Faculty

BIOLOGY: Yasir Ahmed-Braimah, David Althoff, Katie Becklin, Melanie Blanden, Carlos Castañeda, Heather Coleman, Steve Dorus, Scott Erdman, Christopher Fernandez, Thomas Fondy, Austin Garner, Paul Gold, Sarah Hall, Heidi Hehnly, James Hewett, Sandra Hewett, James Hougland, Ankita Juneja, Donna Korol, Louis James (Jamie) Lamit, Katharine Lewis, Jessica MacDonald, Eleanor Maine, Angela Oliverio, Melissa Pepling, Scott Pitnick, Ruth Phillips, Ramesh Raina, Surabhi Raina, Mark Ritchie, Kari Segraves, 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, Pranav Soman, Pun Yung

WHITMAN: Robert Florence, Don Harter, Alexandra Kostakis, Peter Koveos, E. Scott Lathrop, C. A. 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 agricultural and food industries, the health professions, environmental conservation, or research in academia.

Admissions

To be eligible for admission to the program, undergraduate students must declare the BS Biotechnology major during the admission process to Syracuse University or anytime thereafter. Students are strongly encouraged to speak to their assigned Biotechnology major advisor regarding the 5-year BS/MS program so that their degree requirements can be met within the designated timeframe.

BS Biotechnology students, and students enrolled in other 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 July 31st, prior to the beginning of a student’s fourth year as an undergraduate. Interested students must apply through CollegeNet. The materials needed are 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 promptly upon receiving their application.

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.

The CollegeNet application consists of the following:

• a personal statement (waived for current SU 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 
• an unofficial transcript
• two (2) faculty recommendation letters
• an application.

Program Requirements

Over a period of 5 years, students in this program will complete all the requirements for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biotechnology, as well as all 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 15 credits of 500-or 600-level coursework toward the completion of both degrees.

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

For curriculum details, see the individual catalog pages for the Biotechnology, BS program and the Biotechnology MS program.