Master of Science - Biology - Biology and Society - Bioenergy

Program Description

As a master's degree student in this concentration, you'll choose courses and research aligned with your interests as you explore how life sciences are shaped and influenced by society. Choose from several study tracks, from bioethics and policy to the history of science and environmental studies.

In the biology and society concentration of the MS program in biology, students examine topics where biology intersects with society. The concentration program tailors individual plans of study to individual needs and interests, with a solid grounding in life and related sciences and with a rigorous analytical and interdisciplinary education. Three tracks offer suggested courses for those wishing to focus on these areas: bioethics, policy and law; ecology, economics and ethics of the environment; and history and philosophy of science

The bioethics, policy and law track trains students in the pressing moral, policy and legal issues raised by the biosciences and biomedicine, and in the disciplinary methods necessary to address these issues. Ecology, economics and ethics of the environment trains students in the theory and empirical methods for understanding, analyzing and shaping policy for coupled human-natural systems. The history and philosophy of science track trains students in the conceptual foundations of science, especially the epistemological and methodological assumptions that shape science and its progress.