Chemical Biology, M.Sc.

Offerings

Note that the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences and other affiliated departments offer 12-week courses that are equivalent to one half of a full graduate course while the Department of Chemistry offers 6-week modules that are equivalent to one-quarter of a full graduate course. In addition to Chemical Biology courses (equivalent to one-half of a full graduate course), a mixture of courses from participating departments is encouraged.

Requirements

A candidate for the M.Sc. degree is required to spend at least one calendar year in full-time study at McMaster University. The candidate is required to complete satisfactorily not fewer than one full graduate course which must be at the 700-level. All M.Sc. students must take CHBY *700 as a core course, and must also enroll in the CHBY *701 colloquium course, which must be completed within 20 months of registration. In addition to CHBY courses, other courses and/or modules may be selected from any of the participating departments. Other courses will be defined in consultation with the student’s research supervisor, supervisory committee, and/or the Program Director. The minimum passing grade for any module or course is B-.

Thesis Requirement

The candidate must also present a thesis which will embody the results of original research. The thesis must be defended in an oral examination. The candidate will be required to participate in the departmental seminar program.

Transfer to Ph.D. from the M.Sc. Program

Students who have satisfactorily completed the course requirements for the M.Sc. degree and have made satisfactory progress in their research may apply to the Program Director for transfer to Ph.D. studies, without first satisfying the M.Sc. thesis requirement. This is normally done by submission of a report detailing the student’s research progress, projected research goals and successful completion of an oral examination.

Chemical Biology Program Colloquia and Seminars

All graduate students are expected to attend all program colloquia and seminars. M.Sc. students must register in one of the Chemical Biology Graduate Colloquium courses: CHBY *701 or CHBY *702. CHBY *701 is a non-credit course requiring students to present a seminar without an associated review, while CHBY *702 is a credit course (one half of a full course credit) involving both a seminar and an associated review.

Students enrolled in CHBY *701 will be given a PASS or FAIL grade for their colloquia. In cases involving a FAIL grade, students must repeat the colloquia, and in some cases extra work may be assigned to cover areas of weakness. CHBY *702 will be graded using the standard lettergrade format.

Students entering the Ph.D. program with an external M.Sc. degree must present one seminar during their second year of study (CHBY *701) and a second seminar at the time of the thesis defence. Ph.D. students who transfer from the M.Sc. program are required to take a total of two seminar courses (one prior to transfer and one at the time of their defence), but may take CHBY *702 only once.