Curriculum

Students in the MS program are required to complete 54.0 credits over two years of study. Of the 54.0 total credits, students must complete 12.0 credits ofcore science and 3.0 credits ofprofessional development courses and 39.0 credits of elective courses. The MS students have the option of declaring a concentration that would provide depth to their degree, but a non-concentration (“a la carte”) option is also available.

Students in the MS program are required to complete a total of 54.0 units comprised of:

  • 12.0 credits of core science courses
  • 3.0 credits of professional development
  • 39.0 credits of electives (including the following intersection requirements):
    • 27.0 credits of Advanced Technical and General Elective
    • 12.0 credits of Capstone (research thesis or TMP)

Advanced and General Technical Electives: All MS students are required to complete additional credits of any KGI courses, 300-level or 400-level, to achieve the required 54.0 credit total. Students are encouraged to consult with the MS program director for course selection. Not all electives are offered every year. Refer to the Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Science course list for course designation information.

Core Science Courses – 12.0 credits are offered in the following formats:

Course Number
Course Name
Credits
ALS 342
Applications of Statistics (contingent on placement exam)
1.5
ALS 402
Molecular Basis of Disease
1.5
ALS 407A
Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine
1.5
ALS 407B
Advanced Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine
1.5
ALS 434
Clinical Biostatistics
3.0
ALS 483
Advanced Biotechnology
1.5

 

Professional Development Courses – 3.0 Credits

Course Number
Course Name
Credits
ALS 397
Professional Development
0.0
ALS 360
Business Science Communications (contingent on placement exam)
1.5

 

Concentrations

Six concentrations are available to MS in Applied Life Sciences students. They are Translational Research Thesis (TR), Clinical Research Thesis (CR), Public Health Research (PHR), Infectious Diseases Research (IDR), Bioprocessing Research (BPR), and Team Master’s Project (TMP). Each concentration requires completion of 15.0 credits comprised of a capstone project (12.0 or 6.0 credits depending on the concentration option selected), plus concentration-required course(s).

Capstone Projects: Each concentration requires completion of 12.0 units of a capstone project which can be a research thesis or a TMP.