• John R. Hawse, IV, Ph.D., Program Director
• Matthew J. Schellenberg, Ph.D., Associate Program Director

Professional Master’s Degree

The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) Track offers a customizable course load and training environment for Professional Master’s study that can be designed to emphasize one of three areas of broad specialty: Biochemistry and Structural Biology (BSB), Cell Biology and Genetics (CBG) or Cancer Biology (CB). The requirements for the Professional Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology conform to the general requirements of the MCGSBS.  

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Specialties:

• Biochemistry and Structural Biology
• Cell Biology and Genetics
• Cancer Biology 

Application

Candidates must complete an Professional Master’s Degree Application form. This form is available on the MCGSBS Master’s Programs intranet site. Supporting documents include a program fee agreement form, transcripts from previous colleges and two letters of recommendation - one preferred from your direct supervisor/manager.  

Eligibility

Enrollment is restricted to current Mayo employees/appointees and is available at all three sites: Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota, as well as the Mayo Clinic Health System. Visiting clinicians, research trainees, and research collaborators are not eligible.  

Applicants must have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, must have taken appropriate undergraduate science courses to adequately prepare for the Master’s program, must have a minimum undergraduate grade point average that demonstrates a record of academic excellence. 

Time Requirement

Time to completion can vary by student (three to five years), but all requirements for the Master’s degree must be completed within five years. The five-year period begins on the start date of the term the student is appointed to. If the student's Mayo employment ends prior to completion of the program, the MCGSBS appointment will also end.

Registration Requirement 

At least 75% of the coursework for the Master’s degree must be completed in MCGSBS.

Minimum Credit Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 45 credits, including MGS 6000 Responsible Conduct of Research. Didactic credits may vary by track - refer to specific program requirements for details. 

Transfer Credits

A total of 9 didactic credits may be transferred into the Professional Master’s Program.  For more details, see the Credit Conversion, Transfer, Waiver and Substitution Policy on the MCGSBS intranet site.  

Course Requirements

A total of 45 credits with maintenance of at least a 3.0 GPA are required for graduation.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MGS Courses
MGS 6000	Responsible Conduct of Research	1
BMB 5100	Chemical Principles of Biopolymer Systems (Advanced Chemical Principles of Biological Syst)	2
BMB 5150	Molecular Cell Biology (Advanced Molecular Cell Biology)	2
MGS 6400	Master's Scholarly Review Article (Final Project)	6
Journal Clubs
BMB 6500	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal Club (1 cr./yr) 1	1
Advanced Coursework
Any course approved for graduate credit regardless of the “track” it is offered by.		33
Total Hours		45

¹

Two credits maximum. Students must attend all years after completing the written qualifying exam and present at least once. The second journal club credit may be obtained by taking and participating in any other JC offered by the graduate school should a different JC be more aligned with the student’s area of interest.

Program milestones are included in the Academic Progress and Graduation Requirements for Masters Programs Policy. See below for BMB-specific program highlights and instruction.

Written Qualifying Exam

The Master’s candidate must pass the BMB Written Qualifying Exam to complete the degree requirements. Students take the written qualifying exam once they have completed the core courses and have considered whether to take the other courses featured in the exam (see below). The exam is a one-day exam held at the beginning of July and consists of demonstrating critical evaluation and understanding of two published primary research papers relevant to the broad field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as covered in the core courses BMB 5100 and BMB 5150. Three sets of papers reflecting the three areas of emphasis of the track: BSB, CBG and CB, will be made available to the students three days before the exam. On the day of the exam, students are required to answer a series of specific questions associated with any two of the six papers. The questions will cover foundation of knowledge in addition to synthesis of concepts. The exam is prepared and graded by the faculty and an overall grade of 70% is required for successful completion of the exam.

Professional Master’s Advisory Committee

Each student must have an advisory committee consisting of four members of the graduate faculty. This committee will be responsible for evaluating the scope and content of the Master’s scholarly review article (final project). Selection of members of this committee should be discussed with the mentor and the program director and arranged prior to beginning the Master’s scholarly review article (final project). The committee will be chaired by the mentor and meet with the student before starting the Master’s scholarly review article (final project) and composition will be subject to the rules and regulations of the graduate school.

Master's Project Review 

As a part of the BMB Employee Master’s, the candidate must write a critical literature review of a selected topic in biochemistry and molecular biology and associated with your area of emphasis: Biochemistry and Structural Biology; Cell Biology and Genetics or Cancer Biology. The topic for review should be selected by the candidate in consultation with a faculty member who will act as an advisor for the scholarly review article (final project). The review article (final project) should be written and formatted as a standard review article published in a relevant scientific journal of your choosing. This review article is required to be submitted for publication to the selected journal, however final acceptance of the review is not required, but is encouraged, for successful completion of the Master’s degree.

The review article should be appropriately referenced and include illustrations/figures/tables as necessary. This document must be written in close consultation with the advisor and must be submitted to the Employee Master’s Advisory Committee for review and approval.

Scholarly Review Article (Final Project)

A defense meeting consisting of 4 committee members and the student must be scheduled within 30 days of completing the review article. During this meeting, the committee will provide final feedback and overall assessment of the student’s performance. Any final suggested edits to the document will be made.  Three of four committee members must vote to pass the student and a form signed by all committee members must be submitted to MCGSBS immediately upon completion of the defense. Following successful completion of these requirements, the review article must be submitted to the scientific journal of choice.

Final Project Corrections

Significant deficits in the scholarly review article will require the student to revise and resubmit the document to the committee within 30 days of the presentation date. Following successful completion of these requirements, the review article must be submitted to the scientific journal of choice.

This is a suggested sequence based on a summer term start. Individual course plans may vary depending on true start date, program, employment/personal commitments, and research interests. Be sure to confirm you have met your requirements using your degree planning tool. Course offerings may vary slightly. Current course offerings are posted in the course catalog.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
First Year - Summer Term
MGS 6000	Responsible Conduct of Research	1

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
First Year - Fall Term
BMB 5100	Chemical Principles of Biopolymer Systems	2
MGS 5031	Fundamental Principles in Genome Dynamics, Biochemistry, and Cellular Biology	3

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
First Year - Winter Term
BMB 5150	Molecular Cell Biology	2

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
First Year - Spring Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Second Year - Summer Term
BMB 6500	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal Club	1

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Second Year - Fall Term
BMB 6500	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal Club	1

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Second Year - Winter Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Second Year - Spring Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Third Year - Summer Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Third Year - Fall Term
BMB 6500	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal Club	1

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Third Year - Winter Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Third Year - Spring Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fourth Year - Summer Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fourth Year - Fall Term
BMB 6500	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal Club	1

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fourth Year - Winter Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fourth Year - Spring Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fifth Year - Summer Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fifth Year - Fall Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fifth Year - Winter Term

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Fifth Year - Spring Term