Dec 10, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Bulletin 
    
2021-2022 Graduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Medical Sciences, MS


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The Master  of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS) is a broad interdisciplinary degree program housed in the College of Medicine. Participating Departments and Centers include Behavioral Sciences; Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences; Toxicology and Cancer Biology; Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics; Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry; Neuroscience; and Physiology. The MSMS may be used as a stand-alone degree by students seeking career enhancement in fields such as basic biomedical research, the pharmaceutical industry, or the health science professions; by students seeking academic credentials in the biomedical sciences prior to applying for medical school or other health related professional degree programs; or by students seeking to enhance their knowledge base prior to choosing a career direction. The MSMS degree may also provide supplemental or joint training for practitioners in the health professions (e.g., physicians, dentists, pharmacists), or students in professional health science programs based on individual career goals and research training needs. Finally, the MSMS program provides students with the opportunity to opt out of a Ph.D. program and receive a master’s degree.

 

Admission Requirements

  • A baccalaureate degree from a fully accredited institution of higher learning.
  • A minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.9 and graduate GPA of 3.0.
  • An average GRE score on the verbal, quantitative and analytical sections greater than the 40th percentile.
  • The MSMS program also accepts MCAT or DAT scores in lieu of the GRE to serve as the entrance exam. In such cases, it is recommended that applicants have a minimum score of 497 on the MCAT, or an academic and science minimal average of 16 on the DAT.
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Personal Statement
  • For the best chances of gaining admission to the program, an applicant should have one year of general or inorganic chemistry, one year of organic chemistry (or one semester of organic chemistry and one semester of biochemistry) and at least one year of biology.

 

Degree Requirements  

Students entering the MS in Medical Sciences program can choose either a thesis option (Plan A), requiring 30 hours of graduate level coursework, including  six hours of research, or a non-thesis option (Plan B), also requiring 30 hours of graduate level coursework, including three hours of research. Plan A requires a defense of the master’s thesis while Plan B requires a final master’s exam. Most students enrolling in the MS in Medical Sciences as a stand-alone degree utilize the Plan B platform. 

The plan of study for the MSMS program consists of a ten (10) credit hour curriculum and a recommended course of study based on career tracks. The ten credit hour core curriculum consists of the following courses:

Recommended Elective Courses (representative list)

 

The Clinical and Translational Sciences (CTS) concentration is a pathway option for CTS students who are interested in earning their MS in Medical Sciences (MSMS) degree. Students accepted into the CTS program typically consist of fellows or residents who have completed a formal professional degree program (e.g., MD, DMD, PharmD) with a rigorous basic biomedical sciences training that is identical or closely approximates the two basic science core courses in the MSMS program. Therefore, it is proposed that the two MSMS basic science core courses, IBS 602  and IBS 606  be waived. However, any CTS applicant who has not completed equivalent coursework will be required to enroll in and pass IBS 602  and IBS 606 . In addition, all CTS students will be required to complete the two remaining MSMS core courses focusing on ethics in research (TOX 600 ), and a seminar class of their own choosing. CTS students who have completed a professional degree program (e.g., MD, DMD, PharmD) will not be required to submit any entrance exam scores (e.g., GRE, MCAT, DAT). Note: The CTS program is housed in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and it would be appropriate for CTS students to substitute BSC 534 and BSC 733 to meet the ethics and seminar course requirements in the MSMS program, respectively. CTS students will be required to complete BSC 731 , BSC 732  , and BSC 625  (or similar biostatistics course, such as STA 580 ). These requirements are aligned with the learning objectives of the CTS concentration. CTS students will then be required to complete the requisite number of hours and successfully pass a master’s final exam to complete their MSMS degree. Both Plan A (thesis) and Plan B are available; 30 credits is required for each.

 

Link to program website  https://graduate.med.uky.edu/master-science-medical-sciences

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