Master of Science in Tumor Biology

The Tumor Biology Program has implemented a Master of Science (M.S.) program designed specifically to meet the needs of these individuals. There are two tracks for the M.S. program: (1) a Standard track and (2) a Cancer Systems Biology track. The key differences in the Standard MS and Cancer Systems Biology tracks are the following: (a) Students on the Cancer Systems Biology track will be required to take the following courses on Bioinformatics or Systems Biology: TBIO 540 (Biomedical informatics), TBIO 530 (Systems Biology and Bioinformatics), and TBIO 562 (Translational Bioinformatics); (b) Students on the Cancer Systems Biology tract will not be required to take TBIO 520 (Cancer Prevention, Control & Epidemiology, 3 credits) and TBIO 536 (Cancer Pharmacology I & II, 4 credits); and (c) Students on the Cancer Systems Biology MS track will complete their Cancer Research Techniques (TBIO 705/706) requirement in laboratories at Georgetown University Medical Center that are focused on cancer research that involves systems biology approaches. Both tracks provide students with an interdisciplinary concentration in the study of Tumor Biology as well as laboratory experience. Students on the Cancer Systems Biology track will be introduced to current theories and promising new "-omics" tools to study the dynamics of carcinogenesis. Our graduates have gone on to top-tier graduate schools (~33%), medical school (~33%) or industry (biotech or pharmaceutical, ~33%) to complete their training or launch their careers. Our research and clinical faculty have strengths in a wide range of topics in oncology, including treatment and prevention of breast, prostate and colon cancer, drug resistance, drug development, cancer vaccines, childhood cancers and brain cancers. The M.S. in Cancer Biology program is a one-year program with admissions in the fall semester. The formal requirements for a M.S. degree in Tumor Biology are completion of 30 graduate credits and a laboratory experience (Cancer Research Techniques) over two semesters.