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Minimum Admission Requirements & Pre-Requisites (M.S. & Ph.D. Program)

Minimum Admission Requirements

An applicant must satisfy the minimum admission requirements of the Graduate College and International Admissions Office (for international students). In addition, an applicant must hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree in an appropriate scientific discipline with a minimum GPA of 3.00, and ideally should have undergraduate course work that includes cell biology, biochemistry, calculus and general physics. GRE test scores (general or subject) are optional for submission with your application. A Program Administrator (such as the Program Director or Administrator) can provide more detailed guidance to interested students on academic preparation. Admission is competitive and achievement of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the program.

Examples of Undergraduate Degrees:

  • Biochemistry; Biology; Biophysics; Cell Biology; Chemical Physics; Chemistry; Computer Science; Engineering; Genetics; Materials Science; Mathematics; Microbiology; Physics.

Undergraduate Core Competencies & Pre-Requisites

Applicants who have not taken the undergraduate courses described below may still be admitted into the program. These students, however, will be required to take core competency exams for missing undergraduate coursework. If competency is not demonstrated on the exam(s), undergraduate coursework in the deficient area(s) will be required while in the program. Competency exams will be given the week prior to the start of the first semester. Alternatively, students may opt to complete the missing coursework in lieu of competency testing.

  • Calculus 1 (equivalent to MATH 170)
  • Two semesters of General Physics (equivalent to PHYS 111/112) OR Physics with Calculus (equivalent to PHYS 211/212)
  • Two semesters of General Chemistry (equivalent to CHEM 111/112)
  • General Biology (equivalent to BIOL 191)

And 2 out of 3 of the following upper division courses:

  • Cell Biology (equivalent to BIOL 320)
  • Biochemistry (equivalent to CHEM 350 or CHEM 431)
  • Introductory Biophysics (equivalent to PHYS 307)

*The courses mentioned above are based upon the most recent Boise State Undergraduate Catalog, which include course descriptions. If you received your Bachelor’s and/or Master’s at another institution, please take a look at the Boise State Undergraduate Catalog to see how your courses match up. If you would like to see the degree requirements and admission standards in a different format, please take a look at the most recent Boise State Graduate Catalog and search “Biomolecular Sciences”.

 

**Admission is competitive and achievement of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the program. All official course descriptions/degree requirements/admission standards/program learning outcomes/etc. are published on the Graduate Catalog site https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege/.