Masters Degree (M.S. or M.BMA.) Requirements
The NCSU Graduate School requires at least 30 credit hours for a Master’s degree, including at least 20 credit hours at the 500 or above level. Other Graduate School requirements are described in the NCSU Graduate Catalog.
The M.S. is a more research-oriented degree and the M.BMA. is a more coursework-oriented degree.
The requirements for the Master’s degrees in BMA (M.S. or M.BMA.) are
- Biological Sciences: Two graduate courses,
- Statistics: Either the two-course sequence ST 511 and ST 512 or the single course ST 512R,
- Mathematical Sciences: Two graduate courses,
- Biomathematics: Three courses: BMA 567, BMA 771 and BMA 772. Students with prior experience in modeling may substitute BMA 773 or 774 for BMA 567.
- BMA 801 (biomath graduate seminar) for credit for at least two semesters. Attendance is required in each semester.
- The M.S. requires a written thesis.
- The M.BMA. requires two additional courses and a project (typically based on a term project from one of the required BMA courses).
The M.S. is a more common option for students who intend to finish graduate studies with a Masters degree. The M.BMA. is designed to be able to be taken en route to a Ph.D. and this is a common option amongst our Ph.D. students. In any case, students who are planning to continue toward a Ph.D. degree after a Masters degree are encouraged to select courses which fulfill Ph.D. course requirements.
Any questions regarding these requirements should be discussed with the Director of the Biomath program as soon as possible.