2021-2022 Graduate Course Catalog 
    
    Nov 25, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biotechnology BS/MS


Program Director

Surabhi Raina
Associate Teaching Professor
315.443.2057
sraina@syr.edu

Contact

Lynn Fall
Graduate Program Administrator
315.443.9154
lfall@syr.edu
114 Life Sciences Complex

Faculty

BIOLOGY:
Yasir Ahmed-Braimah, Carlos Castañeda, Heather Coleman, Steve Dorus, Scott Erdman, Thomas Fondy, Paul Gold, Sarah Hall, Heidi Hehnly, James Hewitt, Donna Korol, Katharine Lewis, Jessica MacDonald, Eleanor Maine, Vera McIlvain, Melissa Pepling, Ruth Phillips, Ramesh Raina, Surabhi Raina, Mark Ritchie, Robert Silver, Roy Welch, Jason Wiles

CHEMISTRY:
Arindam Chakraborty, Robert Doyle, James Hougland, Yan-Yeung Luk, Olga Makhlynets, Mathew Maye, James Spencer, Michael Sponsler, Rachel Steinhardt, Nancy Totah, Jon Zubeita

ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE:
Jesse Bond, Eric Finkelstein, Julie Hansenwinkel, James Henderson, Xiyuan Liu, Zhen Ma, Dana Radcliffe, Dacheng Ren, Suresh Santanam, Pranav Soman

MATHEMATICS:
Moira McDermott, Jeff Meyer,

PHYSICS:
M. Lisa Manning, Liviu Movileanu

WHITMAN:
Robert Florence, Don Harter, Alexandra Kostakis, Peter Koveos, E. Scott Lathrop, Catherine Maritan, Alexander McKelvie, Kira Reed, Ravi Shukla, John Torrens, Johan Wiklund, Zhengping Wu


Program Description

This 5-year BS/MS program combines two existing programs-the BS in Biotechnology and the MS in Biotechnology. Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary program that offers students an opportunity to take courses in biology, environmental sciences, chemistry, engineering, management, public policy, and law.  The knowledge gained in these courses will be important for addressing biotechnology-related issues.  The combined BS/MS Biotechnology program provides students with advanced scientific training and education, customized to their career plans, as well as targeted professional development and networking experience.  It will prepare students for jobs in areas such as the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or agricultural industries, the health professions, environmental conservation, or research in academia.

Admissions

To be eligible for admission into the combined BS/MS Biotechnology program, undergraduate students must be admitted into the BS Biotechnology major according to the normal procedure for that major.  Interested students are strongly encouraged to speak to a major advisor in the BS Biotechnology program as soon as possible upon admission to Syracuse University.  Completing the combined BS/MS program within 5 years requires careful planning.

BS Biotechnology students, and students enrolled in other BS programs-including Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, or others-are eligible to apply to the combined BS/MS Biotechnology program.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis up until the end of a student’s third year as an undergraduate.  Interested students must submit an internal application packet, as described below.

Acceptance into the program is based on academic performance, completion of a sufficient proportion of the required BS Biotechnology core courses, and completion of at least one upper-level Biology laboratory course.  Decision notifications will be sent to students within one month of receiving their application.

Students who are accepted into the combined BS/MS Biotechnology program will receive further application instructions at the time of acceptance.

Students who are not accepted into the combined BS/MS Biotechnology program may still be offered early admission into the regular Biotechnology MS program, at the discretion of the Biotechnology Admissions Committee.

Internal Application Packet

Applicants should submit their internal application packet to the Biotechnology Admissions Committee at biotech@syr.edu.  The application packet should include the following:

  • a personal statement (waived for current Syracuse University BS Biotechnology majors) outlining the applicant’s interest in the combined BS/MS Biotechnology program (1 page, single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font);

  • a CV or resume;

  • a BS Biotechnology Checklist form, filled out up to the current date;

  • an unofficial transcript; and

  • two (2) faculty recommendation letters, submitted directly from faculty to the Biotechnology Admissions Committee at biotech@syr.edu.

Program Requirements

Over a period of 5 years, students in this program will complete all of the requirements for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biotechnology, as well as all of the requirements for a Master of Science Degree in Biotechnology.  Students accepted into the combined BS/MS program will be able to share (“double-count”) up to 12 credits of 500-level or 600-level coursework toward the completion of both degrees.

After completion of the program requirements, students will receive both degrees-receiving the Bachelor’s degree after the fourth year, and the Master’s degree after the fifth year.