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Medical Sciences

The Master of Science in Biology (Medical Sciences) program is designed to prepare students for a career in medical sciences research or for those students wishing to enter medical, dental, optometry, physician assistant and pharmacy schools. This degree can be completed in one calendar year.  Unlike many programs, most courses are offered both fall and spring, enabling the student to mix and match course load each semester, giving him/her great flexibility in designing the class sequence.

This degree is a unique opportunity for students to take courses taught at Medical School level as a way to prepare for Medical School. Typically, the first year Medical School curriculum will include: Human Gross Anatomy, Medical Physiology, Biochemistry, Histology, Human Neuroanatomy, Human Embryology. Pharmacology is usually taught during the second year of Medical School. 

Mississippi College offers the following courses that closely align with what is taught at Medical School. Human Gross Anatomy, Medical Physiology, Histology, Human Neuroanatomy, Human Embryology. In our Human Gross Anatomy and Human Neuroanatomy courses, we utilize human cadaver material and you will learn how to read basic X-rays, CAT Scans and MRI's. The Human Gross Anatomy course is a full body cadaver dissection class. We have a state of the art 5000 sq. ft. Human Cadaver lab. Two five hour Pharmacology courses are each summer, covering approximately what is covered in a typical Pharmacology course offered during the second year of Medical School.

Most students will take 13-14 semester hours fall and spring terms and complete the 33 hour requirement the following summer term. While most student complete the program in 12 months, students may extend the program beyond that time frame.

National Board Subject Exams (Shelf Exams)

While being a student in the Medical Science Master's degree you will have the opportunity to take the National Board of Medical Examiners subject exams commonly called "Shelf exams".

So, what is a "Shelf exam"?

At the end of each course in medical school, say for instance, Gross Anatomy, many medical schools will give their students a comprehensive national exam on Gross Anatomy. This would be the Shelf exam for Gross Anatomy. When the medical students are done with the Shelf exam, their exams are sent to the National Board of Medical Examiners in Philadelphia, PA where they are scored. The results are sent back to medical school who in turn gives each student his/her score. The scores are in percentile ranking so that the student knows how they did on that particular Shelf exam compared to all of the other medical students in the country who also took the exam.

The Medical Science Master's program offers shelf exams for Gross Anatomy, Cell Biology and Histology, Neuroscience, Physiology, Microbiology and Pharmacology. Some of our students do substantially better on the Shelf exams that the average medical student taking the same course in medical school. Our high score on the Gross Anatomy Shelf exam was 97 percentile, which means that student did better than 97 percent of medical students who took that exam. The shelf exams are optional. You can take any of the Shelf exams you wish or not at all. It's up to you. 

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Stan Baldwin, Dean of the School of Science and Mathematics. Feel free to call Dr. Baldwin at 601-925-3321. He will be happy to answer any questions that you may have about the program. 

For information on the application process, Graduate Catalog, and other information, please go to ourGraduate Admissions webpage. Deadline for fall 2013 applications is August 10, 2013. All transcripts and standardized scores must be submitted by those dates. Deadline for summer 2013 is May 20, 2013.   Admissions is rolling. Official transcripts, standardized test scores and application fee must be sent to the Graduate School, Box 4029, Mississippi College, Clinton, MS 39058.

If you have applied and want to check to see if your transcripts and or standardized test scores have arrived, then please call Ms. Debbie Depriest, in our Graduate school (601)-925-3261. She would be happy to check for you.

To apply, please fill out our online application on the Graduate School Webpage. Have the registrar at all of your undergraduate institutions send official transcripts to our Graduate School, and submit a GRE or MCAT or DAT score. We do not need letters of recommendation or personal statements.

You can begin the program summer, fall or spring term.

We are accepting students for summer and fall 2013 and we welcome out of state applicants and international students. 

Admission to the Program:

1. All general requirements for admission to the graduate school of Mississippi College must be met. The MCAT exam or DAT exam may be substituted for the GRE requirement. The following are the minimum scores for standardized exams: MCAT 20, DAT 15 and GRE-Old, 850 (Verbal plus Quantitative), GRE-New, 146 on Verbal and 146 on Quantitative. However, this program is highly competitive therefore it is recommended that you have scores above the minimum requirement. Your application will not be reviewed until standardized scores are received by the graduate school. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission into the program.

2. Sixteen hours of Biology, 16 hours of Chemistry and 8 hours of Physics are required to enter this program. (Exceptions to the 16 hours of Biology may be considered). Biochemistry courses will count towards the Biology requirement. Applicants must have a C or better in all of the following courses: 2 semesters of freshman Biology, 2 semesters of freshman Chemistry, 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry, 2 semesters of Physics.

Requirements of the Program

This degree is 33 semester hours of graduate work that can be completed in one calendar year. Students must take 3 of the 4 following courses: Bio 5403, Bio 5410, Bio 5412 and Bio 5425. Bio 6430 is required. The other hours must be chosen from the below listed courses:

*Required for graduation. 
**Bio 5412 and 5413 are prereqs for Bio 5404 and 5405

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