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Master of Science in Applied Biotechnology

UW-PARKSIDE 2019-21 CATALOG
Greenquist 356 • 262-595-3459

College:
Natural and Health Sciences

Degree offered:
Master of Science

Academic Director: Dr. Francis Mann

Program Overview

The M.S. in Applied Biotechnology represents a fully online, asynchronous curriculum comprised of 31 credits to include six core courses, three sets of track courses, a Capstone preparation course, and a project-based Capstone course. This program is offered collaboratively with UW-Green Bay, UW-Madison, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, and UW-Whitewater with administrative and financial support from UW-Extended Campus.

Goals of the Program

Graduates of the program will gain the core competencies required to manage functions across a wide range of biotechnology industries. The required capstone course, which represents the culminating experience in the program, will provide students with the opportunity to apply skills acquired from coursework through a project-based experience in their ‘track’.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Graduates will:

Competency A - Demonstrate professional and scientific communication appropriate for biotechnology settings.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
  • Select the most appropriate modalities, methodologies, tools, and practices to communicate complex        ideas effectively across diverse audiences
  • Demonstrate effective listening, written, verbal, and nonverbal communication skills
  • Construct and deliver effective professional presentations
Competency B - Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of organizational processes and product development pipelines.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
  • Evaluate and describe systems of product research, development, and production
  • Analyze the potential for commercialization for innovations within the biotechnology industry
  • Critique and integrate changes to an existing product development pipeline
  • Compare organizational processes employed by biotech firms           
Competency C - Distinguish among diverse methods and technologies and their applications in biotechnology.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
  • Compare and contrast emerging with existing technologies
  • Exhibit strong technical knowledge to evaluate and choose appropriate technologies
  • Demonstrate the ability to read, interpret and apply scientific literature
  • Demonstrate competency in data analyses and statistics
Competency D - Demonstrate strategic leadership and decision-making skills necessary in biotechnology.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
  • Compare best practices in leadership required for executive action
  • Demonstrate the skills and processes that maximize team performance to successfully meet goals both as an effective team member and leader
  • Identify and provide evidence-based solutions to problems in compliance, development, personnel, and finance
Competency E - Appraise the current regulatory, quality control, and legal frameworks that impact biotechnology.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of relevant domestic and global regulatory agencies, laws, policies and guidances
  • Assess intellectual property considerations in biotechnology
  • Justify the importance of quality and risk management in biotechnology and explain current good practices
Competency F - Demonstrate professional and ethical behaviors that foster positive and productive interactions in diverse biotechnology settings.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
  • Recognize, foster and apply principles of ethical and professional conduct
  • Identify professional opportunities and personal success by acquiring knowledge, networking, and other career development strategies
  • Understand cultural differences that exist in the global marketplace

 

Admission Requirements for the Master of Science in Applied Biotechnology

Admission to the master of science in applied biotechnology program requires:
  • Bachelor’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited university (in any discipline).
  • 3.00/4.00 GPA. Students with a GPA less than a 3.0 may be considered for a provisional admission. The Academic Director has the discretion to waive a prerequisite that will allow a student to take an ABT course.  Please contact the Academic Director, Dr. Francis Mann, for more information.
  • Prerequisite coursework of two semesters of college level biology and/or chemistry with laboratory.
  • Employment résumé.
  • Three letters of recommendation.
  • A personal statement of not more than 1000 words describing your reasons for pursing a master of science in applied biotechnology, your short- and long-term career goals, and what value you would add to the learning experience of your fellow students.  Space for the personal statement is included in the online application.

 

Requirements for the Master of Applied Biotechnology (31 credits)

To graduate with a master of science in applied biotechnology, students must satisfy all degree requirements, including a minimum degree grade point average of 3.00.

  1. Required courses (18 credits):
    ABT 700 Principles of Biotechnology 3 cr
    ABT 705 Ethics, Safety, and Regulatory Environments in Biotechnology 3 cr
    ABT 710 Professional and Technical Communication in Biotechnology 3 cr
    ABT 715 Techniques in Biotechnology 3 cr
    ABT 720 Experimental Design and Analysis in Biotechnology 3 cr
    ABT 725 Leadership in Organizations 3 cr
  2. Elective Courses (9 credits):
    Choose one option:
    1. Quality Assurance and Compliance:
      ABT 735 Quality Control and Validation 3 cr
      ABT 740 Regulatory Practice and Compliance 3 cr
      ABT 745 Industrial Applications in Regulatory Affairs 3 cr
    2. Business Management:
      ABT 750 Biotechnology Marketing and Entrepreneurship 3 cr
      ABT 755 Global Operations and Supply Chain Management 3 cr
      ABT 760 Quality and Project Management 3 cr
    3. Research and Development
      ABT 765 Assessing Innovation in Biotechnology 3 cr
      ABT 770 Product Development 3 cr
      ABT 775 Tools for Data Analysis 3 cr
  3. Required Capstone Courses (4 credits):
    ABT 789 Pre-Capstone 1 cr
    ABT 790 Capstone 3 cr

Courses in Applied Biotechnology (ABT)

700

Principles of Biotechnology
Prereq: None. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Introduction to basic principles and techniques pertaining to biotechnology and its applications to our society. Survey of classical and emerging techniques.

 3 cr
705

Ethics, Safety, and Regulatory Environments in Biotechnology
Prereq: None. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Ethical and safety concerns in development, production, funding, and application of biotechnology. Analysis of socioeconomic impacts. Understanding the importance of data integrity. Overview of risk assessment and management in a regulatory environment designed to ensure safety of workers, study subjects, and patients, and protect intellectual property, data, and the environment.

 3 cr
710

Professional and Technical Communication in Biotechnology
Prereq: None. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Application and analysis of professional scientific communication, both written and oral. Focuses on designing documents that convey complex, data-rich technical and scientific content to audiences with diverse information needs using a variety of professional genres, including reports, proposals, presentation, and documentation.

 3 cr
715

Techniques in Biotechnology
Prereq: ABT 700. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Application of biological and chemical methods to modern biotechnological product development. Overview of analysis techniques used to characterize products and evaluate quality and safety. Exploration of technological pipeline from conception to market, including proof-of-concept assessment, pre-clinical trials, clinical trials, and post-production testing.

 3 cr
720

Experimental Design and Analysis in Biotechnology
Prereq: None. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Principles of descriptive and inferential statistics with applications in biotechnology including experimental design, quantitative data analysis, and bioinformatic evaluation of complex molecular and biological data sets.

 3 cr
725

Leadership in Organizations
Prereq: None. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Focuses on strategies and tools that managers use to maximize employee contribution and create organizational excellence. Basic business and leadership principles. Best practices to overcome biases that inhibit organizations and teams from communicating effectively. Examples will come from diverse biotechnology fields, including pharmaceutics, agriculture, and biotechnology services.

 3 cr
735

Quality Control and Validation
Prereq: ABT 700, 705, 710. Freq: Yearly.
Focuses on the importance of quality control and validation in biotechnology product design, development, and manufacturing.  Explores quality systems and documentation, global quality standards, and methods for assessing validation including installation, operational, and performance qualifications.  Overviews bio-manufacturing processes, automation, and cGLP/cGMP practices necessary to meet quality standards.

 3 cr
740

Regulatory Practice and Compliance
Prereq: ABT 700, 705, 710. Freq: Yearly.
Identifies and examines the key regulatory agencies and practices that govern the highly regulated and diverse biotechnology industry, both domestically and internationally.  Highlights current and emerging FDA and ICH regulations and guidance documents to successfully navigate meeting with agencies and to submit required documentation for successful product development.

 3 cr
745

Industrial Applications in Regulatory Affairs
Prereq: ABT 735, 740. Freq: Yearly.
Examines the global regulatory environments in risk-based assessment of biotechnological developments across diverse sectors, ensuring consumer and environmental protection. Addresses how validation is essential to the incorporation of emerging technologies into viable, accessible, and successful products.  Highlights the stakeholders' role in regulatory oversight and policy through relevant industry case studies.

 3 cr
750

Biotechnology Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Prereq: None. Freq: Yearly.
Examines marketing case studies in diverse areas of biotechnology. Addresses marketing fundamentals and strategies, communicating value proposition strategy, ethical and regulatory concerns, startup strategies, pharmaceutical marketing, b2b marketing, salesforce development, branding, and promotion. Culminates with the creation of a marketing plan/analysis.

 3 cr
755

Global Operations and Supply Chain Management
Prereq: None. Freq: Yearly.
Focuses on the strategic importance of the supply chain to overall performance relevant to a variety of business processes specific to biotechnology. Topics include life cycle analysis, corporate social responsibility, production, transportation, distribution systems, sourcing, and purchasing.

 3 cr
760

Quality and Project Management
Prereq: ABT 720, 7625 Freq: Yearly.
Quality and project management issues and roles during different phases from R&D to market. Introduction to installation qualification, operation qualification and process qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ). Project management phases: conceptualizing, planning, executing and closing. Project schedule and time management tools and techniques. Project requirements including quality assurance.

 3 cr
765

Assessing Innovation in Biotechnology
Prereq: ABT 700. Freq: Yearly.
A survey of biotechnology assessments in areas such as regenerative medicine, agricultural biotechnology, and bioremediation. Course links disciplines with the critical evaluative role played by scientific discovery, market valuation, intellectual property, freedom-to-operate (FTO), and licensing strategy by assessing the role each played in the commercialization of a specific technology.

 3 cr
770

Product Development
Prereq: ABT 700, 715. Freq: Yearly.
Explores strategies in evaluating and implementing new technologies or products in the context of different bioindustries. Identifies considerations in product valuation, feasibility of production, scalability, and supply chain management. Models the process of business growth and innovation through integration of emerging technologies.

 3 cr
775

Tools for Data Analysis
Prereq: ABT 705, 715. Freq: Yearly.
Using a variety of existing and emerging bioinformatics tools and computational methods, emphasizes hands-on experiences analyzing and interpreting large data sets (e.g. genomic, proteomic, microbiomics, target discovery). Students will also evaluate and adapt existing computational approaches for specific use in solving a problem in biotechnology.

 3 cr
789

Pre-Capstone
Prereq: ABT 700, 705, 710, 715, 720, 725. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Prepares the student for applied self-directed capstone experience. Addressing problem identification, research, and project formulation. Culminates in an oral and written proposal with project schedule.

 1 cr
790

Capstone
Prereq: ABT 789. Freq: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Student will complete a project (report, business plan, program, etc) in an area of quality assurance and compliance, business and management, and/or research and development. Culminating in a substantive body of work, executive summary, and reflection. Networking and communication in a professional capacity is expected.

 3 cr
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