Biology, B.S.

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The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree program also provides interested students with a broad approach to biology but requires a more comprehensive background in mathematics and the natural sciences. The B.S. program is recommended for students planning careers in research or who plan to continue study in graduate school, medical school, dental school, or in other graduate health care schools.

Prospective biology majors should begin the chemistry sequence (CH 110 -CH 111 ) in the first year.

General Education Requirements (A&S)

In addition to major requirements, students must meet the General Education Requirements that correlate to their degree.

For B.A. and B.S. degrees, see General Education Requirements for the B.A. and B.S. Degrees (A&S) .
For Transfer students, see General Education Requirements for Transfer Students (A&S) .

Major GPA and Grade Requirements

Biology, chemistry, and physics courses must be completed with a grade point average of at least 2.2.

All courses required for the major must be taken for a letter grade and may not be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.

Requirements for the Major

Required credits: 64

A. Biology Courses (32 credits)

1. Core (24 credits)

BIO 122 - Biological Science 4 credit(s)
BIO 123 - Biological Science 4 credit(s)
BIO 260W - Ecology 4 credit(s)
BIO 336 - Comparative Animal Physiology 4 credit(s)
BIO 352 - Cell Biology 4 credit(s)
BIO 272W - Genetics 3 credit(s)
AND
BIO 273W - Genetics Laboratory 1 credit(s)

2. Choose one of the following four options (4-5 credits):

BIO 337W - Immunology 3 credit(s)
AND
BIO 338 - Immunology Laboratory 1 credit(s)
BIO 442 - Microbiology 4 credit(s)
BIO 444 - Biochemistry 3 credit(s)
AND
BIO 445 - Biochemistry Laboratory 2 credit(s)

3. Upper-division courses (3-4 credits)

Upper-level Biology courses in addition to those above to bring the total number of Biology credits to 32.

B. Chemistry Courses (16 credits)

CH 110 - College Chemistry 4 credit(s)
CH 111 - College Chemistry 4 credit(s)
CH 230 - Organic Chemistry 4 credit(s)
CH 231 - Organic Chemistry 4 credit(s)

C. Math and Physics Courses (16 credits)

PHY 120 - Algebra-Based Physics I 4 credit(s)
PHY 121 - Algebra-Based Physics II 4 credit(s)
M 144 - Calculus I 4 credit(s)
M 145 - Calculus II 4 credit(s)

Additional Information

A foreign language and computer science through the intermediate level are strongly recommended.