Department of Biomedical Sciences announces non-thesis track for Master of Science grad students

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) Department of Biomedical Sciences is now offering a non-thesis option for its Master of Science graduate program.

The new track for graduate students pursuing study in the biomedical sciences is the result of a variety of factors, said Assistant Professor Amanda Haage, Ph.D., including the region’s need for more professional scientists who are as interested in teaching as they are conducting research.

“Regionally and nationally, we’re seeing a growing need for skilled anatomy educators teaching gross anatomy in higher education,” said Haage, who also manages the School’s Imaging Core. “Particularly teachers with experience in cadaver-based teaching, which is one of the most in-demand areas in higher education. A large portion of our graduates already go on to teach in the region, and this new track will produce even better trained educators for our peer institutions.”

This cohort of teachers includes future medical or other health professions students who are taking a gap year, added Haage.

“We’ve also seen a growing trend nationally of students taking a gap year after graduating from college with a STEM degree before applying to medical school,” she said. “What students do with a gap year varies, but we saw an opportunity at UND to offer a one-year program geared toward prospective medical and other health professions students looking to earn a degree that will boost their chances of getting into the healthcare program of their choice.”

The non-thesis track

Typical graduate programs in the biomedical sciences require master or doctoral students to develop a graduate thesis or dissertation based on a focused laboratory research project that students complete with oversight from a faculty mentor. With the non-thesis Master of Science model, though, students focus less on lab-based research than on pedagogy – on acquiring anatomical and biomedical knowledge and the skills necessary to transmit that knowledge to others, particularly college undergraduates.

This shift means that for students interested in teaching anatomy or biomedical science to college or possibly high school students, the research-based graduate thesis – once the hallmark of graduate study – becomes less necessary than acquiring the skills and strategies of effective teaching.

“We really wanted to include the teaching component in this program because as anyone who teaches knows, most of us don’t really understand a subject until we’ve had to teach it to a room of students,” added Haage.

To that end, non-thesis graduate students in the Department of Biomedical Sciences will be given the opportunity for more advanced roles as teaching assistants (TAs) in SMHS undergraduate courses.

“Undergraduate student enrollment in our introductory courses is increasing, while funding for graduate student research is not,” explained Barry Milavetz, Ph.D., professor and interim chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences. “This program allows some of our master’s students to become more proficient in biomedical content through teaching it while also providing our School with well-trained and more independent TAs for our some of our undergraduates.”

The new program will offer prospective graduate students two master-level tracks: one for future health providers and one for biomedical educators. These tracks, both of which can be completed in one calendar year, train students in anatomy, physiology, and microbiology and usher them into courses with titles like “Peer Teaching & Tutoring in Biomedical Sciences” and “College Teaching” – some of which are housed in UND’s College of Education & Human Development.

“This is a good option for students who did not plan on pre-med early on in college,” Haage added, “giving them not only a degree but time to prep appropriately for healthcare practice, or an alternative path when life events make pivoting necessary.”

North Dakota 85

Part of the push for the new program, said Milavetz, has been the School’s North Dakota 85 program. Focused on recruiting and retaining more North Dakota students for healthcare professions, this program, also known as ND85, set a goal of enrolling 85% North Dakota students in its medical doctor (M.D.) and physician assistant (P.A.) classes by 2030.

For Milavetz, the new degree track both helps UND prepare more of its own students for success in its M.D. and P.A. training programs and provides regional college students with exposure to UND, giving them motivation to make UND their professional home.

“We see the non-thesis master’s degree as a rigorous prep option for North Dakota students,” Milavetz noted. “It will help them prepare for and increase their scores on [admissions tests] such as on the Medical College Admissions Test and give them a stronger life sciences background for their pre-clinical training once they are in medical or P.A. school.”

Something that can only benefit these students’ future patients.

“Students completing this program will not only graduate with the critical thinking skills necessary for lifelong learning and professional success,” concluded Haage, “but they’ll strengthen their ability to communicate biomedical concepts effectively while engaging professionally in teaching and collaboration.

“One intense year will help program grads launch themselves in so many directions,” she said.

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Brian James Schill
Director, Office of Communications & Engagement 
UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences 
701.777.6048 direct | 701.777.4305 office
brian.schill@UND.edu  |  www.UND.edu