Master of Science in Toxicology

The Toxicology Program provides course work and research training to prepare prospective toxicologists and environmental health scientists for careers in academia, government, and industry. Research in the program spans an array of topics ranging from the molecular to population level consequences of toxicant exposure. Areas of research excellence within the program include elucidating relationships among cell signaling processes and stressor-induced disease and toxicity, establishing mechanisms of system-specific toxicity, using physiological and genomic approaches to understand differences in species and individual susceptibility to environmental contaminants, and unraveling gene-environment interactions. Some specific research areas include: apoptosis, endocrine disruption, trace metal bioaccumulation and detoxification, oxidative stress/gene regulation/cell toxicity, asthma and lung fibrosis, cancer and mutagenesis, ecotoxicology, developmental abnormalities, chemical exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology. Some examples of the types of environmental agents that are being investigated include chemical carcinogens, trace metals, pesticides, particulates metals, endocrine disruptors, nanoparticles and UVB radiation.

Prospective students should have a strong background in the biological and physical sciences with a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and a minimum Quantitative GRE score in the 70th percentile. IELTS scores with an overall band score of at least 6.5. Minimum test scores for each section are listed below: Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.5, Speaking 6.5 TOEFL with a total score of at least 80 on the Internet-based Test (iBT), and with minimum test scores for each section of: Listening 18 points, Reading 18 points, Writing 18 points. Computer-based TOEFL scores must be 213 or higher (with at least 17 on three sections and no section score below 13). The paper-based test requires a score of 550 or higher (with scores of 50 on at least two of the three sections and no section score below 45).