Program in Biochemistry College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources University of Nevada, Reno

Reno Offers Music, Art, Theater, and Outdoor Recreation

Reno, Nevada calls itself "The Biggest Little City in the World," although it is still only the third-largest in the state, after Las Vegas and Henderson. Long famous for its casinos and for being the birthplace of the gaming giant, Harrah's Entertainment, Reno has settled in behind those two cities not only as a population and cultural center, but also as a gambling center, drawing its gaming visitors primarily from Northern California. However, Reno continues to prosper because the range of activities is not limited to casinos.

Reno is home to a wide variety of recreational activities because of Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River, and Pyramid Lake. Lake Tahoe provides fishing, water-skiing, swimming, and boating. The Truckee River runs through downtown Reno to Pyramid Lake, drawing rafters and kayakers from all over the world. Major ski resorts within a one hour driving radius of Reno, including Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, Sugar Bowl, and Heavenly Valley, offer such winter activities as down-hill and cross-country skiing, ice skating, dog-sledding, and snowmobiling.

Reno is also the center of the region's cultural, artistic, and historic highlights. The National Automobile Museum and the Nevada Museum of Art are both here, and the annual program of the Nevada Shakespeare Company keeps the famous playwright's work fresh and relevant with theatrical productions on the shore of Lake Tahoe. The Pioneer Center for Performing Arts features concerts by both the Reno Philharmonic and the Reno Pops Orchestra and welcomes performers of international standing that bring music, theater, art, and culture to the area. All of this activity shows that Reno is not resting on its laurels, but continues to burnish its "Biggest Little City in the World" credentials.

Department Faculty Directs Research Efforts toward Sustainable Energy and Health

The faculty list in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which is part of both the School of Medicine and the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources, comprises expert instructors and dedicated researchers spanning a wide variety of subject areas. Experts in such areas as type II diabetes and the structure of cells are joined by other faculty members developing tools for analyzing large sets of genomic data and pushing forward with potentially life-saving cardiovascular research. Adjunct faculty from the Desert Research Institute provide additional investigation opportunities in environmental `omics research.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is an integral part of the university's School of Medicine and the faculty has various research interests bridging the gap between "doing science" and applying the results to human diseases and conditions. Current faculty research programs include molecular modeling in infectious disease, insulin signal defects in diabetes, blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and congenital defects in brain development.

Departmental faculty within the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources are widely recognized for world-class expertise in insect and plant studies, with research into the signaling network of cells promising answers to questions about the oxidative stresses common to all life. This research, like much of that undertaken at the university, can have a significant impact in human health, agriculture, and environmental sustainability. Salt basin algae and desert-adapted crops and shrubs are being studied for possible use as "renewable energy crops," with the goal of research being the development of alternative biofuel feedstocks suitable for production in arid environments. Biofuel production from algae and terrestrial crops is being studied for its applicability to power plants running on biomass, biodiesel production, and could potentially provide the intermountain western U.S. states with a major new "cash crop" in an energy-sustainable future.

Wide Range of Research Facilities for UNR Students

Research facilities for students at UNR are among the finest anywhere, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology receives tremendous support from Nevada INBRE, a program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Research in bioinformatics is aided by having access to state-of-the-art computational resources for collecting and analyzing DNA/protein sequence data, as well as "data mining" for sequence-based research. Students and researchers also take advantage of computer graphics hardware, software, and tech support for researching biomolecular structures.

This department supports all interested students and faculty who wish to use the Nevada Centers for Genomics, Proteomics, and Bioinformatics research facilities. There is also education and training to introduce researchers to new technologies in biomolecular modeling, histology, and flow cytometry, and the INBRE program of the NIH leverages local and national resources for the education of UNR students.

The biochemistry and related biomolecular science and biotechnology programs prepare students for rewarding careers in science, research, or medicine with an emphasis on practical, hands-on learning, which makes the research facilities a key part of students' education. Offered by the School of Medicine and the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources (CABNR), the master's-level interdisciplinary cell and molecular biology and biotechnology programs result in a Master of Science and combined Bachelor/Master of Science diploma, respectively. Both departmental and interdisciplinary doctoral programs that award the doctor of philosophy degree are also jointly offered by the School of Medicine and the CABNR. In addition, medical students can earn an M.D./Ph.D. degree through the doctoral program.

• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Master of Science (MS)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees Not reported
• Doctoral Degrees 2
• 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? No
• Evening/weekend programs available? No
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Yes

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

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied27
• Accepted9
• Acceptance Rate33%
• Enrolled7
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $60
• Application Fee - International $95
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Yes
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline February 1st February 1st Yes
• Winter deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE General Test, minimum GPA of 2.75
• Doctoral's DegreesGRE General Test, minimum GPA of 3.0
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL required, 500 paper based, TOEFL iBT, IELTS required, IELTS paper based

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *$2,219
• Out-of-state tuition *Not Reported
• International student tuition$9,009
• * 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 submitFAFSA
• Application deadlines for financial awardsMarch 1
• Types of financial support availableResearch Assitantships, Federal Work-Study, Health Care Benefits, Institutionally-sponsored Loans, Scholarship and/or loans, Graduate Assistantships

• Gender
• Total Graduate Students29
• Female Percentage48%
• Male Percentage52%
• Participation
• Total Graduate Students29
• Part-time Percentage59%
• Full-time Percentage41%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / Latino15%
• Black / African American5%
• White / Caucasian65%
• American Indian / Alaskan Native0%
• Asian10%
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander0%
• Two or more races0%
• Unknown5%

• Faculty Breakout
• Total Faculty21
• Full-time Percentage100%
• Part-time Percentage0%
• Female Percentage33%
• Male Percentage67%

• Existing Research
• Focus of faculty researchCancer research, insect biochemistry, plant biochemistry, enzymology
• Externally sponsored research expenditures last year$2,008,354