Biology MS Program

SUNY Oneonta’s M.S. Biology program focuses on increasing your depth of knowledge, engaging you in state-of-the-art research techniques, and applying content learned at the undergraduate level. You can choose either the Thesis track – to prepare for doctoral studies or specialized careers – or Non-Thesis track – for future teachers in secondary schools and two-year colleges or those seeking a broad understanding of biology. Alex Sotola, Assistant Professor of Biology at SUNY Oneonta: This program is unique because the faculty care and they do everything they can to get students what they need and what they want to be successful in their future careers. Benjamin Wilhelm, Assistant Professor of Biology at SUNY Oneonta: And we have, you know, a research lab if you want to do more kind of bench work and you know, mix things up in test tubes. We have our vivarium. So if you want to do studies on live organisms, that's a possibility. We've got a greenhouse, so if you're interested in plants, we have a space for that. Alex: The field station for doing field work is phenomenal. We have, it sits right on Otsego Lake. We have boats, we have canoes, we have field equipment, we have Nets and everything that you would need to do your research if it's in the aquatic realm. If not we have thousands of acres available to you too to do your field work. We also have trucks and vans so you can get to where you need to go if it's not near campus. Delaney Long, MS Biology student at SUNY Oneonta: I came in and I was like, well, I like going outside and I like fishing and I like hands on work. And from there we kind of were able to narrow down a project. Darian Paul, MS Biology student at SUNY Oneonta: I'm able to meet a lot of great researchers as well as people in both industry and government. And making those connections has really helped me feel more secure and also helped me a lot with my own research. Benjamin: One of the strengths of our program and one of the things that makes it great is that we are a smaller school, so the faculty really get to know the students. We have a lot of students that start as undergrads and then move on to to grad programs just because of those relationships they've built with the the faculty members here. Tyler McElwee, MS Biology student at SUNY Oneonta: I kind of fell in love with the program during my undergrad. I did a lot of stuff with the collection with amphibians, going out to the field stations and when it came time to do grad, I was like, why not just stay here? I know the faculty, I know what's here. I love the place, so it just seemed like the right option. Alex: This is not a publish or perish attitude here. We are here because we want to see our students succeed both in and out of the classroom and of course, while they're here as a master's student. And then once, once they leave. And so we do everything we can to set them up for that success.