Master of Science (M.S.) Major in Biochemistry

Program Overview

The Master of Science (M.S.) degree with a major in Biochemistry is designed for students who have undergraduate degrees in Biology, Biochemistry, or Chemistry and wish to pursue advanced studies in Biochemistry.

Application Requirements

The items listed below are required for admission consideration for applicable semesters of entry during the current academic year. Submission instructions, additional details, and changes to admission requirements for semesters other than the current academic year can be found on The Graduate College's website. International students should review the International Admission Documents page for additional requirements.

completed online application
$55 nonrefundable application fee

$90 nonrefundable application fee for applications with international credentials
baccalaureate degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or a closely related field from a regionally accredited university (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our International FAQs for more information.)
official transcripts from each institution where course credit was granted
a 3.0 overall GPA or 3.0 GPA in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses)
GRE not required
statement of purpose discussing career goals and undergraduate experiences
two letters of recommendation regarding the student’s academic potential and undergraduate research experience

Approved English Proficiency Exam Scores

Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list.

official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
official PTE scores required with a 52 overall
official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0
official Duolingo scores required with a 110 overall
official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall

This program does not offer admission if the scores above are not met.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science (M.S.) degree with a major in Biochemistry requires 30 semester credit hours including a thesis.

Course Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
CHEM 5110	Seminar in Chemistry (Taken three times)	3
CHEM 5381	Physical Biochemistry	3
CHEM 5384	Current Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	3
CHEM 5386	Proteins	3
CHEM 5387	Nucleic Acids Chemistry	3
CHEM 5395	Fundamentals of Research	3
Prescribed Electives
Choose 6 hours from the following:		6
CHEM 5310	Medicinal Chemistry
CHEM 5312	Organometallic Chemistry
CHEM 5313	Principles and Applications of Mass Spectrometry
CHEM 5320	Modern Molecular Modeling
CHEM 5321	Advanced Organic Chemistry
CHEM 5330	Physical Chemistry
CHEM 5333	Spectroscopy
CHEM 5341	Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM 5351	Introduction to Polymers and Polymer Synthesis
CHEM 5353	Polymer Processing and Characterization
CHEM 5355	Physical Chemistry of Polymers
CHEM 5365	Separation Methods in Chemical Analysis
CHEM 5382	Enzymology
CHEM 5383	Molecular Biology & Molecular Genetics
CHEM 5385	MPMetabolism
CHEM 5390	Supramolecular Chemistry
BIO 5300	Neurobiology
BIO 5311	Cancer Biology
BIO 5480	Cytology and Micro-technique
BIO 7361C	Advanced Genomics and Bioinformatics
MSEC 7301	Practical Skills in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship
MSEC 7302	Leadership Skills in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship
MSEC 7325	Principles of Technical Project Management
MSEC 7340	Biomaterials and Biosensors
Thesis
CHEM 5399A	Thesis	3
Choose a minimum of 3 hours from the following:		3
CHEM 5199B	Thesis
CHEM 5299B	Thesis
CHEM 5399B	Thesis
CHEM 5599B	Thesis
CHEM 5999B	Thesis
Total Hours		30

Comprehensive Examination Requirement

An oral thesis defense is required to serve as the comprehensive examination. The thesis committee will decide whether the student passes or fails the defense. Should the student fail, a second oral defense is allowed.

Students who do not successfully complete the requirements for the degree within the timelines specified will be dismissed from the program.

If a student elects to follow the thesis option for the degree, a committee to direct the written thesis will be established. The thesis must demonstrate the student’s capability for research and independent thought. Preparation of the thesis must be in conformity with the Graduate College Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation.

Thesis Proposal

The student must submit an official Thesis Proposal Form and proposal to his or her thesis committee. Thesis proposals vary by department and discipline. Please see your department for proposal guidelines and requirements. After signing the form and obtaining committee members’ signatures, the graduate advisor’s signature if required by the program and the department chair’s signature, the student must submit the Thesis Proposal Form with one copy of the proposal attached to the dean of The Graduate College for approval before proceeding with research on the thesis. If the thesis research involves human subjects, the student must obtain exemption or approval from the Texas State Institutional Review Board prior to submitting the proposal form to The Graduate College. The IRB approval letter should be included with the proposal form. If the thesis research involves vertebrate animals, the proposal form must include the Texas State IACUC approval code. It is recommended that the thesis proposal form be submitted to the dean of The Graduate College by the end of the student’s enrollment in 5399A. Failure to submit the thesis proposal in a timely fashion may result in delayed graduation.

Thesis Committee

The thesis committee must be composed of a minimum of three approved graduate faculty members.

Thesis Enrollment and Credit

The completion of a minimum of six hours of thesis enrollment is required. For a student's initial thesis course enrollment, the student will need to register for thesis course number 5399A. After that, the student will enroll in thesis B courses, in each subsequent semester until the thesis is defended with the department and approved by The Graduate College. Preliminary discussions regarding the selection of a topic and assignment to a research supervisor will not require enrollment for the thesis course.

Students must be enrolled in thesis credits if they are receiving supervision and/or are using university resources related to their thesis work. The number of thesis credit hours students enroll in must reflect the amount of work being done on the thesis that semester. It is the responsibility of the committee chair to ensure that students are making adequate progress toward their degree throughout the thesis process. Failure to register for the thesis course during a term in which supervision is received may result in postponement of graduation. After initial enrollment in 5399A, the student will continue to enroll in a thesis B course as long as it takes to complete the thesis. Thesis projects are by definition original and individualized projects. As such, depending on the topic, methodology, and other factors, some projects may take longer than others to complete. If the thesis requires work beyond the minimum number of thesis credits needed for the degree, the student may enroll in additional thesis credits at the committee chair's discretion. In the rare case when a student has not previously enrolled in thesis and plans to work on and complete the thesis in one term, the student will enroll in both 5399A and 5399B.

The only grades assigned for thesis courses are PR (progress), CR (credit), W (withdrew), and F (failing). If acceptable progress is not being made in a thesis course, the instructor may issue a grade of F. If the student is making acceptable progress, a grade of PR is assigned until the thesis is completed. The minimum number of hours of thesis credit (“CR”) will be awarded only after the thesis has been both approved by The Graduate College and released to Alkek Library.

A student who has selected the thesis option must be registered for the thesis course during the term or Summer I (during the summer, the thesis course runs ten weeks for both sessions) in which the degree will be conferred.

Thesis Deadlines and Approval Process

Thesis deadlines are posted on The Graduate College website under "Current Students." The completed thesis must be submitted to the chair of the thesis committee on or before the deadlines listed on The Graduate College website.

The following must be submitted to The Graduate College by the thesis deadline listed on The Graduate College website:

The Thesis Submission Approval Form bearing original (wet) and/or electronic signatures of the student and all committee members.
One (1) PDF of the thesis in final form, approved by all committee members, uploaded in the online Vireo submission system.

After the dean of The Graduate College approves the thesis, Alkek Library will harvest the document from the Vireo submission system for publishing in the Digital Collections database (according to the student's embargo selection). NOTE: MFA Creative Writing theses will have a permanent embargo and will never be published to Digital Collections.

While original (wet) signatures are preferred, there may be situations as determined by the chair of the committee in which obtaining original signatures is inefficient or has the potential to delay the student's progress. In those situations, the following methods of signing are acceptable:

signing and faxing the form
signing, scanning, and emailing the form
notifying the department in an email from their university's or institution's email account that the committee chair can sign the form on their behalf
electronically signing the form using the university's licensed signature platform.

If this process results in more than one document with signatures, all documents need to be submitted to The Graduate College together.

No copies are required to be submitted to Alkek Library. However, the library will bind copies submitted that the student wants bound for personal use. Personal copies are not required to be printed on archival quality paper. The student will take the personal copies to Alkek Library and pay the binding fee for personal copies.

Master's level courses in Chemistry and Biochemistry: CHEM

Courses Offered

Chemistry (CHEM)

CHEM 5110. Seminar in Chemistry.

A course designed to acquaint the graduate student with current research areas in chemistry. May be repeated twice for total of 3 semester hour credit.

1 Credit Hour. 1 Lecture Contact Hour. 0 Lab Contact Hours.
Grade Mode: Standard Letter

CHEM 5195. Professional Development of Graduate Assistants.

This course is designed to develop and enhance graduate assistants’ laboratory instruction abilities. Topics covered in the course include effective lecture techniques, laboratory safety, theory and practical knowledge on laboratory experiments and laboratory section management. This course does not earn graduate credit.

1 Credit Hour. 1 Lecture Contact Hour. 0 Lab Contact Hours.
Course Attribute(s): Graduate Assistantship|Exclude from Graduate GPA
Grade Mode: Leveling/Assistantships

CHEM 5199B. Thesis.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding.

1 Credit Hour. 1 Lecture Contact Hour. 0 Lab Contact Hours.
Grade Mode: Credit/No Credit

CHEM 5285. Laboratory Development Practice.

This course develops the laboratory instructional abilities of post-baccalaureate students seeking either 8-12 Chemistry or 8-12 Physical Science Teaching Certification. Topics include both traditional laboratory techniques and guided inquiry techniques, safety, laboratory management, pedagogical theory and practical knowledge of laboratory experiments.

2 Credit Hours. 1 Lecture Contact Hour. 2 Lab Contact Hours.
Course Attribute(s): Lab Required
Grade Mode: Standard Letter

CHEM 5295. Professional Development of Graduate Assistants.

2 Credit Hours. 2 Lecture Contact Hours. 0 Lab Contact Hours.
Course Attribute(s): Graduate Assistantship|Exclude from Graduate GPA
Grade Mode: Leveling/Assistantships

CHEM 5299B. Thesis.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding.

2 Credit Hours. 2 Lecture Contact Hours. 0 Lab Contact Hours.
Grade Mode: Credit/No Credit

CHEM 5310. Medicinal Chemistry.

This course surveys modern approaches to drug discovery and mechanisms of drug action with the focus on molecular structures of drugs. Examples of drug discovery for the chemotherapy of cancer, microbial and cardiovascular diseases will be examined.