Admission to the Program

Students should apply directly to the MBt program first, as described fully at http://www.calstate.edu/pabs/applicants/. NOTE: Students should apply through CSU mentor only after having been accepted into the program and subsequently directed by the program office to apply to a specific participating campus. The 3 campuses through which the MBt is offered are Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, and CSU Fullerton.

Students assigned to CSULA will be able to complete any one of the six concentrations. Course choices are broadest for the concentrations in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry, Engineering, Business/Law, and Biomathematics. Courses in Regulatory Affairs will be available online.

Applicants must meet the requirements for admission, which include an appropriate (see below) baccalaureate from an accredited institution and a grade-point average of at least 3.0 in the last 90 quarter units or 60 semester units attempted.
(Note that the grade point average requirement for admission to the MBt program has been set higher than that required for general admission to Cal State Los Angeles for graduate study or for admission to the M.S. degree program in Biological Sciences at Cal State Los Angeles.)

In addition to university requirements for admission, acceptance into the MBt program is contingent upon the following:

(1) a B.A. or B.S. from an accredited institution with a grade-point average of 3.0 in major courses in one of the following areas:

Biological Science or related area
Engineering or related area
Chemistry or Biochemistry or related area
Business or Information Science or related area
Computer Science or related area
Mathematics or related area

(2) Completion of the application to the MBt program, which is available at the MBt program web site application page (http://www.calstate.edu/pabs/applicants/)

(3) Submission to the program office (see http://www.calstate.edu/pabs/applicants/) of all supporting documents for the program application, as described at (http://www.calstate.edu/pabs/applicants/)

(4) Completed application with any required documentation to the assigned campus through CSU Mentor. This step should be taken by the student only if he/she has been offered admission to the program following review of materials in items 2 and 3 above.

Because of the rigorous nature of the PABS training program, the applicant’s practical experience and career aspirations will be important factors in applicant selection.
Students with academic deficiencies may be considered for conditional acceptance into the program. For conditionally accepted students, the specific conditions and a deadline for their completion are determined at the time of admission; continuation in the MBt program is contingent upon completion of the admission conditions by the specified deadline.

Requirements for the Degree (40.6 semester units/60.5 quarter units)

Students must complete the core and selected elective courses as described in the tables below. Before being awarded the degree, the student must present his/her project work as a written project report (modified for proprietary reasons as necessary) for submission to the university library. In addition, the student must present his/her work (modified for proprietary reasons as necessary) during a PABS symposium.

PABS Master of Biotechnology (MBt) Curriculum

Note: Academic units are presented below as Semester Units/Quarter Units to accommodate campus programs with varying systems. Fractions occur where semester units are transferred to quarter institutions or vice versa.

PABS Master of Biotechnology (MBt) Curriculum

Note: Students within a specialization must have completed prerequisites for any elective courses chosen for their concentration or must have obtained permission from the instructor to enroll. Permission from the instructor does not alter the standards for achievement within the class.