Non-Thesis Masters

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lucy

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Does know of a good Masters Programs in Biology that doesn't require a thesis ? I am looking for one in the Boston/New York area.

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I have never heard of a masters program in biology without a thesis. You can find some in other fields, but I don't think you can find one in biology.
 
By definition, a regular master's program is two years and absolutely requires a thesis. The main purpose to doing a master's is for the research and the resulting thesis proposal. The classes are just gravy. If you mean a post-bac master's program, there are some of those but not sure if in your specific area. I went to BU for my masters and am finishing up my thesis now. You have the option of a library thesis which a lot of people are able to complete in the span of a couple of months (no lab work required). Otherwise, I know Rosalind Franklin (Finch) has a non-thesis master's program (post-bac). Runs from August through May I believe and you get your M.S.
 
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There's actually quite a few MS in Biology and MA in Biology nonthesis programs. I know some that are 1 year and some that are 2 years, but I'm not too familiar with the general bio masters out in NYC/Boston.

Adelphi University in Garden City, NY has one too:
http://academics.adelphi.edu/artsci/bio/grad/req.php

And at CCNY:
http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/biology/masters.html

If you haven't already done so, you might want to look into special masters programs--they're meant to get you into med school and many of them don't require a thesis.
 
KiKat37 said:
I have never heard of a masters program in biology without a thesis. You can find some in other fields, but I don't think you can find one in biology.


They do exist and are not very useful from what i've seen.
 
Hi... I'm currently finishing up the BU MA in medical sciences program in Boston. I have nothing but good things to say about it and it definitely made the difference this time around. There IS a thesis, but it doesn't necessarily have to involve lab work. You can do a library-based thesis and it's only supposed to be like 50 pages. I'm doing a lab based one, but from what I hear the library ones don't have to be too hard core.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions about the BU program.
 
cammy1313 said:
By definition, a regular master's program is two years and absolutely requires a thesis.

Not true! Many engineering and hard science fields have non-thesis tracks that can be completed in one year --- if you're willing to spend all day in class. I'm getting an M.S. in biomaterials in three semesters without having to do any research. Many Engineering schools are even offering master's degrees entirely online. Check out The University of Florida and Georgia Tech for some examples.
 
lucy said:
Does know of a good Masters Programs in Biology that doesn't require a thesis ? I am looking for one in the Boston/New York area.

A lot of schools have a choice, usually if you get an assistanceship you're required to do a thesis, but if you simply apply and get accepted the choice is yours. Like everyone's saying a non-thesis could be completed very quickly, so could a thesis masters if you were crazy and lucky. In my personal experiences, grad school didn't help at all with my app, some schools even said they don't even look at it. There is a bias that Masters students get gift grades from advisors, and GPA's in grad school don't really show academic potential. If you've taken some grad level science classes you probably know thats completely wrong. I am reapplying to my undergrad to get a second BS and bring up my undergrad GPA.
 
nyu has a master of science in biology program that you can finish in 1 calender year. it doesn't require a thesis, although you have to do a culminating "research paper" that can be based on original or library research
 
LordoftheFries said:
nyu has a master of science in biology program that you can finish in 1 calender year. it doesn't require a thesis, although you have to do a culminating "research paper" that can be based on original or library research

Do you have the link to that masters program? Did you complete it? What are some of your experiences at NYU that you could share? Did it help you get into med school? Thanx!
 
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