Updated: August 19, 2015 Admission and Advancement through the Biotechnology Certificate Program
Biotechnology Certificate Program Table of Contents Gaining Admission... 3 Admission Requirements... 3 CSU Requirements... 3 Biology Department Requirements... 3 The Application Process... 3 University Application... 3 Departmental Application... 3 Writing Your Statement of Purpose... 4 Admission Questions?... 4 Program Requirements and Policies... 5 The Curriculum... 5 Fall... 5 Winter... 5 Spring... 5 Program Length... 5 Grade Requirements... 5 Exit Exam Requirements... 5 Tuition and Financial Aid... 5 What to Do Once You Have Been Accepted... 6 Option to Change Your Degree Objective... 6 atheri
Gaining Admission Admission Requirements CSU and department-specific requirements for admission to the Biotechnology Certificate Program are outlined below. The CSU requirements are also described in detail at http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/graduate/. CSU Requirements (essential): 1. Possess a 4-year baccalaureate degree from an accredited Institution*. 2. Possess an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 (A=4.0) or greater. 3. Possess a GPA of 2.5 in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units attempted. Biology Department Requirements (recommended): 1. Major in (or possess a degree) in any field in the biological sciences. 2. Complete undergraduate courses equivalent to those required of biological science majors at CSUEB (see below). Any coursework that is missing will be treated as a deficiency and must be completed to advance in the program. a year of introductory biology a year of general chemistry a year of organic chemistry a quarter/semester of Microbiology (Biol 3405 or equivalent) a quarter/semester of Biochemistry (Chem 4411 or equivalent) a quarter/semester of Genetics* (Biol 3121 or equivalent) a quarter/semester of Molecular Cell Biology* (Biol 4455 or equivalent) *a strong applicant has taken these courses within the last 3 years. 3. Possess an overall GPA of 2.75 or greater. 4. Possess a GPA of 3.0 or greater in all biology courses taken as an upper division student. The Application Process To gain admission to the Biotechnology Certificate Program, you must follow each step outlined below. University Application 1. Complete your University Application online at CSU Mentor. a. The University Application for domestic students is available at http://www.csumentor.edu/admissionapp/grad_apply.asp b. The University Application for international students is available at http://www.csumentor.edu/admissionapp/intl_apply.asp 2. Pay the nonrefundable University Application Fee (at the time you apply). 3. Mail official transcript(s) to Enrollment Management, Cal State East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward, CA 94542. Departmental Application 1. Apply online at https://adhayweb13.csueastbay.edu/events/bio-grad/index.php. Before you apply, make sure you have the following documents and information ready: a. Statement of Purpose (2-3 pages). Save as a word or PDF file. For tips on how to write your statement of purpose, see below.
b. Unofficial Transcripts. A scan or print screen of your unofficial transcripts is sufficient. Save as a single JPEG or PDF file. c. Table of science courses taken. Include all Biology, Math, Chemistry, Physics, and Statistics courses taken. Essential columns: institution, course #, descriptive title, grade, and year taken. Save as an Excel, Word or PDF file. d. Name, title, work address and work email address for three individuals that have agreed to write letters of recommendation on your behalf. 2. The online application will first ask you to choose your program of interest. You should choose MS+BCP if you are interested in pursuing an MS degree and you plan to take some or all of the BCP lab courses (see curriculum below). These courses tend to fill up and this is one way to guarantee a spot in the class. 3. Letters of Recommendation Instructions: Have three letters of recommendation (written on official letterhead) mailed to the department* or emailed as an attachment to the graduate coordinator at maria.gallegos@csueastbay.edu. For letters that will be emailed ask your letter writer to email it from their work email account. Letters from gmail or equivalent will not be accepted. Ideally, letters of recommendation should describe some or all of the following: your academic record, research experience, ability to work with others and integrity. *Letters of recommendation that will be mailed should be sent to the following address: *Attn. Graduate Coordinator Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd. Hayward, CA 94542 Please note that your application packet will not be reviewed or processed until it is complete and submitted by the deadline (including both the University and departmental applications). Writing Your Statement of Purpose Your statement of purpose should clearly convey in your own words, your reason for choosing to pursue the Biotechnology Certificate Program. You should be able to address what you hope to achieve from the program and how the skills and breadth of knowledge gained will enable you to pursue future academic and/or career goals. Your statement should include reference to previous academic and research activities that have prepared you for the rigors of a graduate level degree. You should also describe your current research interests and how they might parallel some of the ongoing research projects currently underway on or off-campus. Admission Questions? If you have additional questions, contact the appropriate office using your horizon email account (once it has been created by applying to the University through CSU mentor). 1. Students with departmental admission questions or concerns should email the graduate coordinator: maria.gallegos@csueastbay.edu. 2. International students with University admission questions or visa concerns should email the International Admissions Office at iao@csueastbay.edu (CC: the graduate coordinator). 3. Domestic students with University admission questions or concerns should email gradprograms@csueastbay.edu (CC: the graduate coordinator). In all your email correspondences please include the following information: Full Name on Student Account: Net ID:
Program Requirements and Policies The Curriculum This program has a fixed curriculum of 34 units. Lab courses are highlighted. The typical schedule is outlined below (check the current catalog for the most up to date information): Fall Biol 4485 PCR, DNA Sequencing and Fragment Analysis (4) Biol 4490 Bioinformatics (4) Biol 6151 Cell and Molecular Biology I (5) Winter Biol 6147 Functional Genomics (4) Biol 6152 Cell and Molecular Biology II (5) Chem/Biol 6430 Protein Chemistry Techniques (4) Spring Biol 6141 Advanced Molecular Techniques (4) Biol 4450 Cell Culture Techniques (4) Program Length The curriculum is scheduled such that a full-time student can complete the program in an academic year. All courses are offered once a year, during the day (with some exceptions). If students are unable to take all 8 required courses in one academic year, you must discuss your options with a BCP adviser. Certain classes need to be taken in order. In addition, for lab classes with limited space, priority will be given to current BCP students (students accepted for the current academic year). Grade Requirements To remain in the program all BCP students must maintain a B average or higher. Exit Exam Requirements The BCP exit exam is administered once a year, during the Monday and Tuesday after finals week. Completion of all required courses with B average or higher is a prerequisite for taking the exit exam. The exit exam consists of 9 sections, one for each of the 8 required courses and one section that relevant calculations. The calculations section will be offered on the first day of the exit exam. This section will be graded on the spot. Any errors found can be redone during day one. You must get 100% correct on this section in order to proceed to the second day of exams. The grading scale for the remaining sections are as follows: + (1 point), +/- (0.5 points), or (0 points). A minimum of 5 points is required to pass the BCP exit exam and obtain the Biotechnology Certificate. Tuition and Financial Aid In general, financial aid is only available for students enrolled in degree-granting programs. The BCP is NOT a degree-granting program. Thus, financial aid will only be a possibility for students that are accepted into the MA, MS or MS+BCP (the combined program). For more information about tuition and financial aid, please consult the following link and contact the financial aid office. http://www20.csueastbay.edu/prospective/cost-and-financial-aid/index.html
What to Do Once You Have Been Accepted The following website includes useful information about first steps you should take once you have been accepted. http://www20.csueastbay.edu/prospective/after-youre-accepted/index.html As a BCP student, enrollment into the BCP courses is guaranteed. Space has been reserved for you so long as you remain a BCP student in good standing. What does this mean in practice? You can attempt to enroll in the lecture and lab-based courses online. That said, they fill quickly and you may need special permission to enroll in some of the lab courses. If you attempt to enroll and you are informed that the course is full or you do not have permission to enroll, do not panic. Spots have been set-aside for BCP students. To gain entrance into the these lab courses, please email Natalie Granera (natalie.granera@csueastbay.edu) and CC: the BCP coordinator (maria.gallegos@csueastbay.edu) no later than two weeks prior to the first day of class for the quarter the courses are offered. Use your horizon email account and provide your net ID along with the list of courses you intend to take for the quarter. In the meantime, I will give Natalie the list of students in good standing that are allowed to enroll from the Biotech Certificate Program. Option to Change Your Degree Objective Some students decide during the course of their studies that they would like to do research and earn a Master of Science degree in addition to the BCP certificate. Fortunately, all BCP courses are transferable into the Master of Science degree program with a signed waiver from Academic Programs and Graduate Studies*. If you are interested in this possibility you need to find a thesis advisor (someone on or off-campus) that is willing to supervise your masters research. Once this has been achieved, you should email the graduate coordinator (maria.gallegos@csueastbay.edu) to discuss the possibility of submitting a Change of Graduate Objective (COGO) form to add the Master of Science (MS) as a degree objective. You can pick up the COGO form from the Biology Office, N429. Complete and submit this form following the instructions on the form as soon as you decide to change your degree objective. The actual deadline is not concrete but typically four (4) weeks prior to the beginning of each quarter. You can be admitted to the MS degree program during any quarter but keep in mind that you must enroll in at least one course during your quarter of admission or you will automatically be dropped from the program! Keep this in mind when you are completing your COGO. You can submit the COGO using one of the following methods: 1. For domestic students, a. Submit in person to the Student Information Lobby in the Student Administration Building (ask for a receipt!) OR b. Email the form as an attachment to gradprograms@csueastbay.edu OR c. Fax the form to 510-885-4059, attention: PEM - Graduate Admissions (not recommended). 2. For international students a. Submit in person to International Admissions - LI 2550 (ask for a receipt!) b. Email the form as an attachment to iao@csueastbay.edu c. Fax the form to 510-885-2325, attention: International Admissions (not recommended) *NOTE! Because University rules state that no more than 13-quarter units of courses applicable toward the master s degree can be completed before admission to the program, the graduate coordinator will be required to submit a waiver to Academic Programs and Graduate Studies on your behalf.