Department of Biology
Supple Building Room 384
T: 512.245.2178 F: 512.245.8713
http://www.bio.txstate.edu/
Master’s Programs
The Department of Biology offers several degree options for students wishing to pursue graduate study at the master’s level, including Aquatic Resources, Biology, Population and Conservation Biology, and Wildlife Ecology. Thesis-based degrees are usually chosen as preparation for professional careers or advanced graduate work (Ph.D., D.V.M., or M.D.) and by students seeking advanced training for technology-related industries. Non-thesis degrees may be chosen by students preferring broad training in biology without a formal research experience; this plan is often chosen by secondary science teachers wishing to broaden their content training without taking additional education courses.
Thesis Students
Students pursuing a master’s degree with thesis should have a thesis committee approved by the end of their first long term of enrollment in the graduate program. The thesis committee comprises three or more individuals and is chaired by the thesis advisor. Committee members should be selected by the student in consultation with the thesis advisor and should be chosen on the basis of what they can contribute to the student’s research and/or graduate studies. Committee members expect to be consulted about the research project and should contribute guidance and expertise to the project. A “Thesis Committee Form” can be downloaded from the Biology Department website and must be approved by the chair of the department’s Graduate Committee and the department chair prior to the submission of a thesis proposal.
Students working on a thesis are expected to enroll in a thesis course (BIO 5399A or BIO 5399B) each term that they are actively involved in research. Students should enroll in BIO 5399A for their first term of thesis research and in a Thesis B course (BIO 5199B, BIO 5299B, BIO 5399B, BIO 5599B, or BIO 5999B) for all subsequent terms. While enrolled in BIO 5399A the student should prepare a detailed thesis proposal that introduces the project to be investigated, summarizes the relevant background literature, and explains the methodology to be used in carrying out the research and should complete a “Thesis Proposal Form" which can be downloaded from The Graduate College website. Submission of an approved thesis proposal to The Graduate College is expected before the end of the student’s second term of enrollment in a thesis course. Students pursuing a thesis-based degree must be enrolled in at least one hour of thesis credit during the term in which they graduate.
All students completing a thesis are required to present the results of their research in an open seminar attended by the thesis committee members and other interested individuals. Following the public presentation of the thesis, the student must pass a comprehensive examination administered by the thesis committee.
Non-thesis Students
Students pursuing a non-thesis degree are expected to have a supervising professor by the end of their first long term of enrollment in the graduate program. The supervising professor will normally be a faculty member specializing in an area of particular interest to the student and is often the individual who oversees the required independent study project. Prior to the final term of enrollment the non-thesis student must, in consultation with the supervising professor, select a committee that will administer the final comprehensive examination. A “Non-Thesis Committee form” can be downloaded from the Biology Department website and must be approved by the chair of the department’s graduate committee and the department chair.
Students pursuing a non-thesis degree must be enrolled in at least one hour of coursework during the term in which they graduate.
Comprehensive Examination
All candidates for master’s degrees in the Department of Biology must pass a comprehensive final examination administered by the student’s committee. The examination may be oral or written and must cover, at a minimum, the student’s field of concentration and the thesis, if one was written. The results of this exam should be reported on the “Master's Comprehensive Examination Report form," which can be downloaded from The Graduate College website which must be filed with The Graduate College at least 10 days prior to the date of expected graduation.
Financial Assistance
Assistantships and scholarships are available to qualified applicants on a competitive basis. In order to be considered for scholarships, applicants must have their application completed for review before the priority application deadline. The Department of Biology offers a number of graduate instructional assistantships to full-time students enrolled in the master’s program, and information on the availability of these positions will be provided following acceptance into the graduate program. These assistantships are renewable based upon an annual review of each student’s progress and performance. Faculty members may also have funds available to support students as research assistants. Support is normally limited to two years.
The Graduate College can provide information concerning the availability of graduate scholarships.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Major in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology (Entering with Master's Degree)
- Major in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology (Entering with Bachelor's Degree)
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Master of Science (M.S.)
- Major in Aquatic Resources (Aquatic Biology Concentration)
- Major in Aquatic Resources (Aquatic Systems Concentration)
- Major in Biology (Non-thesis Option)
- Major in Biology (Non-thesis Minor Option)
- Major in Biology (Thesis Option)
- Major in Biology (Thesis Science or Geography Minor Option)
- Major in Population and Conservation Biology
- Major in Wildlife Ecology
Minors
Doctoral Faculty
Aspbury, Andrea, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Nebraska
Bergh, Joel Justin, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., University of Delaware
Bonner, Timothy H, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Carlos-Shanley, Camila, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Campinas
Castro-Arellano, Ivan, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Daniel, Kristy Lynn, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
Dharmasiri, Nihal, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Hawaii at Manoa
Dharmasiri, Sunethra, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Hawaii at Manoa
Dutton, Jessica, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., State Univ of NY at Stony Brook
Farquhar, Charles Craig, Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Forstner, Michael R, Regents' Professor and Alexander-Stone Endowed Chair of Genetics, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Fritts, Sarah Rebecah, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington
Gabor, Caitlin, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette
Garcia, Dana M, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California, Berkeley
Green, Michael Clay, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette
Groeger, Alan W, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Hahn, Dittmar, Regents' Professor and Chair - Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Wageningen Univ & Research Centre
Hardy, Thomas, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Utah State University
Huertas Pau, Maria del Mar, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Barcelona
Kang, Hong Gu, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California-Los Angeles
Lemke, David E, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Martin, Noland H, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Duke University
Martina, Jason Philip, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Michigan State University
McLean, Robert J C, Regents' Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Calgary
Nice, Chris, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California-Davis
Nowlin, Weston Hugh, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Victoria
Ott, James R, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Maryland College Park
Rodriguez, David, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Schwalb, Astrid Nadine, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Guelph
Schwartz, Benjamin F, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Virginia Poly Inst & State Univ
Schwinning, Susan, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Serenari, Christopher, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Veech, Joseph A, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno
Weckerly, Floyd, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., The University of Memphis
Weigum, Shannon E, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Westerlund, Julie F, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Williamson, Paula S, Associate Dean, College of Science and Engineering and University Distinguished Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California, Santa Barbara
Woytek, Kelly Jo, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Graduate Faculty
Abel, Michael Gregory, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., University of Tennessee Knoxville
Aspbury, Andrea, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Nebraska
Banta, Marilyn R, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno
Bergh, Joel Justin, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., University of Delaware
Bonner, Timothy H, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Carlos-Shanley, Camila, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Campinas
Castro-Arellano, Ivan, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Daniel, Kristy Lynn, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
Dharmasiri, Nihal, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Hawaii at Manoa
Dharmasiri, Sunethra, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Hawaii at Manoa
Dutton, Jessica, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., State Univ of NY at Stony Brook
Farquhar, Charles Craig, Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Forstner, Michael R, Regents' Professor and Alexander-Stone Endowed Chair of Genetics, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Fritts, Sarah Rebecah, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington
Gabor, Caitlin, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette
Garcia, Dana M, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California, Berkeley
Green, Michael Clay, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette
Groeger, Alan W, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Hahn, Dittmar, Regents' Professor and Chair - Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Wageningen Univ & Research Centre
Hardy, Thomas, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Utah State University
Huertas Pau, Maria del Mar, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Barcelona
Huffman, David G, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of New Hampshire
Johnson, David Robert, Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington
Kakirde, Kavita S, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Auburn University
Kang, Hong Gu, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California-Los Angeles
Kumar, Manish, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh Univ
Lemke, David E, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Martin, Noland H, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Duke University
Martina, Jason Philip, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Michigan State University
McLean, Robert J C, Regents' Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Calgary
Nice, Chris, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California-Davis
Nierth, Erica N, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Tulane University
Nowlin, Weston Hugh, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Victoria
Ott, James R, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Maryland College Park
Rodriguez, David, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Schwalb, Astrid Nadine, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Guelph
Schwartz, Benjamin F, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Virginia Poly Inst & State Univ
Schwinning, Susan, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Serenari, Christopher, Assistant Professor, Biology, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Vargas, Micaela, Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Texas at San Antonio
Veech, Joseph A, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno
Wagner, Matthew Wayne, Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Walter, Scott Thomas, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette
Weckerly, Floyd, Professor, Biology, Ph.D., The University of Memphis
Weigum, Shannon E, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Westerlund, Julie F, Associate Professor, Biology, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Williamson, Paula S, Associate Dean, College of Science and Engineering and University Distinguished Professor, Biology, Ph.D., Univ of California, Santa Barbara
Woytek, Kelly Jo, Senior Lecturer, Biology, Ph.D., Texas A&M University