Specialization in Biology Education Research for Current Undergraduates

The Specialization in Biology Education Research 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 successfully complete this program will receive a Master's degree in Biology with a Specialization in Biology Education Research.

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
• 3 eligible terms of independent research as an undergraduate student via BISP 193 with a teaching professor in the School of Biological Sciences.

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.

Prospective students are responsible for selecting an eligible faculty member to serve as their faculty advisor and with whom they will complete at least 24 units of research over 6 consecutive terms. Students must confirm that the selected faculty advisor will maintain their faculty title at UC San Diego throughout their scheduled BS/MS program. 

Students receive research credit toward the Specialization in Biology Education Research requirements by completing BISP 193 as an undergraduate student and BGGN 271 as graduate student. Prospective BS/MS students must enroll in BISP 193 with their faculty advisor in their final 3 terms of undergraduate enrollment.

Undergraduate students may complete 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 193. Questions regarding BISP 193 may be addressed to the Biology Undergraduate Advising team through the VAC.

Prospective BS/MS students interested in the Specialization in Biology Education Research must complete 3 consecutive terms of BISP 193 that meet the following requirements:

• All 3 terms are completed consecutively with no break in enrollment
• All 3 terms are completed with the same faculty advisor
• All terms are completed in a student's final 3 terms of undergraduate enrollment
• No required BISP 193 term is used to satisfy a student's major, college, or General Education requirements

BISP 193 units can apply toward 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 193 can be completed during the summer prior to official BS graduation.

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

The faculty advisor must be a Biology faculty member holding one of the following titles:

• Distinguished Teaching Professor
• Teaching Professor Emeritus
• Teaching Professor
• Associate Teaching Professor
• Assistant 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.