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Degree Programs in Biotechnology

The Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences offers the  BS degree  Agricultural Sciences with a concentration in Biotechnology, Masters degree in Plant or Animal Science and in cooperation with the Department of Biology, the  Ph.D. degree  in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Agricultural Biotechnology.

Biotechnology applies scientific and engineering principles to living organisms to produce products and services of value to society. Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat debilitating and rare diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes. Students with training in biotechnology enjoy exciting careers that help feed, fuel and heal the world.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Agricultural Sciences 
Concentration in Biotechnology

Contact: Dr Suping Zhou, zsuping@tnstate.edu, (615) 963-2146 or Dr Samuel Nahashon, snahashon@tnstate.edu, (615) 963-2575

*Orientation course taken at another University does NOT meet this requirement. Students with less than 60 credit hours must take UNIV 1000 at TSU.

  *The following courses can meet the Social Behavioral Science elective: AFAS 2010, ANTH 2300, ECON, 2010, GEOG 1010,
    HPSS 1510, POLI 1010 PSYC 2010, WMST 2000, and URBS 2010. A total of six credits are required

**Students must take a 3 credit hour course from the following list of approved general education Humanities courses:
    AREN 2310, ART, 1010, HIST 1000, THTR 1020, MUSC 1010, PHIL 1030, or RELS 2010.  A total of 9 credits are required.

*Students must take a 3 credit hour course from the following list of approved general education Humanities courses:
 AREN 2310, ART, 1010, HIST 1000, THTR 1020, MUSC 1010, PHIL 1030, or RELS 2010. Students must remember NOT to
duplicate a course option from a previous semester.

***The Department recommends HIST 2010; however, HIST 2030, HIST 2060, HIST 2070 or HIST 2700 satisfy this requirement. Students must remember NOT to duplicate course option from a previous semester. A total of 6 credits of History are requited.****Discuss with an academic advisor course options. The choice should be based on the admission requirements to desired
professional school.

*Courses within the range of ENGL 2012- ENGL 2322 will meet this requirement.

**The following courses can meet the Social Science elective: AFAS 2010, ANTH 2300, ECON, 2010, GEOG 1010,  HPSS 1510, POLI 1010 PSYC 2010, WMST 2000, and URBS 2010.
***The Department recommends HIST 2020; however, HIST 2030, HIST 2060, HIST 2070 or HIST 2700 satisfy this requirement.
Students must remember NOT to duplicate course option from a previous semester. A total of 6 credits of History are requited.
**** This must be a course in Plant or Animal Improvement or Genetics

*Discuss with an academic advisor course options. The choice should be based on admission requirements to desired
  professional school.

*Discuss with an academic advisor course options. The choice should be based onadmission requirements to desired
  professional school.

* Discuss with an academic advisor course options. The choice should be based on admission requirements to desired
   professional school.

*Discuss with an academic advisor course options. The choice should be based on admission requirements to desired
  professional school.

PhD Concentration 
The Ph.D. concentration in Biotechnology is an interdepartmental degree program that is  jointly offered by the Department of Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Biological Sciences.

 
Admission Requirements: Ph.D. Program 

Administered by the Department of Biological Sciences. Applicants to the Ph.D. program must submit a completed application form, a personal statement describing interest in the program and professional goals, and three letters of recommendations from persons familiar with the applicant's academic work, especially in biology. The departmental admissions committee will base admission upon these materials and interviews with selected applicants.

Admission requires the applicant have a bachelor's degree from a fully accredited four-year college or university, a minimum score of 1370 calculated from the GPA multiplied by 200 and added to the GRE combined verbal and quantitative scores and a minimum score of 600 on the GRE subject test in biology. Students may also be admitted with subject test scores below 600, but such students must take the departmental diagnostic examination. The admissions committee will evaluate the student's performance on the examination and design a curriculum to eliminate any identified weaknesses. After passing the recommended courses with a grade of "B" or better in each, the student will begin the Ph.D. curriculum.

Programs of Study: Ph.D. Program 

The degree candidate must file a program of study after competing nine (9) semester hours of graduate work, but before completing fifteen (15) hours of graduate work. The program lists the courses which will be used to satisfy degree requirements, as well as detailing how other requirements will be met. The student may later change the program of study with the written approval of the Department and the Graduate School.

Admission to  Candidacy: Ph.D. Program 

The student must apply for admission to candidacy after completing the 24 hour core of required courses (See Degree Requirements below), with an average of "B" (3.00) or better, passing the comprehensive examination, and gaining approval of the dissertation proposal. Students may have a "C" grade in no more than two courses (6 credit hours), neither of which can be a core course. No "D" or "F" grades are acceptable. A student who receives a grade of "C" in excess of six credits must repeat the course and achieve at least a "B".

Degree Requirements: Ph.D. Program 

After gaining admission to candidacy, the student must complete an approved curriculum (24 hours minimum of electives set by the student's research advisory committee), enroll in Graduate Seminar (BIOL 7010, 7020), complete a dissertation (24 hours), and successfully defend the dissertation prior to gaining the Ph.D. degree (please refer to Biological Sciences Graduate Student Handbook for specific dissertation requirements). A student entering with a Master's degree may have applicable hours transferred toward the Ph.D. program, as determined by the Advisory Committee. The total number of hours required is 76.

Graduate Elective Courses 

AGSC 5160 Animal Genetics and Breeding
AGSC 5190 Plant Breeding
AGSC 7010 Advancements in Agricultural Biotechnology
AGSC 7020 Economic, Regulatory and Ethical Issues in Biotechnology
AGSC 7030 Gene Expression and Regulation and Regulation in Higher Plants
AGSC 7040 Plant Tissue Culture Methods and Applications
AGSC 7050 Biotechnology in Animal Reproduction
AGSC 7060 Advanced Soil Technology
AGSC 7070 Molecular Genetic Ecology

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