Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Biology


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Professors Borucinska, Cohen (emeritus), Coleman (emeritus), Dix (joint with Health Sciences), Simpson (emeritus), Wallace (emeritus)
Associate Professors , Frankel, Levesque (Chair), Li, Silver, Zhu
Assistant Professors Koob, Sacchetti
Instructor Larsen

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree is designed to offer students a broad background in the biological sciences, permitting more free electives than the B.S. program. Biology electives allow students to pursue a variety of specific interests that may lead to positions in government, industry, environmental fields, teaching, and health care professions.

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 the natural sciences. The B.S. program is recommended for students planning to continue study in medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, and related professional schools such as osteopathy.  The B.S. program is also recommended for students planning to continue study in graduate school and pursue a research career.

All courses used to fulfill a major requirement have to be taken for a letter grade except for internships (unless otherwise specified).

Prospective biology majors should begin the chemistry sequence (CH 110 -CH 111P  or CH 114 -CH 136 ) in the first year.

The Environmental Studies minor requirements can be found here .

Pre-Pharmacy agreement with University of St. Joseph

The University of Hartford, in conjunction with the University of St. Joseph Pharmacy School, offers a path to earn both a B.S. in Biology and Pharm. D. degree in six years.

Students who expect to transition from the BS in Biology to the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at St. Joseph’s University should discuss this option with their adviser and the Chair of the Biology Department as soon as they arrive on campus, as there are particular courses students must complete to be eligible for matriculation at St. Joseph’s University. Eligible students must apply for admission to the St. Joseph’s program during the summer before the junior year. Students accepted into the Pharmacy Program at St.  Joseph’s will complete their requirements for the BS in Biology at St. Joseph’s during their senior year as they begin their Pharmacy coursework. The B.S. degree is awarded after the first completed year at the University of St. Joseph. For more information about the program’s requirements, please consult with the Chair of the Biology Department.

Writing Requirement

Biology department writing requirements include essay tests, laboratory reports, and short papers.

Graduate Programs

Master of Science
Thesis and Non-thesis tracks in Neuroscience

For a detailed description of the above graduate program, please see the Graduate Catalog.

Graduate Courses

The following graduate-level courses are open to qualified undergraduate students:

BIO 518 - Neuropharmacology 3 credits

BIO 520 - Introduction to Neuroanatomy 3 credits

BIO 530 - Neurogenetics - 3 credits

BIO 540 - Neuroethics 3 credits

BIO 576 - Pathophysiology 4 credits

 

4+1 Program: BA or BS in Biology and MS in Neuroscience

The purpose of this accelerated program is to enable University of Hartford students to complete both a Bachelor of Arts or Science in Biology and a Master of Science in Neuroscience (non-thesis track) in five years. This program is designed for Biology majors with an exceptional interest in neuroscience who have demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and who know in their junior year that they wish to pursue a master’s degree and specialize in neuroscience. It is recommended that interested students enroll in BIO310, Introduction to Neuroscience, during the fall of their junior year.

Students must apply by April 1 of their junior year by completing the standard online application for graduate study, including three letters of recommendation (two of which must come from the faculty in the University of Hartford). In order to qualify for the conditional admission, a student must have an overall GPA of at least 3.0, based on a minimum of 70 credits, and have a GPA of at least 3.25 in the biology major, based on a minimum of 20 credits. Students will be informed of the conditional admission decision by the end of the spring semester.

If given conditional admission to the Master of Science program, students become eligible to take pre-approved graduate course work during their senior year, 6-9 credits, some of which would be applied toward both the B.A. or B.S. in biology and the M.S. in Neuroscience (one graduate course will count as an upper division Biology elective to satisfy the requirements of the major; the others will count as free electives).

Matriculating in the Masters of Science program is conditional on the student’s completing the B.A. or B.S. in biology while maintaining an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and earning a grade of B or better in each of the graduate courses completed prior to the end of the senior year. Once fully matriculated into the graduate program, the students will complete the remaining courses through the campus-based Neuroscience program.

Biology, B.S.

General Education Requirements (A&S)

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

  • Non-transfer students see General Education Requirements (A&S).
  • 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.

Undergraduate Major Program (B.S.) Required credits: 62-64

31-33 credits of biology

Core courses

Required credits: 55-56

BIO 122, Introductory Biology I BIO 123, Introductory Biology II BIO 260W, Ecology

BIO 272W, BIO 273W, Genetics

BIO 336, Comparative Animal Physiology BIO 352, Molecular Cell Biology

CH 110-111, College Chemistry CH 230-231, Organic Chemistry

PHY 120-121, Algebra-based Physics

7-8 credits of mathematics, choose two from the following:

M 115, Biostatistics

M 140, Precalculus with Trigonometry

M 144, Calculus I

M 145, Calculus II

Additional requirements for the major*

Required credits: 7-8

Choose two from the following:

BIO 442, Microbiology

BIO 446, Biochemistry II lecture**

BIO 410, Developmental Biology

BIO 310, Introduction to Neuroscience

In addition it is recommended that the General Education requirement for Social Science be fulfilled by taking the following:

PSY 105, Introductory Psychology SOC 110, Introductory Sociology

*Students enrolled in the 4+1 program (B.S. Biology, M.S. Neuroscience) should take BIO310 and one graduate course to fulfill this requirement.

**It is recommended but optional that BIO 445W, the Biochemistry laboratory, be taken when BIO 446 is taken.

 

Biology, B.S., Pre-pharmacy 3+3 Program

Students  enrolled in this program must satisfy the requirements of the B.S. Degree in Biology, Arts and Sciences General Education requirements, as well as pre-requisites for admission to the University of St. Joseph School of Pharmacy (https://www.usj.edu/academics/academic-schools/sppas/pharmacy/pharmacy-admissions-information/pharmd-prerequisites/).

In order to facilitate this in three years, the following modified B.S. Biology curriculum should  be followed:

Biology Core

BIO 212 and BIO 213 will be substituted for the BIO 336 requirement

Math Requirement

M 144, Calculus I, and M 115, Biostatistics   must be taken to fulfill the math requirement

Additional requirements for the major

BIO 442 must be taken as one of the upper-level Biology electives

Arts and Sciences General Education Requirements

Humanities:

Eng140, CMM115 must be taken to fulfill two of the humanities requirements. The remaining  humanities course should be a foreign language or a philosophy course, preferably one that satisfies the Diversity requirement.

Social Sciences:

An economics course must be taken to fulfill one social science elective.  The remaining social science course should be a SOC or POL course, preferably one that satisfies the Citizenship/Community requirement.

Additional pre-requisites required for Admission to the University of St. Joseph School of Pharmacy

Humanities:

An additional humanities requirement for St. Joseph’s can be fulfilled using one of the approved UISA courses: UISA 110, 120D, 125, 130, 140, 150D, 165, 190

Social Sciences:

An additional social science requirement for St. Joseph’s can be fulfilled using one of the approved UISC courses: UISC 110D, 140, 150, 160, 165, 185D, 190, 210, 190, 210, 211, 212

Biology, B.A.

General Education Requirements (A&S)

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

•  Non-transfer students see General Education Requirements (A&S).

• Transfer students see General Education Requirements for Transfer Students (A&S).

Major GPA and Grade Requirements

Biology and chemistry 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.

Undergraduate Major Program (B.A.)

Requirements for the Major

Required credits: 50-51

35 credits of biology core

BIO 122, Introductory Biology I BIO 123, Introductory Biology II BIO 260W, Ecology

BIO 272W, BIO 273W, Genetics

BIO 212-213, Human Anatomy and Physiology CH 114, Principles of Chemistry I

CH 136, Principles of Chemistry II

M 114, Statistics, or M 115, Biostatistics

 

3-4 credits, choose one from the following:

M 110, Modeling with Elementary Functions

M 140, Precalculus with Trigonometry

 

12 credits, choose three from the following:*

BIO 352, Molecular Cell Biology

BIO 340, Medical Microbiology

BIO 410, Developmental Biology

BIO 310, Introduction to Neuroscience

 

In addition it is recommended that part of the General Education requirement for Social Science be fulfilled by taking the following:

PSY 105, Introductory Psychology

 

*Students enrolled in the 4+1 program (B.A. Biology, M.S. Neuroscience) should take BIO310 and one graduate course to fulfill this requirement.

Minor GPA and Grade Requirements

Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in courses required to complete the minor. All courses required for the minor must be taken for a letter grade.

Requirements for the Biology Minor

Students choosing a minor in biology must complete a minimum of 18 biology credits approved by the department chair and apply for a minor in biology preferably by the end of the sophomore year. Additionally, 8 credits of chemistry are required as pre-requisites for some biology courses. The specific curriculum will be planned to suit individual student goals, but it should include at least one course not already required for the student’s major and at least one 300- or 400-level course. UIST 120 and UIST 140D with laboratory may be applied to the minor with permission of the department chair.

 

Programs

    Undergraduate Program(s)Minor(s)

    Courses

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