University of New England: Post Baccaulearete Sequence

This program falls under the pre-requisites category.  Here, you can take a number of pre-reqs for graduate school.  Although they say that it is intended for those who want to enter the health sciences, I don't see why it wouldn't work for anyone else.  They recommend checking with programs you want to apply to beforehand to make sure the courses will be accepted, although many health programs will accept them.  So you should probably check with any non-health graduate program you're interested in too.  The biggest pluses for me are Organic Chemistry I & II and Microbiology.

All courses are designed to be completed in 16 weeks.  And they do have labs!  The labs are virtual, using a software program, so you don't have to live anywhere near Maine in order to take the lab part, and you don't have to work with anyone else (including the instructor!) to do your labs!  Each course is pretty expensive, but if you were to attend a regular school, you'd have to take filler courses just to get financial aid in order to be a full-time student.  These other schools would also charge more than base tuition and fees so that you'd be looking at $11,000 and up just to get your pre-reqs for grad school.  (And of course, that's only for one year.)  That's the other great thing about these courses--they are completely self-paced, so you can take up to a year to complete them.  Total costs for each course comes out to around $1340.

University of Alberta-Biology

The University of Alberta doesn't sound like it's a bad place to attend school. There are many options of where to go in biology, and it also sounds like if you want, you can take a more interdisciplinary approach without specializing in one aspect of biology. TA'ing, while not required, is a common source of funding, so it may be necessary. International students pay significantly more than Canadian students, so this is a major drawback for non-Canadians.

They have a higher GPA requirement than other schools, suggesting a more rigorous program. One thing that is really nice is that the GRE isn't required, though it is preferred. The number and variety of courses is amazing. This is my favourite thing about this school. Most courses are for undergrads, but I don't see why graduate students couldn't take them, especially if you need to make up deficiencies. I don't like that they don't list pre-reqs anywhere. They also seem to have lots of research areas nearby, such as a mycology herbarium at the Botanic Gardens. Overall, I recommend this school for those interested in any aspect of biology.

Areas of Emphasis: Ecology, Microbiology & Biotechnology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Physiology and Cell Biology, Plant Biology, Systematics & Evolution

Degrees Offered: MSc, PhD Students typically must have a master's before going for the doctorate. However, exceptional students can get admitted, and after beginning the master's one can get admitted for the doctorate.

Appealing Courses: Advanced Mycology; Advanced Comparative Immunology; Environmental Microbiology, Advanced Parasitology; Advanced Molecular Plant Physiology; Wetland Ecology & Management; Global Biogeochemistry; Conservation Biology; People, Pollution, and the Environment; The Ecology of Below-Ground Communities; Experimental Parasitology, Wildlife Disease; Microbial Physiology; Marine Phycology; Basic Virology; Plant Genetics; Medical and Veterinary Entomology; Lake and Peatland Development; Plant Biochemistry; Biology of Bryophytes; and many, many more.

NOTE: All costs are in Canadian Dollars.

Canadian Students Total Costs: $14, 037
International Students Total Costs: $26, 170

Financial Aid: Students going for their MSc get $22,686/yr. with a TAship; PhD students get $23,332/yr. with a TAship. (First year students only get about $15,000/yr for TA'ing.) International students also receive $3590/yr. to help pay for the international student fee. There is also a $500 TA scholarship available that covers one year. About half of students get funding via a TAship. Other awards and scholarships require TA'ing. There are also Research Assistantships available. Support is provided for 2.6 yrs for MSc students, and 5 yrs for PhD students.

TA'ing required: No
Pre-requisites: None specified
min. GPA: 3.3; may be higher, depending on what other applicants have
min. GRE: The General test is preferred, but not required.
Subject GRE required: No