Preparation for the program

All students in the program will be expected to have a lower-division level background in biology. Potential candidates with a Bachelor's Degree other than biology are strongly advised to take a 200-level general biology sequence before entering the program. Community colleges typically offer these courses during the academic year as well as the summer.

Curriculum

Timeframe	Courses	MS	MA
Summer 1	Cell Biology & Biochemistry Ecology & Evolution	3 3	3 3
Fall 1	Science Ed. Seminar (primarily online)	3	3
Spring 1	Research Design (primarily online) Pilot Study	3 1	3 1
Summer 2	Physiology & Development Genetics & Molecular Biology	3 3	3 3
Fall 2	History and Philosphy of Science Thesis	3 1	3
Spring 2	Thesis (or complete the thesis in Summer 3)	5
Electives	PLNU seminars/workshops, internships, approved graduate education courses, approved upper division/graduate biology courses	6	12
2 or 3 Summers & 2 Academic Yrs.		34 units total

Criteria for accepting transfer elective units:

• Official transcripts must be received for each non-PLNU course taken.
• Courses must have been taken within 7 years of the request for elective credit.
• Courses must be relevant upper division (post baccalaureate biology courses) or graduate level education or biology courses offered by an accredited college or university.
• Courses may not be counted toward completion of another degree.
• Credit will not be offered retroactively for classes or research work that did not originally receive upper division or graduate level credit from an accredited institution.

Course Descriptions

BIO 601 Graduate Internship in Biology

This course is an elective option that will allow students to gain research/lab experience through internships at a variety of local businesses/organizations. The course may be repeated for up to 6 units.

Bio 611 Science Education Seminar (3)

This course involves discussion and integration of theories of learning with seminal papers in the areas of physics, chemistry and biology education. This course is predominantly online with monthly meetings on campus. 

Bio 633 History/Philosophy of Science (3 units)

This course involves discussion of seminal works in the history and philosophy of science as a way of thinking. From this perspective, the current interest in the nature of science as an integral part of science courses will be explored. This course is predominantly online with monthly meetings on campus.

Bio 643 Research Design in Science Education (3 units)

This course promotes understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research design in science education, with a focus on current trends in the field.  This course is predominantly online with monthly meetings on campus.

Bio 663 Cell Biology and Biochemistry (3 units)

Bio 664 Ecology and Evolution (3 units)

Bio 673 Physiology and Development (3 units)

Bio 674 Genetics and Molecular Biology (3 units)

These courses are taught in the summer using a combination of lecture and inquiry-based lab activities. Fundamental concepts in each of the four areas are addressed from the perspective of teaching for conceptual understanding. Particular emphasis is placed on content within each module that has been identified by the science education research community as being particularly difficult for students to understand clearly. These courses encourage the development of pedagogical content knowledge by focusing on the discussion and analysis of biology education research papers chosen based on their relation to the teaching and learning of specific content in the each of the four modules.

Bio 682 Research proposal and pilot study (1 unit)

Students identify a research problem in biology education, then prepare a brief literature review and research design, followed by carrying out a pilot study with abbreviated analysis.

 

Bio 683 Thesis  (1-6  units)

Students write a thorough literature review and bibliography related to their chosen biology education problem, then design and conduct the research to address the problem.   Students analyze the results of their original research, draw conclusions, and propose implications of their findings. This process culminates with the completion of the student’s written thesis, as well as a public presentation of the research.