Apply | Graduate Handbook | Overview | Curriculum | Experiential Learning | Faculty  | Orientation
Application due 5/1

Overview
We are experiencing an unparalleled boom in the already significant biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, particularly in the Boston area.
A January 1999 study by the accounting firm Ernst & Young shows that the New England area has surpassed San Francisco, for the first time, in the formation of firms searching for gene-based drugs. It is estimated that the Massachusetts biotechnology industry now employs triple the number of employees that it did in 1991 (25,000 currently and increasing).

For several years, Boston-area biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have been expressing frustration over the shortage of job candidates with advanced degrees and prior industrial experience. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies that we have contacted have all expressed their vital interest in development of the pool of educated professionals with expertise in biotechnology. Specifically, the Industrial Advisory Board for the Northeastern University Molecular Biotechnology Initiative requested that we create an interdisciplinary Masters Program in Biotechnology with specializations in Molecular Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, and Engineering Biotechnology.

Building on the experience gained in developing our Sloan Foundation-sponsored Professional Masters in Bioinformatics program, our Biotechnology Masters Development Team has created a flexible, two-year, professional Masters in Biotechnology program that addresses the needs of students and industry through rigorous, interdisciplinary training in biotechnology and "hands-on" industrial rotations. Our goal is to educate professionals who are prepared for immediate productivity in industrial, governmental, or clinical settings.

Visit the Biotechnology Web site.

Curriculum
Our major educational objective for students is the attainment of a common core of knowledge in biotechnology, with particular emphasis on their ability to integrate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. Specific track objectives are to provide students with didactic and practical knowledge:

• in genomics, proteomics, and gene expression analysis(Molecular Biotechnology)
• in drug discovery, development, and delivery (Pharmaceutical Biotechnology)
• in bioprocess development and optimization (Engineering Biotechnology)

Students will be required to maintain a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) or better to remain in good standing in the Program. Student performance will be reviewed annually. Those students with GPAs below 3.00 will be placed on probation for one semester, during which they will be expected to return to good standing. Failure to raise the GPA to 3.00 will be grounds for dismissal from the program.

Read the curriculum.

Experiential Learning
The internship experience is the major “real-world” component of our program. Under the supervision of a Biotechnology Masters Program Internship Coordinator, each student will complete one paid full-time internship that will provide him/her with an invaluable opportunity to gain professional training and experience in the commercial sector. The internship will be three to six months in length, depending on the requirements of the employment site.

Read about internships on the Biotechnology Web site.

Faculty
The faculty members of the Biotechnology program represent eight departments in three Northeastern colleges, as well as the Barnett Institute.

Read the complete Biotechnology faculty list and profiles on the Biotechnology Web site.

Fall Orientation

Click here for orientation information for Fall 2008