M.S. program

B.A./M.S. AND B.S./M.S. PROGRAMS IN MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY

The Biology Department offers a B.A./M.S. (or B.S./M.S. if the student has completed the
requirements for the B.S. degree) degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. The B.A./M.S. degree provides Hopkins Biology majors with advanced training in preparation for careers in science and medicine.

Admission

Admission to the Molecular and Cellular Biology Masters program is selective. Hopkins Biology majors and Molecular and eCellular Biology majors who have achieved a minimum overall grade-point average of 3.2, as well as a minimum natural science grade-point average of 3.0, and have had at least two semesters of previous research experience may apply for admission during the junior or senior years. Students with a GPA below the minimum requirement will be considered under special circumstances if a strong commitment to research is demonstrated. Students interested in applying to a Masters Program should attend an information session prior to application. Students may contact the Biology Office to learn the date of the next informational session. Admission decisions are made by the MCB Program Committee, on the basis of (a) the student's academic record, (b) a written proposal for a project to be completed in the Mentored Research Program, (c) letters of support and recommendation, and (d) an interview with the student, if necessary. The Committee reserves the right to require interviews for individual students in order to clarify issues raised by their written application materials.
Qualified Biology majors and Molecular and Cellular Biology majors who are considering the M.S. program should consult with their academic advisors for purposes of identifying potential mentors for the research year. Research mentors must be Johns Hopkins faculty (regular or adjunct), but may located at at the Homewood campus, the Carnegie Institution, the School of Medicine (including both the East Baltimore and Bayview campuses), Bloomberg School of Public Health or the School of Nursing.  After securing the agreement of a research mentor to oversee her or his work during the research year, the student prepares, in cooperation with the mentor, a research proposal detailing the rationale, methods, and timetable for a proposed project.  The proposal will be evaluated by the MCB Program Committee with respect to the quality and feasibility of the proposed research, and the adequacy of the plans for supervision of the work.

Application Instructions

Application Deadlines:
November 1st: Deadline to apply for students wishing to begin the Masters program the next fall semester
April 1st: Deadline to apply for students wishing to begin the Masters program the next spring semester

  1. Go to http://grad.jhu.edu/admissions/apply/index.php for information regarding applications and to apply. Start your application in Applyyourself.
  2. Once you have started the application on line, save it and contact the Biology office. Once you have identified yourself as an applicant, the admissions office will waive your application fee.
  3. The Biology Office will contact you once the waiver has been granted. At this point you may submit your application.
  4. Please submit all supporting materials on line. The required materials are:
     
    • Research Proposal (This can be submitted in as your personal statement or CV.) This should be one page in length, and should be developed by the applicant in cooperation with his or her research mentor. The proposal should detail the rationale, methods, and timetable for the proposed project.
    • Official Undergraduate Transcript
    • Natural Science Grade Point Average Worksheet - Please download the worksheet to calculate your grade-point average for Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math courses. (http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/templates/downloads/health/BCPM_Calculation.pdf). This should be submitted to Biology Office.
    • Letter of Support from the Research Supervisor (this can be submitted as your third recommendation letter). In the letter, the supervisor should both agree to take on the applicant as a Masters student and outline plans for the supervision of the student’s work.
    • Two Letters of Recommendation

Requirements

Students in the B.A./M.S. program must complete all requirements for the B.A. degree (students who complete the requirements for a B.S. degree and then enroll in the M.S. program, will be awarded a B.S./M.S. degree). In addition, students enrolled in the combined Bachelor's/Master's program must complete the following requirements:

  • Four additional advanced or specialized courses. At least two of these courses must be at the 600 or 700-level or above. The eligible courses are listed in Appendix II.
  • 020.401 and 020.402 Advanced Seminar in Molecular and Cellular Biology (3 credits each). All B.A./M.S. students will participate in this 3-credit weekly seminar during their year in the program. The seminar involves student presentations of research, and discussion of topics of current interest in the field.
  • 020.551, 020.552 and 020.553 Mentored Research Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology. The Mentored Research Program provides B.A./M.S. students with intensive research experience for a full academic year. Students in the program work under the direction of a research mentor on an original research project approved by the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) Program Committee, produce a written report in the form of a thesis, and make a presentation of the work to the Biology department. Monitoring the progress of the students during the research year is the responsibility of the research mentors. Students register for 020.551 in the fall, 020.552 in the intersession and 020.553 in the spring. Students receive 9 credit hours per semester for research during the fall and spring semesters of the research year, and 3 credit hours for the intersession. This aspect of the program will require a waiver of the usual limit of 6 research credits per year. This assignment of credits is quite conservative for the expected full-time research work. The usual formula for assigning credits for independent research is 3 hours of work per week per credit hour. According to this formula, 9 credit hours would correspond to 27 hours per week of research, somewhat less than will be expected of the M.S. students during the research year. The evaluation of the mentor takes into account the progress of the student on the research project. Mentor evaluations must be submitted to the MS Program Academic Advisor by the last day of classes each semester. (Click here to see the form)
  • Writing Requirement. Writing is an integral part of scientific work. Accordingly, one aim of the mentored research program is to train students in scientific writing. As described below, B.A./M.S. students prepare a research proposal for admission to the program, and a final report in the form of a short thesis. Both the initial proposal and the final report are major pieces of work, involving a process of preparing drafts, receiving evaluations from a supervisor, and making revisions until an acceptable version is produced.
  • Teaching Requirement.  Teaching is an integral component of the Masters degree.  The teaching requirement is generally fulfilled as a Teaching Assistant for the General Biology and General Biology Laboratory courses for two semesters.

Thesis and Presentation

The mentored research program culminates in the preparation of a written report (approximately 20 pages) of the research project in the form of a thesis. This report, to be completed by the end of the research year, is first submitted to the research mentor. The mentor will meet with the student to discuss the content and writing, and will request revisions if necessary. This process continues until the mentor approves the report, by submitting the Readers' Letter to Dr. Horner.  A sample Readers' Letter is available here.
The student then submits the report to the MS Program academic advisor.  The academic advisor and the student’s mentor comprise the two-member Thesis Committee, and are responsible for approval of the final thesis.  After the thesis is submitted, each B.A./M.S. student makes an oral presentation of the work. The final oral presentation will be twenty minutes in length, with ten minutes set aside afterwards for questions from the audience. Students should model their presentations after those given by Ph.D. and post-doctoral students in the weekly Biology Progress Reports. The written report and oral presentation are evaluated by the Thesis Committee. Passing performance, as judged by the committee, is required for the M.S. degree. A student who does not receive a passing evaluation for the final report and presentation will not be awarded the M.S. degree, but may nevertheless receive a B.A. in Biology or a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology if the requirements for these degrees have been fulfilled.

Awarding of the M.S. Degree

Students admitted to the B.A./M.S. program will be awarded the M.S. degree if they complete the above-described requirements, receive a grade of B or better in all courses during the one year duration of the program, and achieve passing performance on the final written report and oral presentation of the research project completed during the research year as judged by the Thesis Committee.

M.S. Program Administration

The B.A./M.S. program is administered by the Biology Department. A Molecular and Cellular Biology Program Committee makes final decisions regarding admissions, approves coursework, research programs and mentors for students in the program, and formulates and oversees program policies for the B.A./M.S. program. A Thesis Committee evaluates the final reports and presentations from the research year.

APPENDIX II. Courses fulfilling the advanced course requirements for the B.A./M.S. program

020.304 Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
020.307 Enzymes, Metabolism, and Metabolic Disorders
020.310/610 Developmental Neurobiology
020.311 Enzymes and Proteins
020.312/612 Introduction to the Human Brain
020.317/614 Signaling in Development and Disease
020.322 Cellular and Molecular Biology of Sensation
020.324 DNA Microarray Technology (Bioinformatics)
020.325 Introduction to the Protein World
020.326 The Sugar Code: The Sweet Side of Life (formerly Intro to Glycobiology)
020.327 Molecular Biology of Extremophiles
020.328 Adopt a Genome: Genomics and sequence analyses*
020.329 The Microbial World
020.331/630 Human Genetics
020.332 Photosynthesis by Land and Aquatic Organisms (Plant Biochemistry)
020.333 Adaptations of Plants to Their Environments
020.334 Planets, Life and the Universe
020.335 Landmarks in Biochemical Research
020.336 Stem Cell Biology (in Development and Disease)
020.337 Stem Cells & the Biology of Aging & Disease
020.342 Proteins
020.344 Virology
020.346 Immunobiology
020.347 AIDS
020.349 Microbial Pathogenesis (Epidemics and Pandemics)
020.352 Topics in Virology and Bacteriology
020.353 Examining Alternative Health Strategies
020.365 Introduction to the Human Skeleton
020.366 Human Evolution
020.367 Primate Behavior and Ecology
020.368 Mammalian Evolution
020.370/670 Emerging Strategies and Applications in Biomedical Research
020.374 Comparative Animal Physiology
020.375 Human Anatomy
020.376/606 Molecular Evolution
020.379 Evolution
020.380 Eukaryotic Molecular Biology
020.383 Molecular Biology of Aging
020.629 Principles of Cancer Biology (Human Cancer Biology and Treatment)
020.634 Chromatin and Transcription
020.637 Genomes and Development
020.638 Regulation and Mechanisms of the Cell Cycle
020.639 Macromolecular Assemblies in Biology
020.640 Epigenetics & Chromosome Dynamics
020.642 Proteins: Structure, Folding, and Interaction with Partners
020.646 Biological Spectroscopy
020.651 Retroviruses
020.665 Advanced Biochemistry
020.667 Bioconjugate Techniques
020.668 Advanced Molecular Biology
020.674 Grad Biophysical Chemistry
020.676 Functional Interpretation of Biological Structures
020.680 Molecular Basis of Drug Discovery
020.682 Molecular Recognition and Signaling
020.686 Advanced Cell Biology

Click here for MS Handbook

*Successful completion of this course provides 1 credit hour towards the upper level bio elective requirement for the BA and BS degrees and 2 credit hours towards the BS research requirement.

Robert Horner, MS Advising Coordinator
Macaulay Hall, Room 313
410.516.8067
rdhorner@jhu.edu

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