Program in Biotechnology College of Science Northeastern University

The Northeastern University Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program

The Northeastern University Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program offers students a unique integration of core scientific principles of biotechnology combined with practical business knowledge and business skills to apply to a broad range of specialties.

The innovative non-thesis, non-research graduate degree approach is part of Northeastern University's Professional Science Master's Program, which offers interdisciplinary learning that is typically not acquired in standard graduate programs in the sciences but is essential in the professional world of the biotechnology workplace.

Three Tracks of Study

Students in the Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program can choose from 3 tracks of study: molecular biotechnology, pharmaceutical biotechnology, and process development.

Each track lays the groundwork of the program's unique science and business integration with 6 core courses that are taken in the first year: Biochemistry, Introduction to Biotechnology, and the Business of Biotechnology in the fall semester; and Molecular Cell Biology, Biotechnology Applications Laboratory, and Experimental Design and Biometrics in the spring semester. Students enrolling in the Molecular Biotechnology track then go on to focus on topics including genomics, proteomics, and gene expression analysis.

In the Pharmaceutical Biotechnology track, students take courses in drug discovery, development, and delivery. And in the Process Development track, courses focus on bioprocess development and optimization.

Real-Life Experience Through Cooperative Learning

To further immerse students in the real world of the biotechnology careers that await them, the Northeastern University Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program has a strong required internship component. The internship emphasis is part of a larger philosophy of "experiential" learning that is embraced in all departments at Northeastern.

The university in fact holds the No. 1 spot on the US News and World Report ranking of colleges offering experiential education.

The internship positions typically last 3 to 6 months and can serve as mutually beneficial opportunities leading to permanent positions.

Renowned Faculty Members Bring their Expertise

The program's exceptional faculty features some of Northeastern University's renowned experts. Vladimir Torchilin, a Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, for instance, is the world's second-most prolific researcher in pharmacology and toxicology, according to Times Higher Education.

Srinivas Sridhar, director of Northeastern's Electronic Materials Research Institute, conducts groundbreaking research and is leading a 3-year project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop nanosensors to detect minute electric fields over large frequency ranges.

And Mansoor Amiji, also a Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is collaborating with researchers at Northeastern and Massachusetts General Hospital to explore innovative drug delivery and gene silencing strategies targeting cancers.

Boston a Hotbed of Biotechnology Opportunities

Students are responsible for obtaining their own cooperative education internships. However, the university's location in the heart of Boston allows for ample opportunities at the many pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies in the region.

The biotechnology department's list of prospective internships is extensive, and includes leading corporations and institutions such as Amgen, AstraZeneca, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Genzyme Corp., Harvard Medical School, Johnson & Johnson, the MIT Technical Licensing Office, Pfizer, Shering Plough Research, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

Beyond Boston, even more opportunities abound -- Massachusetts boasts more than 400 biotechnology companies employing nearly 50,000 people, with an annual payroll of more than $5 billion, and demand for scientists and engineers in the biotechnology field has never been higher.

Flexible Scheduling for Full-Time, Part-Time, Special Students

Students may enroll in the Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program on either a full-time basis, in which they take 8 semester hours of courses per semester, or part-time, in which they take one or 2 courses.

Some courses are offered during convenient evening or late afternoon hours for working students. International students are required to be enrolled on a full-time basis.

Students may also take up to 12 semester-hour credits in courses without being enrolled in the program under Special Student Status. Once the 12 credits have been earned, the student must be accepted into the program in order for any additional courses to be credited toward the degree.

Admissions

Admission to the Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program is open for the fall semester only. Candidates for admission are required to have bachelor's degrees in biology, chemistry, chemical, or biochemical engineering, pharmaceutical science, or a related discipline, with undergraduate GPAs of 3.0 or better.

The Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program at Northeastern University also requires students to have minimum GRE scores of 1100 or minimum quantitative score of 650 and 3 letters of recommendation.

There are no graduate assistantship positions available for students in the Biotechnology Professional Science Master's Program, but some partial scholarship assistance may be available for exceptional applicants. Northeastern alumni and graduating seniors may also be eligible for additional scholarship opportunities, loans, and student employment through the Double Husky Scholarship Program.

More information is available regarding The Bouve College of Health Sciences, graduate applications and graduate studies at Northeastern University.

• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Professional Master of Science (PSM)
  Master of Science (MS)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees 21
• Doctoral Degrees Not reported
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported
• * Shows the number of degrees awarded for the last academic year that data was reported.

• Earning Your Degree
• Part-time study available? Yes
• Evening/weekend programs available? Yes
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Not reported

• Degree Requirements
• Master's Degrees Not reported
• Doctoral Degrees Not reported
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied150
• Accepted110
• Acceptance Rate73%
• Enrolled36
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $50
• Application Fee - International $50
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Not Reported
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline April 1st Not Reported Not Reported
• Winter deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE
• Doctoral's DegreesNot Reported
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL required, 600 paper based, TOEFL iBT

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *Not Reported
• Out-of-state tuition *Not Reported
• International student tuitionNot Reported
• * Tuition for full-time graduate student per academic year
• Fees
• Per-academic year feesNot Reported
• Per-term feesNot Reported
• One-time feeNot Reported
• * Fees for full-time graduate students
• Financial Support
• Financial award applicants must submitNot Reported
• Application deadlines for financial awardsNot Reported
• Types of financial support availableScholarship and/or loans

• Gender
• Total Graduate Students100
• Female Percentage56%
• Male Percentage44%
• Participation
• Total Graduate Students100
• Part-time Percentage28%
• Full-time Percentage72%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / LatinoNot Reported
• Black / African AmericanNot Reported
• White / CaucasianNot Reported
• American Indian / Alaskan NativeNot Reported
• AsianNot Reported
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific IslanderNot Reported
• Two or more racesNot Reported
• UnknownNot Reported

• Existing Research
• Focus of faculty researchGenomics, proteomics, gene expression analysis (molecular biotechnology), drug discovery, development, delivery (pharmaceutical biotechnology), bioprocess development and optimization (process development)
• Externally sponsored research expenditures last yearNot Reported