M.S. Degree Requirements

The Department of Biology offers a Master of Science (MS) degree in Aquatic Resources. Graduate study affords students of superior ability to continue their intellectual growth and development, assuming a command of the skills and techniques necessary to carry out research and investigation with a high degree of resourcefulness and self-direction. Graduates will be able to function independently, or in collaboration with other specialists, in research and study efforts directed to better understanding and managing aquatic ecosystems and the biological communities they support.

Graduate students seeking an M.S. degree in Aquatic Resources will select one of two areas of concentration: Aquatic Biology and Aquatic Systems. Both concentration areas require completion of specific core, required and elective courses, as follows:

1. Core Courses (total of 16 hours, required by all students in M.S. program)
• Seminar (2 hours)
  BIO 5110, chosen from A-W
• Statistics (8 hours)
  BIO 7405 (Statistics and Experimental Design I)
  BIO 7406 (Statistics and Experimental Design II)
• Thesis (6 hours minimum)
  BIO 5399A/B
2. Required Courses
1. Aquatic Biology concentration (focusing on scientific knowledge of the biology and ecology of aquatic organisms, and understanding the dynamics and management of aquatic ecosystems).
   Student will select a minimum of 7 hours from among the following graduate-level courses:
• BIO 5336 Parasitology in Fish and Other Aquatic Organisms
• BIO 5415 Ichthyology
• BIO 5419 Stream Ecology
• BIO 5470 Limnology
• BIO 7328 Waterbird Ecology
• BIO 7356 Pollution of Aquatic Ecosystems
• BIO 7422 Wetlands Ecology
• BIO 7471 Reservoir Ecology
2. Aquatic Systems concentration (focusing on understanding the structure and functioning of aquatic systems as integrated physical, biological and socioeconomic systems, including protection, maintenance or restoration of the health and sustainable use of these and related systems by humans, with a focus on the level of the watershed as influenced by natural and anthropogenic atmospheric and terrestrial processes).
   Student will select a minimum of 7 hours from among the following graduate-level courses:
• BIO 5419 Stream Ecology
• BIO 7312 Government Policy and Aquatic Resources
• BIO 7352 Environmental Hydrology
• BIO 7366 Integrated Water Resources Management
• BIO 7421 Watershed Dynamics
• BIO 7422 Wetland Ecology
• BIO 7468 Groundwater Resources
• BIO 7471 Reservoir Ecology
3. Electives

All students in M.S. program will select a minimum of 8 hours from among any 5000- or 7000-level course, determined in agreement between student and supervising professor.

All students in both areas of concentration are required to prepare a research thesis, consistent with current Biology Department and Graduate School M.S. degree requirements.

Additional information on the requirements for a master’s degree in Aquatic Resources can be found on the Department of Biology’s listing on the Texas State online graduate catalog web site: http://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/Grad_Cats.html