Testimonial

Ashleigh Keller, M.S. 

Job: Senior Scientist

Company: Denver Biotechnology Industry

“It was fabulous. It was so flexible. I would take an exam sometimes at 11 p.m. or 7 a.m. or on my lunch break.”
- Ashleigh Keller - Online microbiology master’s program graduate

Dream Job Achieved!

“I wanted to move ahead in my career and get the science foundation that I was missing in my undergraduate degree. I was working in a lab, but I did not have the actual academic instruction behind me.”

“The job that I was at while I was doing the program, I was promoted during that time, and the fact that I was getting the master’s was one of the reasons they gave me for doing that. And then I recently started a new position, which is kind of my dream job. The feedback that I got when I was hired was, ‘First of all, we were really impressed that you were working full time and got your master’s in 18 months,’ which was hard — I’m not going to lie — but it was definitely doable.”

Our Professors are Exceeding Expectations

“The quality of the instructors was above my expectations for an online environment. Dr. Gurley and Dr. Keyhani were excellent. They were very engaging speakers. Both of them were funny. I think both had this way of making some sort of comparison to everyday life and then relating it back to the material, which made me remember things better. It was easier for me to grasp. And they were both very responsive to questions. I would ask a simple question and they would answer about three others I had.”

“The professors were completely accommodating. Whenever I reached out, 99% of them were getting back to me within one day. And most of them much sooner than that. They were holding office hours at lots of different time slots. They made it so I didn’t really even think about the fact that I was in a different time zone, because I didn’t have to. When I needed to get in touch with somebody, when I needed to do what I needed to do with the lectures, [help] was just there. It was available.”

Finished in Just 18 months

“I wasn’t planning on necessarily finishing in 18 months. I kind of was working out, ‘How is this going to work out with my life? How much time am I actually going to have?’ And I think [it was possible] because [UF’s program] was so flexible. My dog gets me up at 5:00 a.m. I don’t have to be at work until 9:00, so I’ve got 2 1/2 hours there that I can just spend doing schoolwork. That made it so I could finish quicker.”

Advice for Future Students

 “I understand my work so much better [now] and I can actually contribute insightful and useful ideas to my team. I’m really glad I did the program. It’s a great value for the education I received! It’s worth it. It will go by faster than you think, and you’ll miss learning when you’re done!”

“I hate to say this because it was a hard class, but Bioinformatics. Definitely a class a lot of my colleagues haven’t taken, and it has given me an edge. It’s necessary in today’s world.”

Are you ready to advance your career and become an expert in your field?

Check out our Master of Science in Microbiology and Cell Science program!