Accelerated B.A./Master's Degree Program: Biology
Overview
In the BA/MA program, Clark Biology/BCMB majors have an opportunity to transition seamlessly from the classroom to the research laboratory — from being an undergraduate to an experienced graduate with an MA degree. This experience serves equally well as a launchpad into the job world, to further graduate study in a Ph.D. program, or to medical/veterinary/dental school. The program begins in the undergraduate’s junior year, when the student identifies a professor whose research interests them (this can include professors at the UMass Medical Center). Although research towards the MA can begin as early as the freshman year, it normally starts in the summer after the junior year, or in the fall semester of the senior year. The research project continues throughout the senior year (while finishing up BA course requirements), the following summer and for a further fifth year. The goal is to generate publishable research and to be well prepared for a career in biology.
Entry into the program
During their junior year, students contact a faculty member whose research interests mesh with their own (descriptions of Clark and UMass Medical Center faculty are available on the web). With the consent of the faculty member, the student then applies to the program by completing their Part 1 application no later than April 1 of the junior year. If the student is accepted and enrolls in the program, they must complete Part 2 of the BA/MA application by Oct. 15 of their senior year. To ensure that the student can focus on research in the senior year, students should normally have completed the chemistry, mathematics, and physics requirements of the Biology or BCMB major by the end of the junior year. The program is open only to Clark Biology or BCMB majors.
Program of study
Courses: all courses required for the BA must be completed by the end of the senior year. At any stage of their BA degree, two 200- or 300-level courses that are in addition to those required by the major must be completed; these will often be fulfilled by directed research credits during the junior or senior year. During the fifth year the student is enrolled in eight 200- or 300-level courses, typically fulfilled by directed research, directed reading, and the graduate seminar. These courses must be completed with at least a B- grade.
Research: During the senior year, the summer following it, and the entire fifth year, the student will pursue a research project. Research must begin no later than the fall semester of the senior year. Students prepare a written thesis based on their original research, which must be defended during an oral presentation. The defense normally occurs during the late spring or early summer at the end of the fifth year.
Program advisor
David Hibbett, accelerated BA/MA advisor
(signature required on
Application: Part 1)
Lasry Biosciences Center, Room 332
508-793-7539
dhibbett@clarku.edu
Alumni Profiles
Kathryn Brown (MA 2007) is working in the lab of Prof. Deborah Robertson at Clark University
Laran Kaplan (MA 2006) is working in Chicago for a year before continuing her graduate studies
Samuel Licciardo (MA 2006) is attending medical school at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY
Kristina Richio (MA 2006) is a research associate at Toxikon Corporation
Kiley Maguire (MA 2005) is developing new transgenic crops as a research associate for the Monsanto Company in Boston
Alexis Messler (MA 2005) is working at the Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts Audubon Society
Katherine Shaw (MA 2005) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program at the University of Connecticut at Storrs
Sarah Deroko (MA 2004) is a research associate at University of Massachusetts Medical School
Arooj Hyat (MA 2004) is enrolled at the University of Vermont College of Medicine
Katie Kopycinski (MA 2004) is a research technician at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Julie Mazeika (MA 2004) is a research fellow in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Alex Nagle (MA 2004) is enrolled at Albany Medical College
Melissa-Ann Scotti (MA 2004) is a Ph.D. candidate in biology at the University of Indiana in Bloomington
Michael Gershenovich (MA 2003) is a research associate at Genzyme Corporation
Freya Hendrickson (MA 2003) is a research technician at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Ok Shin (MA 2003) is in the Ph.D. program in Immunology at Tufts University
Leah Fico (MA 2002) is a research associate at Cambria Bioscience in Boston, MA
Nicholas Guerin (MA 2002) teaches at Wachusett Regional High School
Ensar Halilovic (MA 2002) is in the Ph.D. program at Cornell Medical School, NYC
Alicia Mihaliak (MA 2002) is in the Ph.D. program at University of Massachusetts Medical School
Nora Mineva (MA 2002) is in the Ph.D. program at Boston University Medical School
Jennifer Saporita (MA 2002) is a research technician at University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, MA
Megan Staples (MA 2002) is a senior research associate at Abbott Bioresearch in Worcester
Tyler Higgins (MA 2001) is a program analyst at the National Science Foundation
Charlene Manning (MA 2000) is a research technician at Abbott Bioresearch Center in Worcester, MA
Kristin Millar (MA 1999) is teaching high school biology