The Major (64 hours in Addition to University General Education Program Requirements)
Students must earn a grade of at least “C-” in all BIOL courses applied toward the major, the minor, and in all required chemistry, physics, and mathematical courses. BIOL, CHEM, MATH, and PHYS courses applicable toward the major or minor may not be taken more than three times. Students must earn a grade of at least “C-” in BIOL 1110 /BIOL 1111 and BIOL 1120 /BIOL 1121 , before enrolling in any upper division BIOL course.
Any BIOL course applicable toward the major or minor may be repeated once to earn a minimum grade of “C-.” To repeat a course a second time, a student must apply for and receive special permission from the department Undergraduate Studies Committee. Application information is available in the Biology Advising and Resource Center. A student may not attempt the same BIOL course more than three times, regardless of where it is taken. Courses cross-listed with BIOL (e.g., CHEM 4511 , CHEM 4512 , and CHEM 4501 ) also are subject to this course repetition policy.
Completion of 36 hours in BIOL courses, 16 hours in CHEM courses, 3-4 hours in MATH courses, 8 hours in PHYS courses , and 12 hours in Required Support Courses as specified below:
18 Additional Upper Division Hours in BIOL Courses Approved by the Department
One Organismal Diversity Course From Among
One Additional Laboratory or Lecture/laboratory Course
Note:
No more than five total credit hours of research and practicum (BIOL 4000 , BIOL 4001 , BIOL 4570 ) can be applied toward major requirements.
Additional Science and Math Requirements:
Required Support Courses:
Select courses from each of the following three areas for a total of at least 12 hours:
Science Ethics (one course):
Upper Division Social Science (one course):
Skills Courses (two courses):
Foreign Language:
6 hours in a single foreign language, or equivalent. If the language chosen was used to meet University admissions requirements, students must take the foreign language placement exam and complete two sequential courses beginning with the course into which placed by the exam. If a different language is chosen, any six hours will fulfill the requirement.
Accelerated B.S./M.S. Program in Biology
This program allows outstanding undergraduates to begin the coursework for the Master of Science in Biology during their senior year. Students are encouraged to begin planning to enter the Accelerated B.S./M.S. program early in their undergraduate career, in consultation with their advisor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Working with the undergraduate and graduate academic coordinators, undergraduates selected into this program begin a carefully tailored course of study which will allow them to complete their B.S. degree while they also begin the coursework toward their M.S.
To apply, students must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, and must submit two reference letters and a copy of their transcript to the Biology department. Each applicant will complete an interview with the graduate academic coordinator in biology.
Students must also apply to the Graduate School for the accelerated B.S./M.S. program, which allows them to take graduate courses in biology. To continue in the program past the B.S., students must apply for full admission into the Graduate School and into the Biological Sciences department’s M.S. program.
Only in ABM programs, up to 9 hours of graduate course work may be applied to both the undergraduate and graduate programs. However, any graduate coursework will not apply to undergraduate GPA.
Total Hours Required for Graduation: 120
*Must satisfy University General Education Program Requirement.
**Undergraduate research is strongly encouraged as part of the elective hours.
***Choose: PHYS 2010 /PHYS 2011 and PHYS 2020 /PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2110 /PHYS 2111 and PHYS 2120 /PHYS 2121 .
†Students continuing their high school foreign language, e.g. for a foreign language major/minor and/or to meet the BIOL skills course requirement, are encouraged to take foreign language in the freshman year.
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