The M.S. in Biology with Graduate Certificate in Biomedical Sciences is a one-calendar-year, non-thesis master’s degree program. The master’s degree is awarded after students have successfully completed 30 credit hours, including 18 credit hours applied toward the Certificate in Biomedical Sciences.

Course Requirements

Certificate Courses (18 Credit Hours)

• Core Courses:
  • BIOL 6351 Integrative Anatomy and Physiology (3 credit hours)
  • BIOL 6352 Molecular Mechanisms of Disease (3 credit hours)
  • BIOL 6355 Introduction to Health Systems (3 credit hours)
  • BIOL 6356 Medical Ethics (3 credit hours)
• Practicum: BIOL 6350 Biomedical Science Practicum (2 semesters of 3 credit hours)

Elective Courses to Complete the M.S. (12 Credit Hours)

Four (4) courses to be chosen from a list provided at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters. Typical course offering over the two semesters is as follows (additional courses not listed here may be offered):

• BCHS 6361: Clinical Biochemistry
• BIOL 6315: Neuroscience
• BIOL 6320: Molecular Biology
• BIOL 6323: Immunology
• BIOL 6324: Bioinformatics for Biologists
• BIOL 6330: Molecular Basis of Infectious Diseases
• BIOL 6333: Advanced Microbial Physiology
• BIOL 6354: Endocrinology
• BIOL 6374: Cell Biology
• BIOL 6384: Developmental Biology

Typical Study Sequence

• Summer (6 credit hours)
  • Introduction to Health Systems
  • Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
• Fall (12 credit hours):
  • Integrative Anatomy and Physiology
  • 3 hours of practicum
  • 2 elective courses OR 1 elective course and Medical Ethics
• Spring (12 credit hours):
  • 3 hours of practicum
  • 3 elective courses OR 2 elective courses and Medical Ethics

Practicum

The practicum is carried out across two academic terms for a total of 6 credit hours (3 credit hours in each of 2 semesters). Students will have the choice of selecting either 6 credit hours of community health internship, 6 credit hours of research internship, or 3 credit hours of each. The grade for the practicum course will be based on an evaluation by the practicum supervisor, written and/or oral presentation by the student, and participation in discussion.

Practicum Opportunities for Fall 2021

A) Research Internships under Supervision of a Faculty Member:

• Dan Graur Evolutionary Biology (Computational Skills Required)
• Chin-Yo Lin Nuclear Receptors in Cancer Drug Discovery
• Frank McKeon Stem Cell and Developmental Biology
• Richard Meisel Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics
• Chandra Mohan Autoimmune Diseases
• Weiyi Peng Cancer Immunotherapy
• Mehmet Sen Ligand-Receptor Interactions in Diseases
• Yuhong Wang Biophysics and Molecular Dynamics
• William Widger Bacterial Physiology and Organelle Biology
• Richard Willson Medical Diagnostics

B) Community Health Internships and Other Opportunities:

• Legacy Community Health
  • Health Advocate Student Intern (HASI) Program, under the supervision of Felicia Latson, Director, Programs, Social Determinants of Health, Behavioral Health. For more information, contact Felicia Latson, flatson@legacycommunityhealth.org. For Spring 2022 deadlines, click here.
• The Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition, Counseling & Exercise (BOUNCE) Program at UH under the supervision of Norma Olvera, Professor, Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences.
• Community Health Worker initiative at UH under the supervision of Dan Price (dprice2@uh.edu), Clinical Associate Professor, Honor’s College.
• Lola Adepoju (oadepoju@uh.edu), Clinical Associate Professor, UH Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. Dr. Adepoju is a health services researcher focused on uncovering patterns that promote individual and population health outcomes to alleviate cost, quality, and access to care issues in vulnerable populations. Her work studies disparities in healthcare utilization and outcomes and how delivery system reform efforts reduce the adverse impact of these determinants.
• The Center for Clinical Arts, Skills, and Experiential Learning (CCASEL) at UH Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, under the supervision of Andrew Roblyer (aroblyer@uh.edu), Director of Clinical Simulation. CCASEL facilitates the implementation and integration of simulation and clinical skills training through experiential learning within the Fertitta Family College of Medicine.
• Brian Dzwonek (bdzwonek@uh.edu), Director of Curriculum Development & Support, UH Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. Internship projects are in the areas of faculty development, curricular management and instructional design at the Fertitta Family College of Medicine, Office of Medical Education.