Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

MS in Biomedical Research Curriculum

students working in the courtyard

The MBR program is designed to be completed in two years. MBR students will take graduate-level courses with PhD students while also working on an independent master’s thesis project.

Year One

Didactic Courses

In the first year students will take several core courses in fundamental science topics relevant for biomedical research including Graduate Biochemistry and Graduate Cell Biology. Students will also take foundational courses relevant to the discipline they have chosen for the MS degree.

Journal Club

Students will also enroll in a 1st Year Student Master’s Journal Club. In addition to learning how to critically read and evaluate primary research papers, students will learn how to make clear and effective research presentations (poster and oral formats). 

Lab Rotations and Thesis Research

Students will complete two 6 week lab rotations in the fall semester and select a thesis lab by the beginning of the spring semester. Thesis work will begin once the laboratory has been identified and may build on work done during one of the lab rotations. Students will choose a thesis lab from a large selection of potential faculty mentors in the GSBS program that matches their chosen discipline.

Year Two

Didactic Courses

Students will have the option to take elective courses in a variety of advanced topics tailored to their field of study. Among the courses offered: Fundamentals of Neuroscience, Synapse Neurobiology, Neurobiology of Disease, Gene Expression and Signal Transduction, Introduction to Genetics, Mammalian Genetics, Biomedical Statistics and Computational Biology, Introduction to Immunology, Advanced Cellular Immunology, Inflammation and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases, Immunochemistry Signaling and Dynamics, Microbial Genetics and Microbiology, Host-Pathogen Interface/Bacterial Host Cell Interactions, and Animal Virology.

A full listing of courses available can be found in the GSBS catalog. 

Thesis Research

Thesis research continues leading to the preparation and defense of an MS thesis.