Graduate Program in Environmental Toxicology

GUIDELINES for the DEGREE of
MASTER OF SCIENCE

1. You have been admitted as a provisional candidate for the Master's Degree upon recommendation of the Program Admissions Committee.
   
2. In the first year of the program, the Program Director will usually be the academic adviser for all students, although you may request a different advisor at any time in a letter to the Degrees Committee initialed by yourself and your current advisor. This should be done after discussion with the Program Director, and after you have obtained the agreement of the new advisor who will be your thesis advisor.
   
3. The courses you will take in the first year of the program are listed in SUGGESTED FIRST YEAR ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY M.S. CURRICULUM. Of these courses Cell Biology (1-2 quarters), Physiology (variable), Fundamentals of Environmental Toxicology (3 quarters), and Biostatistics (1 quarter), as well as two seminar series, are required. In each quarter of the first year of the program you are required to accumulate a total of 15 credit hours. The number of additional hours beyond those for the required courses can be accumulated from other courses offered by this department, the College of Medicine or the University as a whole. The courses you choose should extend your educational horizon beyond any areas of interest you may currently have, and may include laboratory research or some other activity coming under the category of Special Topics.

   The first two quarters of the second year you will spend in an internship in a federal, industrial, or private research or testing facility. Your experience in this internship will provide the basis for a thesis which you will begin in the third quarter and be expected to complete by the end of the second academic year.

4. After the first quarter of study, your grades will be reviewed, and if your progress is satisfactory (an overall B is normally required) you will be admitted as a full candidate for the Master's Degree, and will receive written notification from the Program Director. If your progress has not been satisfactory you will remain a provisional candidate until your work has improved.
   
5. At the time that plans are being made for your internship you should arrange for the formation of a Thesis Advisory Committee. The committee must consist of at least tow members, both of whom must be full-time faculty members, and one of whom must be a member of the University-wide Graduate Faculty. The Thesis Advisor will act as chairman of the committee, which will be the final judge of the quality and acceptability of the thesis. Your thesis will be considered acceptable if the vote of the committee is unanimous, if the committee has two members, or if there is only negative vote, if the committee has more than two.

6. To be eligible for the M.S. degree you must have a minimum of 60 graduate credit hours, of which 40 must be in didactic course work. You are not permitted to graduate if an I or N grades remain on your record. You must also be a full candidate for at least one quarter before you can be awarded the degree, and must complete all requirements within 7 years or having been admitted as a full candidate.
   
7. All individuals who do not have English as a first language must, by the end of their first academic quarter, take the English proficiency examination administered by the University. In case of failure, the student may take the examination again, repeatedly if necessary, but in any case will not be awarded a degree until the examination is passed.
   
8. At least 10 days before commencement, the Graduate Office must have received two copies of the completed thesis. You can obtain the exact deadlines from the Graduate School. Completion of the requirements by the specified date is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, and failure to do so will result in postponement of your degree.
   
9. If you are still a full candidate for the degree after the usual two-year period, you must register for at least one credit hour during the autumn quarter of each period until you graduate.

SUGGESTED FIRST-YEAR ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY M.S. CURRICULUM

*General and Mammalian Physiology, 26-968-841 and 26-968-842, 7 hours in each of the Winter and Spring Quarters may be substituted.

**Risk Assessment may be taken in the second year.

***Cell Biology I and II, 26-950-872-001 and 26-950-872-002, 4 hours in the Fall and 5 hours in the Winter Quarters, may be substituted.