Program Requirements
Masters in Applied Natural Sciences
The Master of Science in Applied Natural Science Program requires 30 or 32 semester credit hours of approved graduate course work in the thesis or non-thesis options, respectively. The program currently offers three emphasis areas:  biological sciences, chemical sciences, and biochemical sciences.

The course of study usually requires two (2) academic years of work for most students. Each student must select one of three emphasis areas (biology, chemistry, or biochemistry) with an emphasis core of eight (8)to twelve (12) semester credit hours depending on the emphasis area. Six (6) to fourteen (14) credit hours of elective courses are also required, depending on the emphasis and option (thesis or non-thesis). The thesis option requires successful completion of six (6) credits of research and an approved thesis; the non-thesis option requires successful completion of four (4) credits of internship, an approved internship report, and a comprehensive exam.

Several courses with ANS (Applied Natural Science) prefix and MATH 550 are required general courses for all students in the program. Students are strongly advised to take ANS 510 (Science Information Systems) in the fall semester of their first year in the program. The degree plan for each student must be approved by a college graduate committee, the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, the department chair, and the MSANS program director. This must be done by the end of the first semester or by the completion of nine hours.

Thesis option students are required to defend their research results before a thesis defense committee. Non-thesis option students must defend their internship work in a seminar, and pass a comprehensive examination over courses taken in their program of study as determined by the graduate committee and must submit written evidence (an internship report) of their ability to understand and critique scientific literature and to prepare a scientific report which includes the following sections: title, abstract, introduction, review of literature, methods and materials, results, discussion, conclusion, literature cited and acknowledgments. Contact the MSANS Director for the current approved format.

Program requirements are summarized as follows:

Courses	Thesis option	Non-thesis option
Core Courses ANS 510 ANS 520 ANS 588 or 589 ANS 593 MATH 550	7	7
Emphasis area core Biological Chemical Biochemical	7-11	7-11
Thesis Research	6	--
Graduate Internship	--	4
Approved Electives	6-10	10-14
TOTAL	30 (min)	32 (min)

Specific course numbers, and credit hours for all core requirements, emphasis core requirements, and electives are cited as follows:

Required Core Courses (7 credits)
ANS  510 Scientific Information Systems	1 credit
ANS 520 Health and Safety in the Lab	1 credit
ANS 588 or 589 Internship Presentation or Thesis Defense	1 credit
ANS 593 Seminar	1 credit
MATH 550 Statistical Methods	3 credits
Required Core Courses for Each Emphasis Area
Biological Sciences Emphasis Core (7 credits)
BIOL 540/540L (Molecular Genetics)		3 credits
BIOL 552/552L (Advanced Microscopy)		4 credits
Chemical Sciences Emphasis Core (9 credits)
CHEM 501 (Advanced Organic Chemistry)		3 credits
CHEM 511 (Advanced Biochemistry)		3 credits
CHEM 521 (Advanced Inorganic Chemistry)		3 credits
Plus one of the following:
CHEM 529 (Advanced Analytical Chemistry)		2 credits
CHEM        (Advanced Physical Chemistry)
Biochemical Sciences Emphasis Core (12 credits)
BIOL 540/540L (Molecular Genetics)		3 credits
CHEM 511(Biochemistry I)		3 credits
CHEM 512/512L(Biochemistry II/Lab)		5 credits

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