The Department of Biology offers thesis based graduate training at both the M.Sc. (Master of Science) and Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) levels. In both programs students are required to take courses.Normally, these courses are selected from the Biology listings, but you may take a course from any department on campus, or from other universities, provided that it is approved for credit by your advisory committee. At least two of the required courses must come from within the Biology Department listings.All our programs require that graduate students take the Graduate Academic Integrity Module. This is an online course that must be completed within the first 8 weeks of your first term and will be listed on your transcript. You will be contacted by the Integrity Office to complete this online module. This is not the same as the Academic Integrity Workshop, which is also required.<br><br>The Department has been active in Molecular Biology since the advent of recombinant DNA techniques. However, this has been strengthened by a series of hires in the 1990s and 2000s and the techniques of molecular biology now extend throughout research in the Department. The Department is taking a leading role in new research and training initiatives in Synthetic Biology, which the Department defines as the combination of Biology with the principles of Engineering to design and build organisms and biological systems with defined purpose.