Biological Education Ph.D.

Degree Requirements - 64 Credits

This program is designed for graduate students interested in post-secondary discipline-based education in the biological sciences. Areas of emphasis prepare students to conduct and to supervise discipline-based pedagogical research at the university or college level or in content instruction at the two-and four year college level.

See:"Biological Education (Ph.D.) Requirements"

Master's en route to the Ph.D.

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program in Biological Education may complete a thesis master's degree in Biology en route to completion of the doctoral degree. A request for a simultaneous master's degree in a discipline other than Biology will not be accepted. The student, in collaboration with the student's advisor, will develop a dual plan of study that includes clearly distinct master's and doctoral requirements. The student will be required to meet all of the requirements of both the master's and the doctoral degrees. The student must graduate from the master's degree program a minimum of one semester prior to conferring of the doctoral degree. The maximum time allowed for completion of the doctorate is eight calendar years beginning with the students' first semester of enrollment after admission has been granted.

Pedagogical Elective Credits - 11-13 hours

SCED 678 Science Education Seminar (1-2)

SCED 680 Science Curricula in Secondary/College Settings (3)

EPSY 540 Theories and Principles of Learning (3)

SCI 591 Computer Applications in Science (2)

BIO 682 Problems in Teaching College Biology (3)

Content Elective Credits - 21-22 hours

Basic Electives - 8 hrs-maximum (double numbered courses) With committee approval support science courses may be included.

BIO 525 Molecular Genetics (3)

BIO 530 Plant Taxonomy (4)

BIO 533 General Parasitology (4)

BIO 534 Mammalogy (4)

BIO 535 Survey of Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles (4)

BIO 537 Morphogenesis of Algae and Fungi (4)

BIO 540 Anatomy and Morphogenesis of Plants (4)

BIO 550 Cell Physiology (4)

BIO 554 General Plant Physiology (4)

Advanced Electives (13-14 hours - minimum)

BIO 512 TA Development Seminar (1)

BIO 521 Advanced Genetics (3)

BIO 536 Advanced Invertebrate Zoology (4)

BIO 544 Comparative Vertebrate Adaptations (4)

BIO 545 Cytology (3)

BIO 547 Immunology and Disease (4)

BIO 552 Mammalian Physiology I (3)

BIO 553 Mammalian Physiology II (3)

BIO 555 Reproductive and Developmental Biology (3)

BIO 556 Current Topics in Biomedical Research (2).

BIO 557 Mammalian Physiology I Laboratory (1)

BIO 558 Mammalian Physiology II Laboratory (1)

BIO 560 Behavioral Ecology (4)

BIO 561 Plant Ecology (4)

BIO 569 Conceptual Issues in Evolution (2)

BIO 571 Teaching Strategies for Biology Teachers (1)

BIO 682 Problems in Teaching College Biology (3)

Research Core - 14-15 hours

BIO 691 Seminar in Biological Sciences (1)

BIO 792 Doctoral Supervised Teaching (4)

SRM 502 Applied Statistics (4)

SRM 700 Advanced Research Methods (3)

and select one of the following two courses:

BIO 694 Foundations of Biological Research (2)

SCED 694 Science Education Research (3)

Research Proposal/Dissertation - 16 hours

BIO 797 Doctoral Research Proposal (4)

BIO 799 Doctoral Dissertation (12)

Research Tools

All Ph.D. students must demonstrate competency in two acceptable research tools.