Independent Research Track Eligibility & Application

Eligible applicants must be current UC San Diego undergraduates, with a declared major in one of the undergraduate degree programs offered by the School of Biological Sciences or declared Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution majors in the Environmental Systems Program. Eligible applicants will be considered for admissions if they meet the following requirements:

• 3.0 Cumulative UC San Diego GPA
• 3.3 Upper Division Major GPA
• Effective for all applicants starting the MS Program in Winter 2026 or later: 3 eligible quarters of independent research as an undergraduate student via BISP 199 or BISP 196 with the proposed faculty advisor 

Applicants whose upper division major GPA is below 3.300 and/or overall GPA is between 2.500-3.000 may be considered for admission as an exception to policy if they have no more than two C grades (C+/C/C-) in upper-division major requirement courses.

Applicants whose upper division major GPA is below 3.300 and/or overall GPA is between 2.500-3.000 who do not meet the above criteria will not be considered for admission. Applicants with an overall GPA below 2.500 will not be considered. There are no exceptions.

All prospective students must submit a complete application and pay the application fee by the stated deadline. Application instructions and deadlines are detailed below.

Admission to the Contiguous BS/MS program is not guaranteed for any applicant. Admissions decisions are final.

The Education Research Specialization provides an opportunity for students who wish to pursue projects on discipline-based education research. This research is guided by the teaching professors in the School of Biological Sciences and encompasses topics such as: how students learn concepts in biology, what misconceptions impede their learning, how instructor's teaching methods influence students' learning. Students who will enroll in this specialization will receive a Master's degree in Biology with a Specialization in Biology Education Research.

The requirements for admissions to the Biology Education Specialization are similar to those in the general BS/MS program with two main exceptions:

1. Undergraduate research is measured through enrollment in BISP 193, rather than BISP 196/199.
2. The committee chair must be a teaching professor (look at the Faculty Advisor Eligibility drawer below) in Biological Sciences. The second committee member or co-chair may also be a teaching professor.

The GPA requirement for admissions to the Biology Education Specialization within the Biology BS/MS program matches the GPA requirement for the general BS/MS program (3.0 cumulative GPA and 3.3 upper division major GPA). Applicants below the GPA requirement for admissions must meet the exception criteria detailed under "Eligibility Requirements for the MS in Biology" to be considered for admissions.

Prospective BS/MS students are responsible for selecting an eligible faculty member to serve as their faculty advisor and in whose laboratory they will complete at least 24 units of research over 6 consecutive quarters. Students must confirm that the selected faculty advisor will maintain their faculty title at UC San Diego throughout their scheduled BS/MS program. Students looking for a lab are encouraged to review the Undergraduate Research webpage for advice on getting started in research at UC San Diego.

Students receive credit toward the BS/MS research requirement by completing BISP 199, BISP 196, or BISP 193 as an undergraduate student and BGGN 271 as graduate student. Prospective BS/MS students must enroll in BISP 199/196/193 with their faculty advisor in their final 3 undergraduate terms.

Undergraduate students may complete BISP 199 and BISP 193 for 2 or 4 units for the BS/MS program.

Please review the Research for Academic Credit webpage for additional information about BISP 199/196/193. Questions regarding BISP 199/196/193 may be addressed to the Biology Undergraduate Advising team through the VAC.

Students may apply 3 quarters of BISP 199/196/193 toward the BS/MS Program if:

• All quarters are consecutive
• All quarters are with the same faculty advisor
• The student is enrolled in BISP 199/196/193 in their final undergraduate term
• BISP 199/196/193 is not being used to satisfy a student's major, college, or General Education requirements

Note: BISP 199/196/193 units can count toward the the total units, and total upper division units, required for the BS degree.

Although the BS/MS program does not require students to enroll for the summer, 1 or 2 terms of BISP 199/193 can be completed during the summer prior to official BS graduation provided that the faculty advisor approves.

A student's faculty advisor serves as their primary research and thesis advisor throughout the BS/MS program.

Faculty advisor eligibility for students pursuing the MS in Biology

The faculty advisor must be involved with biological research at UC San Diego.

Students pursuing the BS/MS program through BISP 199 or BISP 196 must find a faculty advisor with one of the following titles:

• Professor Emeritus
• Distinguished Professor
• Professor
• Associate Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct (any rank)
• Research Scientist with Lecturer appointment

Interested students may confirm their faculty advisor's title through the Faculty Lookup Tool, accessed through the Graduate Student Portal under "Doctoral and Master's Committees". Note: Students must be connected to the UC San Diego network or VPN to access the Faculty Lookup Tool.

Faculty advisor eligibility for students pursuing the MS in Biology with a Specialization in Biology Education Research

Students interested in pursuing the Contiguous BS/MS Program with a Specialization in Biology Education Research must enroll in BISP 193 with a Biology faculty member holding the title of Teaching Professor. Biology faculty and their faculty title can be found in the Biology Faculty Directory.

Questions about faculty advisor eligibility may be directed to the BS/MS Coordinator through the Virtual Advising Center.

A complete application for the BS/MS program must include the following (review the detailed instructions for additional information):

• A Master's Thesis Research Plan
• Confirmation of an eligible second thesis committee member
• A Statement of Purpose
• A Letter of Recommendation from the student's thesis advisor
• Accurate and complete answers to all required sections of the graduate studies application

Prospective BS/MS students must review and follow the detailed application instructions when submitting the graduate studies application. Applications must be submitted by the stated deadline of the student's final undergraduate term. Application deadlines for the upcoming Academic Year can be found in the "Application Deadlines" section of this webpage.

Review detailed application instructions

Program requirements for the MS Degree are described in the General Catalog and on the current MS student webpages.