Master of Science in Biotechnology
Faculty
The following faculty members work
with and teach students in the M.S. in Biotechnology degree program:
Professors: Larry P. Ammann
(Mathematics), Ray H. Baughman (Chemistry), Lee A. Bulla (Molecular and Cell
Biology), Santosh R. D’Mello
(Molecular and Cell Biology), Rockford K. Draper (Molecular and Cell Biology),
Sam Efromovich (Mathematics), Steven R. Goodman (Molecular and Cell
Biology), Donald M. Gray (Molecular and Cell Biology), Donald A. Hicks (EPPS),
M. Ali Hooshyar (Mathematics), Stephen D. Levene (Molecular and Cell Biology), Betty S. Pace (Molecular and
Cell Biology), Lawrence J. Reitzer
(Molecular and Cell Biology)
Associate Professors: Mark C. Anderson (SOM), Gregg R. Dieckmann (Chemistry), Gail A. Breen (Molecular and Cell Biology), Ovidiu Daescu
(Computer Science), David L. Deeds (SOM), Ernest M. Hannig (Molecular and
Cell biology), Warren J. Goux (Chemistry),
Robert L. Kieschnick (SOM), J B Lee (Electrical Engineering), Dennis L. Miller
(Molecular and Cell Biology), Paul Pantano (Chemistry)
Assistant Professors: Wenchuang Hu (Electrical Engineering), Jung-Mo Anh (Chemistry), Yan Cao (Mathematics), Pankaj K. Choudhary
(Mathematics), Mieczyslaw K Dabkowski (Mathematics), Ying Liu (Computer Science), Nirup M. Menon (SOM)
Senior Lecturers: Joseph C. Picken (SOM), Robert L. Robb (SOM)
Objectives
The M.S. degree in biotechnology is
intended to prepare students for careers in biotechnology and biomedicine and
to assist currently employed professionals in enhancing their career
opportunities.
Biotechnology captures the exciting
possibilities made possible by the decoding of the human genome and by the
advances in bioanalytical instrumentation, and the field is projected for rapid
growth. The M.S. in Biotechnology is designed so that students may enter the
program with a wide range of prior disciplinary backgrounds, prepare for and
take the four core courses, and, by choice from a wide range of approved
electives, tailor the remainder of the degree program to their career
opportunities. In this manner, students may develop areas of additional depth
in fields such as:
• molecular and cell biology
• chemistry
• engineering and computer science
• health care policy
• management and business administration
The M.S. in Biotechnology requires
36 hours of courses, typically twelve courses of three semester hours
each. Students may also elect to prepare and defend a thesis; more than
36 hours may be required for such a program.
The M.S. in Biotechnology is
administered by the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Students seeking
further information or advisement should contact the Molecular and Cell Biology
Department office.
Core
Courses
The core consists of four courses –
BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics, or CS 6325 Introduction to Bioinformatics,
BIOL 5381 Genomics, BIOL 6373 Proteomics, and BIOL 6384 Biotechnology
Laboratory. Students enrolled in the M.S. in Biotechnology M.S.program will have priority for enrollment in BIOL 6384.
Students who can demonstrate that they have acquired the material and/or skills
in a core course may petition the Committee on Biotechnology for permission to
substitute an approved elective course.
Program
Policies
The program is open to all students
who hold a bachelors degree, although those with laboratory science,
mathematics, computer science, or engineering degrees are particularly
encouraged to apply. In general, students will not be admitted to the MS
in Biotechnology program if they require more than two courses in order to be
ready to take the core courses.
Every student admitted to the M.S.
in Biotechnology program shall consult with the program advisor(s) and develop
a mutually agreed degree plan. All requests for deviations from the degree
program described in this catalog shall be discussed first with a program
advisor, who will forward the request to the Committee on Biotechnology for
decision.
There are no formal prerequisites
for most of the core courses, and a student, after obtaining consent of the
program advisor, may attempt one or more core courses. However, the level of
the BIOL core courses is such that most students will want to have mastered the
material in the following courses:
General Chemistry (two semesters,
with lab)
Organic Chemistry (two semesters, with lab)
BIO 2311 Introduction to Modern Biology I (with workshop)
BIOL 3361 Biochemistry or BIOL 6352 Modern Biochemistry I
BIOL 3301 Classical and Molecular Genetics or BIOL 6V31 Molecular Genetics
The four core courses should be
taken in the following order: BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics, BIOL 5381
Genomics, BIOL 6373 Proteomics, BIOL 6384 Biotechnology Laboratory.
Consent of instructor is required for core courses taken out of this sequence.
BIOL 6384 Biotechnology Laboratory is a skills based course. Students must show
that they have adequate laboratory skills in order to enroll in BIOL 6384.
Also available are four 1-SCH summer
preparatory courses for students who do not have the background in both biology
and mathematics that is required for success in the core courses.
Students with a strong math background, who need access to modern biology,
should take BIOL 5V00-06A (Biology Preparation – MS in Biotechnology I), BIOL
5V00-06M (Biology Preparation – MS in Biotechnology II), and MATH 5V06-06M (Mathematics Preparation – MS in Biotechnology II).
Students with a strong biology background, who need access to
mathematics/statistics, should take MATH 5V06-06A (Mathematics Preparation – MS
in Biotechnology I), BIOL 5V00-06M (Biology Preparation – MS in Biotechnology
II), and MATH 5V06-06M (Mathematics Preparation – MS in Biotechnology II).
Students who elect to prepare and
defend a thesis must satisfy the MS thesis procedures specified by the
department of their thesis supervisor.
Electives
As a general rule, any UTD graduate
course that is approved by the advisor as being relevant to the student's
tailored degree plan may be taken as an elective for the Biotechnology M.S.
program. Students should consult the program advisor for the current list of
recommended electives.
A joint program in Bioinformatics
and Computational Biology, administered through the Mathematical Sciences
Department, is also available, and courses offered within that program are also
available as electives.