Graduate studies in Biochemistry can lead to an MPS or MS degree. Students may choose from biomedical research areas such as cell regulatory systems, protein biochemistry, molecular immunology, cellular and molecular toxicology, microbiology, bioinformatics, and genomics. Financial aid is available on a competitive basis, primarily in the form of graduate teaching assistantships. Research assistantships and University fellowships are also available.
Faculty members are actively involved in research that is supported at the federal level. Students admitted to the graduate program in Biochemistry may also carry out their research with faculty listed under Microbiology, in a number of laboratories in other departments at the University, the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Portland, or through cooperative institutional arrangements and Associate faculty or staff. (In addition to the University of Maine-based faculty listed below, several faculty at Jackson Laboratory, MMCRI, etc, mentor research students in this degree program.)
The MS program prepares students for further studies toward the Ph.D., or medical degrees, as well as for careers in academic or industrial research, or teaching. The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) is a non-thesis master's degree.