M.Sc. Educational Mission Statement

1. To expose our M.Sc. trainees to cutting edge science in the field of molecular genetics through:

  • Course work: Core curriculum, covering Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics, and Computational Biology
  • Attending student seminars as part of required coursework
  • Attending scientific seminars of invited guests (as part of your MoGen Colloquium Course and then optionally after that)
  • Exposure to different laboratory cultures and science through the rotation system
  • Intellectual engagement in the science of their thesis lab

2.  To train our M.Sc. students to communicate scientific ideas effectively

  • The presentation of their thesis work at two student seminars
  • The presentation of their thesis progress at lab meetings
  • The oral participation and written reports required in topic courses
  • The presentation of their thesis progress at our annual retreat
  • The writing and oral presentation of their M.Sc. thesis

3.  To train our M.Sc. students to create new knowledge through experimentation (wet or dry): 

We expect that our M.Sc. students generate enough data to reach a significant conclusion within a reasonable time frame.  The candidate must provide a thesis representing high scholastic attainment in a specialized field, demonstrated by independent and original research. These data should be of a quality that could be publishable in a good journal, and these data might constitute only a portion of a complete paper.  In other words, at minimum, the student's work should culminate in several significant publishable figures or tables that address a question of importance.  These data should be produced by the student and should be interpreted by the student on their own. The student should be able to propose detailed experiments for the future that are based on their work.  We expect that it should take no longer than 18 months from when the student joined their thesis lab to reach this goal.

Should the M.Sc. student express a desire to complete a larger body of work before the pre-reclassification date (~18 months after joining our department, 14 months after joining their lab), the student should reclassify into the Ph.D. program.  Should the M.Sc. student express a desire to complete a larger body of work after the pre-reclassification date, they should complete their M.Sc. expeditiously and apply to a Ph.D. program.

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