Biology (M.S.)

ESU’s Biology Graduate Program offers students a broad selection of graduate courses, personalized mentorship, and graduate assistant and internship opportunities that enhance successful degree completion.

ESU’s Biology Graduate Program leads to a Master of Science degree in Biology and can be completed under three options: thesis, research problem, and non-research.

ESU’s thirteen Biology faculty members bring expertise in a wide range of biological specialties, offer a broad selection of graduate courses, and provide personal mentoring of graduate students.

Our campus has many specialized research facilities including an applied biotechnology lab, cell culture room, freshwater aquatics lab, natural history museum, and a new aquaculture facility.

We also have close connections to off-campus facilities where graduate students can conduct research, including the Chincoteague Bay Field Station in Virginia and the Camaquiri Conservation Initiative in Costa Rica.

Why ESU?

• Students can earn a Master's degree in Biology under three options: thesis, research problem, and non-research.
• We offer a wide variety of graduate courses in ecology and organismal biology, freshwater and marine biology, molecular biology, microbiology, and biotechnology.
• Our location in the Poconos provides easy access to numerous natural areas for field research in ecology and conservation, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge are both just a few miles from campus.
• The Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute, an affiliate of ESU, provides graduate students with an opportunity to combine field and laboratory research and offers graduate internship opportunities.
• We have a longstanding relationship with Sanofi-Pasteur, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, and many ESU graduate students serve as interns and work as permanent employees

What You'll Learn

• ESU’s M.S. in Biology provides students with comprehensive foundational knowledge in an area of specialty, advanced training in experimental design and statistical analysis, and development of essential communication skills.
• Research opportunities are available in many areas of the biological sciences, including organismal biology, conservation, freshwater and marine biology, molecular biology, microbiology, and biotechnology. In organismal biology, we offer specializations in entomology, herpetology, and mammalogy.
• ESU’s Geography Department offers numerous graduate-level courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) so our graduate students can develop the GIS skills that are essential for many careers in conservation and ecology.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of ESU’s Biology M.S. program build successful careers in a variety of disciplines and industries related to conservation, ecology, aquatic biology, wildlife biology, botany, microbiology, and biotechnology. Many of our graduates go on to earn doctoral degrees.

Our alumni earn positions as:

Internships and Research Opportunities

Internship and research opportunities for ESU Biology graduate students include

Assistantship Opportunities

A limited number of Graduate Assistantships and Graduate Worker positions are available within the Department of Biological Sciences. Biology graduate students can also apply for advertised assistantships and positions from other ESU departments and offices. The application for a Graduate Assistantship or a Graduate Worker position is separate from the graduate admission application.

Many faculty advisers also provide Graduate Assistantships to support graduate students who are working on grant-funded research. Please see individual faculty members for information on these assistantships.

Specialized Facilities

ESU's Department of Biological Sciences has many specialized research facilities and equipment available to graduate students, including:

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