Getting your Masters at Fresno State
If you are accepted as a Master's student in the Walter Lab, you will be welcomed into the Fresno State Biology Masters Degree Program at California State University, Fresno (CSU-Fresno). Fresno State is one of 23 campuses of the California State University system and is considered an "R2" or "high research productivity" university. Our program requires a 2.5 undergraduate GPA and an undergraduate degree in Biology (or a similar).
What to Expect in the MS Biology Program
A Masters Degree (MS) in Biology with expertise in biology education is an important step toward a career in teaching middle or high school science, teaching at a community college, or entry into a PhD program in Science or Biology Education. The Fresno State Biology program is a 30-unit master's degree. We do not offer PhDs in Biology at CSU Fresno.​
Core
Courses
(7 units)
Core required courses in Fresno State's Biology MS Program include Scientific Writing (3 units), Experimental Design (3 units), and Bioethics (1 unit). All of the graduate students in the MS Biology program take these courses.
Electives
(9 units)
Students take 9 units (3 courses) of electives, one of which is encouraged to be College Science Teaching (Biology 272). The other two electives for students in the Walter Lab are often biology content graduate courses, but can be courses in education research or educational psychology.
Seminar
(2 units)
Students are required to take two 1-unit courses that are seminars of their choice. Seminar courses are typically held once a week for one hour. A common format for a "seminar" course is that students read and then do presentations about the primary literature in a particular field of biology.
Colloquium
(2 units)
In two of the semesters of the MS Biology degree, students are required attend the department speaker series (Biology Colloquium, Biology 280). This course is typically held on Fridays. Students listen to talks from guest speakers in biology and engage in questions and dialogue with the speaker.
Research & Thesis
(10 units)
The remaining 10 units of the Biology MS degree are in independent research. These include 6 units of Biology 290 (independent study) or Biology 295 (independent research) plus 4 units for Biology 299 for writing a research thesis.
Co-Teaching*
If you join the Walter Lab as an MS Biology student, you will have one-on-one experience working with Dr. Walter to teach an undergraduate science course together. The course is often large enrollment (100+ students), an important setting for many instructors to learn to manage. Our co-teaching experience includes lesson design, active teaching, assessment design, grading, and managing the day-to-day challenges of university teaching.
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* = This experience is unique to being a member of the Walter Lab at Fresno State.
Teaching Assistantship^
Many students in the Fresno State MS Biology program teach labs for the department. This experience involves teaching up to 3 sections of general education biology (Biology 10), introductory majors biology (Biology 1A or 1B), or an upper-division laboratory like Biology 67A/67B (anatomy and physiology), or Biology 120 (microbiology). This is a valuable and more independent teaching experience on top of the co-teaching lecture experience with Dr. Walter.
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^ = This is not a required course component of the MS Biology program, but is strongly recommended for MS Biology students in the Walter Lab. This position also comes with a salary and requires a separate hiring process from the MS Biology Program application.