The?thesis?option offers a basic science approach to the study of any one or combination of the following concentrations:?cellular and molecular biology?(CE),?computational biology?(CO),?environmental biology?(EN), and?field and organismal biology?(FI). Graduation requires the maintenance of the academic standards set by the Office of Graduate Studies; successful completion of required core and recommended elective courses, and thesis hours; and approval of a manuscript and oral defense of the thesis research by a thesis director and committee consisting of graduate faculty members in the School of Mathematics and Sciences.

The?non-thesis?option, the?health sciences?(HS) concentration, is available to students preparing for a profession in the health sciences: medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or biomedical sciences. Graduation depends on the maintenance of the academic standards set by the Office of Graduate Studies; successful completion of required core courses, required concentration courses, and elective concentration courses; and a score of 80% on the exit exam. The exit exam may contain 50 - 100 questions with 5 - 20 questions from core and required concentration courses (i.e.?BCHM 722, BIOS 670, MATH 710, BCHM 610, BCHM 612, and BIOS 686) and 10 passage-based questions.