WHAT CAN THE BIOCHEMISTRY GRADUATE PROGRAM OFFER YOU?

Offering more than just a graduate degree. Discover and experience more with the Biochemistry Graduate Program.

The Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences at McMaster is simply an outstanding department for life science research and education, among the best anywhere in North America. Faculty members run internationally competitive research programs of high productivity and impact. These investigators are likewise providing first rate and innovative training for the next generation of life scientists. Researchers in Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences are well positioned to study life and disease using high-throughput biology and modern drug discovery methods that are truly at the forefront of biomedical research in the world. State of the art facilities include the Biophotonics Laboratory for microscopy and molecular imaging as well as the McMaster High Throughput Screening Laboratory for small molecule screening and the newly established Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology. Other outstanding facilities include those for mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, molecular biology, physical biochemistry and structural biology.

The laboratories of investigators in the department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences are located throughout the McMaster campus and affiliated hospitals with the majority in the Health Sciences Centre at McMaster. Several of our faculty are associated with research institutes, the David Braley Cardiac Vascular and Stroke Research Institute, the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute and the Institute for Infectious Disease Research, both made possible by a generous gift from Canadian businessman and philanthropist Michael G. DeGroote.

Fast Facts

Program Size
130 Graduate students; >50 Research faculty
Admission Requirements
Minimum of a B.Sc. with B+ average (8.5/12) in Biochemistry. Students with a Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Medicine, Microbiology or Physics degree are also eligible for admission.
Entrance Awards
  • $1,000 for first-class average (>80%)
  • $1,000 for Ontario Graduate Scholarship holders
  • $1,000 for NSERC PGS-M or PGS-D holders
  • $1,000 for CIHR MSc or PhD scholarship holders
Financial Support
M.Sc., $23,581 | Ph.D., $25,465
Faculty Affiliation
Faculty of Health Sciences
Support for International Students

The Office of the International Students’ Advisor provides a number of services for international students:

  • reception and orientation for newly arriving students,
  • preliminary information on visa and passport renewal and other immigration matters,
  • campus and community services,
  • liaison with sponsoring agencies, foreign governments, consulates and embassies.
Degrees Offered
M.Sc., Ph.D., MD/Ph.D.
Hamilton and Surrounding Area
Hamilton is safe and cosmopolitan, with all the conveniences of a large metropolitan city -yet small enough, that students feel a sense of belonging to the community. The city is the fourth largest in Ontario and the ninth in Canada. Hamilton is home to the world famous Royal Botanical Gardens, concert halls and theatres and is less than 1 hour driving distance from Niagara Falls and downtown Toronto. Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit and upstate New York are all within a half-day's drive.