Requirements for the Fast-track Thesis Master's Degree

This program is available to BS graduates from UMass, Amherst or any other of the Five Colleges. This
accelerated program is possible for students who have already begun undergraduate research in the lab of an
MCB faculty member, where they will complete their Master's degree.

Please note that students applying for admission under this rubric are exempt from the GRE general exams.

Transfer of Undergraduate Credits to Graduate Transcript

Students planning to apply graduate-level course credits taken as an undergraduate (up to 6 credits which were not applied toward your undergraduate degree) should request having them transferred to your graduate transcript. The Graduate School’s statute of limitations is normally three years for credit transfers. However, the MCB Program can request a waiver of this rule on the student’s behalf (e.g. if the course content has not changed substantially). The request must be submitted in writing to the Graduate School. It is recommended that you take steps to make the transfer on entry into the MCB Program. Please review the Graduate School’s Transfer Credit Policy for more information and the relevant form.

Courses

Formal Coursework

(See Appendix 7A, Thesis Calendar of Deadlines; Appendix 8A, Student Schedule)

University requirements for the Master's degree include a minimum of 30 credits. The MCB Program requires that candidates for the M.S. thesis degree take two of the three core courses required of doctoral students, and receive a grade of B or better. MOLCLBIO 642 must be one of these courses. In consultation with his/her adviser, the student will also take either MOLCLBIO 641 or BIOCHEM 623. Note that a graduate-level course taken as an undergraduate can be used toward the M.S. degree, if not used toward their B.S.

Journal Clubs

Participation in a Journal Club is mandatory every semester.

Seminars

Attendance and registration are mandatory every semester for the MCB Seminar Series (MOLCLBIO 692A/BIOLOGY 891A-02) or the seminar series sponsored by the department in which the student's research laboratory is located.

Colloquium

Attendance and registration are mandatory at the MCB Colloquium every semester (MOLCLBIO 691A).

Thesis and Final Oral Examination/Thesis Defense

Thesis Committee

The student's Thesis Committee will consist of the student's advisor as Chair, and two other MCB faculty members. The deadline for the appointment of the thesis committee is September 30 of the student's first year, at which time the student is to submit committee membership to the MCB Program office for approval by the Graduate Program Director and Graduate School.

It will be the responsibility of this committee to monitor the student's progress toward the thesis M.S. degree.

Thesis Outline

A preliminary description (outline) of the thesis must be approved by the committee before January 31 of the student's first year. The thesis outline must be formally submitted to the MCB Program office (to be forwarded to the Graduate School), with a title page signed by each member of the thesis committee.

Thesis and Final Oral Examination/Thesis Defense

The format of the M.S. thesis document is set by the Graduate School. It is the student's responsibility to learn about and follow the rules governing the thesis format. The Final Oral Examination/Thesis Defense will be administered by the Thesis Committee after they have read and tentatively approved the thesis, and determined that all other requirements for the Thesis M.S. Degree have been met by the candidate.

At the conclusion of the thesis defense, the candidate should provide the committee with copies of the face page of the thesis for their signatures. The candidate should also provide the committee with a filled-out copy of Dissertation or Thesis Final Exam Report (Appendix 14). It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the committee completes the form, including notations about modifications to the thesis that are required by the committee. All committee members must sign the report.

The Graduate School must receive formal notification from the MCB Director that the student has successfully passed an oral defense of the thesis, but it is not required that the defense be announced or presented to the public. The final written thesis, with a signature page signed by every member of the Thesis Committee and the Graduate Program Director, must be submitted to the Graduate School.

It is the student’s responsibility to fill out all necessary forms and meet all requirements set by the Graduate School for graduation. See the Graduate School Handbook and Graduate School Bulletin. For more information, contact the Graduate School at 545-0722.

Publications

The Molecular and Cellular Biology Program at UMass Amherst should be listed as the primary affiliation on MCB students’ publications, and as an affiliation on faculty publications.

Credits

It is a Graduate School requirement for the Master's degree that the student take a minimum of 30 credits of graduate-level courses. At least one-half of the total required credits must be on a letter-graded basis. The student does not register for MOLCLBIO 698 (Master's Project), but can count 10 credits of MOLCLBIO 699 (Master's Thesis) toward the degree.

Summary of Requirements for the Thesis Master's Degree

Courses

(must have a total of 30 graduate-level credits)

1. Core Courses:
   1. MOLCLBIO 642 - Advanced Molecular Biology - 4 credits and one of the following
   2. BIOCHEM 623 - Advanced General Biochemistry - 4 credits or
   3. MOLCLBIO 641 - Advanced Cell Biology - 4 credits
2. Independent Study:
   1. MOLCLBIO 696 (Lab Research) - 6 credits (3 credits per semester)
3. Journal Clubs - 2-4 credits (Journal Clubs carry 1 or 2 credits)
4. MCB Seminar - 2 credits (1 per week minimum)
5. MCB Colloquium - 2 credits
6. Master's Thesis (MOLCLBIO 699) - 10 credits

TOTAL - 30-32 Credits*

*Note that since only 14 credits in the above program are letter-graded (core courses and MOLCLBIO 696), the student must have at least one other credit in a letter-graded course or journal club.

Master’s Outline

Master’s Thesis and Defense

Students must enroll in Master's Thesis (MOLCLBIO 699) while working on their thesis. Details of the thesis committee, thesis document and thesis defense are outlined above.