The Master of Science degree in Integrated Science and Mathematic (MSISM) is designed to serve several populations of graduate students whose interests and needs for professional development transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. The program gives the student the opportunity to combine graduate courses from many departments, allowing them to design a program to suit their needs. Courses can be tailored to address the challenges and methods of study in such areas as environmental science, forensic sciences, integrated natural and life sciences, and mathematics disciplines.
Students in this program come from a variety of undergraduate fields including biology, chemistry, environmental health sciences, earth sciences-geology, physics, mathematics, and science education. Professionals currently employed in environmental sciences, medical research support, forensic science, and others who are interested in integrating the sciences would particularly benefit from this degree. The MSISM program is also ideal for in-service science and mathematics teachers who want to increase their breadth in content background while attaining an MS degree.

Admission Requirements

• Official copies of all transcripts
• GPA of at least 2.75 overall
• Three letters of reference
• GRE taken within the last five years

Program Requirements

The MSISM program requires 36 semester hours of graduate course work. Students will take 24 semester credit hours of graduate level work which emphasize the interdisciplinary content in at least two of the following traditional disciplines:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Environmental Health Science
• Geology-Earth Science
• Physics and Astronomy
• Mathematics

Another 12 hours consist of integrated studies, which vary depending upon the option and form of the individual student’s program. Six of the 24 hours may be from outside the College of Science and Mathematics.

The Donaghey College of Information Science and Systems Engineering, including the Department of Applied Science, provides appropriate graduate level course work and support for students pursuing the MS in integrated science and mathematics.

A six-credit-hour project or thesis is required of all degree candidates. The individual program advisor will recommend which option is right for optimizing the student’s educational goals. A professional assessment is required of all degree candidates as well.

All undergraduate work will be assessed prior to acceptance into a degree program and deficiencies will be defined at that time. All deficiencies must be removed before student’s progress into the program.

Possible degree combinations with sample curriculum content blocks:

Biology - Chemistry

• 8 credit hours of biochemistry and cell biology
• 22 credit hours in biology and chemistry
• 6 credit hours of thesis or project

Biology - Earth Science

• 6 credit hours of integrated science and mathematics
• 24 credit hours of biology and earth science
• 6 credit hours of thesis or project

Environmental Sciences

• 6 credit hours environmental regulations and management
• 24 credit hours of content area courses (e.g., Biology, Earth Sciences, Physics)
• 6 credit hours of thesis or project
  

Forensic Sciences (Biology-Chemistry-Earth Science)

• 12 credit hours in the forensic integrated science and mathematics core
• 12 credit hours in biology, chemistry, and earth science
• 6 credit hours in forensic integrated science and mathematics electives
• Six credit hours of thesis or project

Additional degree combinations are listed below.

• Biology - Physics
• Chemistry - Earth Science
• Chemistry - Physics
• Earth Science - Physics

For additional information, contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Leslie, MSISM Director
saleslie@ualr.edu
ETAS Room 125-D
(501) 569-3247