time employment with an institution or business that will pay all or some of the tuition of their employees, or for students who have the finances necessary to cover tuition. Self-funded students are only accepted if they have a research advisor.

Finally, if a student applies to the M.S. program and meets the GPA requirements but is unable to find space in a faculty research laboratory for thesis research, that student may consider requesting admission to the M.A. Program as a self-funded student.