The Department of Biological Sciences is seeking funds for scholarships to support students who wish to complete their Masters in Biological Sciences at an accelerated pace. Students pursuing the accelerated masters track will have a strong desire to attend a health-related professional program (i.e., medical school, dental school, physical therapy program, etc.) or pursue a Ph.D. allowing them to conduct research or pursue careers in the biomedical sciences. Students accepted in the accelerated track will be academically successful FHSU undergraduates who are well-positioned to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences. Students in the accelerated program will have opportunities to take advanced Biology courses that will prepare them for standardized exams (i.e., MCAT, DAT, GRE, etc.), earn internship and/or research credit, and prepare a competitive application for an advanced program while earning their masters degree.

FHSU already offers a masters degree in Biological Sciences. Additionally, the FHSU Graduate School already has policies in place for accelerated masters programs that allows high achieving students to complete 9 graduate credit hours during their final undergraduate academic year, fulfilling undergraduate and graduate degree requirements simultaneously. Currently, students are largely unaware of this accelerated masters option and offering scholarships will serve to recruit more students. Completing an accelerated masters program will require students to be full-time graduate students during the fall and spring semesters and may require summer courses. The Department of Biological Sciences currently has a limited number of research and teaching fellowships for our graduate program; however, the research fellowships support students pursuing careers in natural resources and students completing an accelerated masters will have a limited amount of time to serve as graduate teaching assistants. The funds collected though this endeavor will support up to three students. Their experiences and successes will be assessed and used to determine the future of the accelerated masters degree track in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Please Note: A processing fee will be deducted from your gift when using a credit/debit card. If considering a gift of $1,000 or more, please contact Ricardo Zamora at the FHSU Foundation to determine the best way to give at r_zamora@fhsu.edu or 785.628.5070.