Program Overview

Program Overview

The Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences / Master of Science in Information Systems (Ph.D./M.S.I.S.) is a concurrent program that allows students to pursue both degrees simultaneously.

Program Requirements for Admission

To be admitted to the program, students must first be admitted to the biomedical sciences program. Subsequently, they are recommended for and apply for admission to the Graduate School for the Penn State Harrisburg M.S.I.S. program.

Application Requirements

The following are required for applicants:

• Completed application
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Score
• A bachelor's degree reflecting a reasonable background in zoology or biology, mathematics, and chemistry
• A minimum junior/senior grade point average of 3.00 and with appropriate course backgrounds
• Two letters of recommendation
• A curriculum vitae
• A description of career goals
• Reading knowledge of one or two foreign languages is recommended

Transfer and Additional Credits

No courses from the M.S.I.S. program may count toward the Ph.D. until the student is admitted to the biomedical sciences program. However, graduate-level courses taken in the M.S.I.S. program at Penn State Harrisburg or at another graduate-level institution may be applied to the M.S.I.S. in accordance with the transfer policies of Graduate Council.

Program Details

It is anticipated that most students in the concurrent programs will require additional graduate credits in order to satisfy the entry and pre-program requirements in business administration. To earn the M.S. degree in Information Systems, students in the concurrent degree program must complete all of the degree requirements for the M.S. degree. Six credits of biomedical sciences core requirement credits may be double-counted toward the M.S.I.S., and four credits of M.S.I.S. course work may be double-counted towards the BMS Ph.D. The six credits from BMS that are eligible to be double-counted are BMS 502 (3) and BMS 503 (3). The four credits of MSIS program that are eligible to be double-counted are the INFSY 540 (3) and INFSY 596 (1). Students must obtain a grade satisfactory to the program in order for the credits to be double-counted.