Biology at Boston University is a highly integrative department, with faculty teaching and conducting research in the broad range of fields that comprise the contemporary life sciences. The department spans the full spectrum of biological sciences, ranging from cell and molecular biology to ecology and conservation biology, giving us unusual strength in integrative research that addresses questions across multiple levels of biological complexity.

The Department of Biology offers three tracks that lead to the MS: a coursework track, a scholarly paper track, and a research thesis track. The coursework track can be completed in one year and the scholarly paper track can be completed in a year and a summer. The research thesis track typically requires two years to complete. In all three tracks, students are assigned faculty advisors in their subfield of interest during the first semester in the program.