A Customizable, Flexible M.S. in Biology

Expand your knowledge of biology for your classroom or better prepare yourself for your professional or doctoral program with UNK’s M.S. in Biology.

We’ve been perfecting our fully online Biology degree for 20 years, though we’ve offered a residential M.S. in Biology program for even longer. The end result is a degree that’s flexible for you in its format and also customizable to suit your needs and interests.

Both our thesis and non-thesis program completion options are 36 credit hours, and a majority of those credit hour requirements are filled with elective courses. With more than 70 graduate biology courses to choose from, you can build your program to suit your needs and interests. Choose from course topics including physiology, genetics, cellular and molecular biology, ecology, evolution, environmental and organismal biology, and biological tools and applications. No matter your future goals, our program is built to set you up for success.

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Explore our program offerings:

  • Non-Thesis Option (Online)Degree: M.S. | Credit Hours: 36 (Fully Online)
    In-State: $337/cr | Out-of-State: $540/cr     You can complete UNK's Master of Science in Biology program entirely online by pursuing our non-thesis option. Students in this track can build the program to suit their needs with 24 hours of elective credit, paired with 12 hours of required courses. At the end of this program, students pursuing the non-thesis option are required to pass a comprehensive written examination covering the courses within their program. A majority of students complete the online option in two-and-a-half to three years.
  • Thesis Option (Campus)Degree: M.S.Ed. | Credit Hours: 36
    In-State: $277/cr | Out-of-State: $609/cr     Students looking for a traditional master's experience where they can work one-on-one with a faculty mentor on a research project have the option of pursuing UNK's M.S. Biology thesis option. This program allows for 18 hours of elective credits while you also take courses in research, seminars, and 6 hours of thesis work. Your thesis will consist of committee-approved original research, and at the end of your program, you'll complete an oral defense of your thesis. On-campus students also have the opportunity to apply for a teaching assistantship that provides tuition support and a stipend for graduate students who teach introductory biology laboratories.

Affordable and flexible online program

$337

In-state Tuition per credit hour

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$540

Out-of-state Tuition per credit hour

Hear from a recent graduate of the program:

"The professors are extremely accommodating with every student and they truly try their best to help their students. Whenever you have any questions, they're more than happy to help you out. I would 100% recommend that degree here at UNK because not only are you getting a graduate degree that's going to benefit you in the future, but everyone is super accommodating and it's not as scary as it seems."

Babylon Anderson

Biology M.S.

unk biology 20 years of online excellence

start your online degree at UNK

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