Master’s Program

Curriculum and Requirements

Our 30-credit Master of Science degree program in microbiology and immunology prepares you to enter scientific careers in both the public and private sectors. Your degree can also help you gain entry to doctoral programs as well as medical and dental programs.

Coursework Track

Forty percent of our coursework is elective, allowing you to customize your experience in our program. Your elective choices will allow you to study topics that interest you and study and learn from the current literature in these fields. 

If you choose to only take courses and not perform research, you will be required to successfully pass a comprehensive examination to fulfill the master's degree requirements. 

Project and Thesis Track Programs

If you develop an interest in going beyond coursework and want to perform research, you will participate in our Introduction to MS Research (MIC 596) course.

  • The project track requires your faculty mentor's approval and is completed within the 30 credits required for the MS degree.
  • The thesis track requires a total of 36 credits and final approval of your faculty mentor and a dissertation committee composed of two additional faculty members.

Regardless of the track you take, students will present their research findings at our Annual Master's Student Research Symposium.

Learn more about our project and thesis tracks

Curriculum

Our goal is to prepare students for any career path they may choose. We accomplish this by offering required courses in all four major research areas in the field as well as elective courses offered by our department and others throughout the university. 

1st Semester

  • MIC 501 Microbial Biology and Biotechnology, 4 credits
  • BCH 503 Biochemical Principles, 4 credits
  • MIC 619 Communicating Microbiology and Immunology, 2 credits
  • BMS 514LEC Introduction to Scientific Investigation and Responsible Conduct, 2 credits

2nd Semester

  • MIC 512 Fundamentals of Immunology, 2 credits
  • MIC 516 Bacteriology, 2 credits
  • Electives, variable credit

3rd Semester

  • MIC 513 Eukaryotic Pathogens, 2 credits
  • MIC 515 Virology, 2 credits
  • Electives, variable credit

4th Semester

  • Electives, variable credit (Thesis track)

Elective Courses Include:

  • MIC 502 Medical Microbiology, 4 credits
  • MIC/BCH 506 Composition and Function of the Human Microbiome, 2 credits
  • MIC 596 Introduction to MS Research, 1-5 credits
  • MIC 597 Guided Master's Project, 1-6 Credits
  • MIC 598 Guided Thesis Research, 6-9 credits (total)
  • MIC 599 Supervised Teaching, 1 credit
  • MIC 606 Advanced Topics Modern Microscopy, 2 credits
  • MIC 607 DNA Replication and Repair, 2 credits
  • MIC 608 Advanced Eukaryotic Pathogens, 2 credits
  • MIC 609 Current Topics in Immunology, 2 credits
  • MIC 611 Advanced Microbial Genetics, 2 credits
  • MIC 613 Advanced Virology, 2 credits
  • MIC 616 Advanced Fungal Pathogenesis, 2 credits
  • MIC 620 Microbiology and Immunology Seminar, 1-2 credits
  • MIC 622 Protein-Nucleic Acid Interaction, 3 credits
  • MIC 623 Current Topics in Global Health Infectious Diseases, 2 credits
  • MIC 624 Modern Topics in Bacterial Pathogenesis, 2 credits
  • MIC 626 Inflammation and Cancer, 2 credits
  • MIC 627 Molecular Parasitology, 2 credits
  • BCH 507 Protein Structure and Function, 2 credits
  • BCH 508 Gene Expression, 2 credits
  • BCH 512 Developmental Genomics and Stem Cell Biology, 3 credits
  • BCH 519 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 3 credits
  • BE 570 Medical Nanotechnology, 3 credits
  • STB 531 Principals of Protein Production and Analysis, 3 credits
  • BMS 501 Cell Biology I, 4 credits
  • BMS 502 Essentials of Genetics and Genomics, 3 credits

You may choose to pursue independent research in a faculty laboratory. We offer valuable experience with top-notch microbiology and immunology researchers.