Master of Science - Microbiology

Program Description

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology (M&I) conducts one of the premier infectious disease research programs in the Northwest, as demonstrated by the success of our faculty in competing nationally for extramural grant funding and publishing high-impact papers. Research funding comes from a range of sources such as the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Agriculture, National Science Foundation and the Montana Agricultural Experimental Station among others. Over the past five years, M&I averaged over $6 million for annual research expenditures. M&I is also home to an NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Zoonotic and Emerging Infectious Diseases, which provides substantial core facilities and training opportunities for junior investigators. M&I is housed in a state-of-the-art facility with core laboratories for flow cytometry, cell biology, and molecular sciences, as well as pathogen containment facilities for small (BSL-3) and large animal research (ABSL-2). Instrumentation suites house equipment for DNA sequencing, genomic analysis, flow cytometry and cell sorting, and confocal microscopy.

Microbiology is one of the most relevant, dynamic and exciting disciplines in the biological sciences. In the Department of Microbiology at Montana State University, our main goal is to prepare students for leadership roles as microbiologists in industry, government agencies, health-related fields, environmental health, university teaching and research.