Loyola University Chicago

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Biology

Overview

The Department of Biology at Loyola University Chicago offers a broad-based program that allows students to explore and develop skills in any of the major areas of contemporary life sciences. The classes students take and the research they perform provide excellent training for a wide variety of jobs or for further graduate education.

Our faculty members are well-respected leaders in their fields and publish extensively. They also attract a significant amount of external grant support, which allows them to pursue research projects that are at the forefront of modern biology. Students receive individual attention as they pursue their own research and work toward their master's degree.

Degree Program (M.S.)

The Department of Biology's M.S. degree program is research/thesis-based and focuses on the development of experimental and intellectual skills required for vigorous research. Full-time students usually complete the program in two to three years. Students pursue study in any of the following special fields:
  • Aquatic Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology
  • Ecology
  • Genetics
  • Immunology
  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Neurobiology
  • Physiology
  • Population Biology

Students are assigned an advisor to help them develop an individualized curriculum. Once a curriculum is selected, students join the labs of their thesis directors and begin their research.

Curriculum

To become an official candidate for the M.S. degree, students must earn 30 credit hours and show satisfactory performance in coursework and thesis research. Requirements include:

  • Biostatistics and Experimental Design: This course explores the design and analysis of biological experiments using parametric and nonparametric inferential statistics. Students learn to use several computerized statistical software packages
  • Graduate Seminar: Students present specific, current research topics and discuss their implications
  • Department Seminar: Students meet and discuss the research presented by five or six speakers
  • Instruction and Teaching in Biology: This course introduces the fundamentals of teaching biology. Topics include course planning, lecture preparation and presentation, lab teaching, and evaluation. The lab component involves presentations in undergraduate biology courses
  • Teaching Practicum: Students gain firsthand teaching experience by conducting undergraduate biology courses
  • Research: Students work with their thesis advisors to develop and conduct a specialized research project

Students must also write and defend a master's thesis. For a catalog listing of courses, visit www.luc.edu/depts/biology/graduate.htm.

Research & Facilities

Research is the focus of the master's degree program at Loyola University Chicago. Faculty engage students in ongoing studies and students are well-supported when taking on new projects and challenges. Faculty research falls into three broad areas — biochemistry and physiology, cell and molecular biology, and organismal biology and ecology. Current faculty projects include studies on malaria, longhorn beetles and developmental biology.

Major research instrumentation in the Department of Biology includes a complete microscopy facility with transmission and scanning electron microscopes and histology laboratory. The department maintains environmental rooms, a digital imaging facility, digital molecular analysis equipment, darkrooms, equipment rooms, greenhouses, insectary, herbarium, an artificial steam system and an accredited and staffed small animal quarters. Vans, diving equipment and two research boats are available for studies on Lake Michigan.

Faculty

The biology graduate faculty includes 24 full-time and adjunct members. Graduate faculty members have been awarded more than $3 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the World Health Organization and other public and private foundations. While deeply engaged in research and the pursuit of knowledge, Loyola faculty members are dedicated teachers who regard their work in classrooms, laboratories and field sites as essential to connecting with their students.

Martin Berg, Ph.D. (University of Notre Dame), Associate Professor
Area of interest: Aquatic encology

Ian Boussy, Ph.D. (University of California-Davis), Associate Professor
Area of interest: Molecular evolution, genetics, drosophila, transposable elements

Domenic Castignetti, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts), Professor
Area of interest: Microbial physiology, biochemistry

Jeffrey Doering, Ph.D. (University of Chicago), Professor and Chair
Area of interest: Human molecular genetics

Terry Grande, Ph.D. (University of Illinois-Chicago), Associate Professor
Areas of interest: Vertebrate evolutionary, systematics, ichthyology

Robert Hamilton, Ph.D. (The Ohio State University), Professor
Areas of interest: Entomology, insect taxonomy, biology

Warren Jones, Ph.D. (Indiana University), Associate Professor
Areas of interest: Electron microscopy, development, structure and function of the mechanosensory lateral line

John Kelly, Ph.D. (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey),
Assistant Professor
Areas of interest: Microbial ecology, environmental microbiology

Howard Laten, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Professor
Area of interest: Endogenous retroviruses

Louis Lucas, Ph.D. (Tulane University), Assistant Professor
Area of interest: Neurobiology

John New, Parmly Hearing Institute, Professor and Adjunct Professor
Areas of interest: Comparative neurobiology, neuroethology

Bryan Picket, Ph.D. (Indiana University), Associate Professor
Areas of interest: Plant genetics and development

William Rochlin, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina), Assistant Professor
Area of interest: Developmental neurobiology

Emma Rosi-Marshall, Ph.D. (University of Georgia), Assistant Professor
Area of interest: Stream ecology

Albert Rotermund, Ph.D. (State University of New York, Buffalo), Associate Professor
Area of interest: Cellular biochemistry

Jan Savitz, Ph.D. (Indiana University), Professor
Area of interest: Fish ecology

Diane Suter, Ph.D. (Colorado State University), Associate Professor, Graduate Program Director
Areas of interest: Cellular and molecular endocrinology

Nancy Tuchman, Ph.D. (University of Louisville), Professor
Area of interest: Aquatic ecology

William Wasserman, Ph.D. (University of Toronto), Associate Professor
Area of interest: Developmental biology

Kim Williamson, Ph.D. (Boston University), Associate Professor
Areas of interest: Physiology and immunology

For more information about the Department of Biology faculty, visit www.luc.edu/depts/biology/ms.htm.


Application Requirements

For admission to the Department of Biology, applicants should have or be in the process of completing a bachelor's degree in biology or subdiscipline thereof. Applicants with a degree in a different major may still apply but may need to demonstrate biological knowledge through additional coursework. Such coursework would be determined through consultation with the Biology Graduate Committee.

Applicants to M.S. degree program generally have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and have completed two or more years of course work in biology and chemistry and one year of physics.

The following is required of applicants:

  • A $50 application fee
  • A completed application form. To apply, go to www.luc.edu/gpem 
  • Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work
  • Scores for the GRE (general examination) — Applicants with a major different from Biology should take the subject GRE in Biology or Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
  • Three letters of recommendation (usually from referees familiar with the applicant's academic work)
  • A statement of purpose describing academic and research interests, as well as professional goals
  • Either a TOEFL or IELTS score report is required for international applicants whose native language is not English. For the TOEFL, a score of at least 213 on the computer-based test or 550 on the written test is required. The minimum score for the new TOEFL iBT (Internet-based test) is 79. For the IELTS, a minimum score of 6.5 is required
  • International applicants, or U.S. applicants who completed school abroad, are required to submit non-U.S. transcripts to Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE). For more information, contact ECE at 414-289-3400 or visit www.ece.org

Please request a general evaluation report and have the official report sent to Loyola University Chicago, Graduate Enrollment Management, 820 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. 


Application Deadlines

Fall admission: March 1 (for assistantship applicants) or July 1

Spring admission: December 1

Deadlines and application requirements are subject to change. Visit www.luc.edu/depts/biology/ms.htm for the most up-to-date information.

Contact Information

The application and all supporting documents must be sent to Graduate Enrollment Management at the following address:

Graduate Enrollment Management
Loyola University Chicago
820 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Phone: 312.915.8950
E-mail: GradApp@luc.edu


For more information about the academic program, or to arrange a visit, contact:

Department of Biology
Loyola University Chicago
6525 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, Illinois 60626
Phone: 773.508.3649
E-mail: Biologydept@luc.edu
www.luc.edu/depts/biology/ms.htm  

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