Biology, B.A.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Requirements for the liberal arts major in biology, B.A. program

This curriculum is designed for students intending to incorporate a biology major into a broader liberal arts program in pursuit of careers in technical fields or business or postgraduate study. Students in the B.A. curriculum who wish to apply to medical or dental schools are advised to complete the concentration in pre-medical studies: medicine, dentistry, optometry and veterinary medicine.

A minimum of 42 credits in biology (except BIO 101 , 104 , 110 , 121 , and 300 ) is required, including at least nine lecture courses and a minimum of four BIO laboratory courses. Students must complete:

1. Required courses

BIO 111 - Biology I (4)
BIO 113 - Biology II (4)
BIO 116 - Biology Laboratory (1)
BIO 315 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry (4) or BIO 325 - Biochemistry I (4)
BIO 341 - Genetics (4)
BIO 387 - Evolutionary Biology (4)
BIO 495 - Scientific Inquiry and Communication (4)

2. One course from each of the following areas

Cell-Molecular/Biomedical

Systems Biology

BIO 301 - Ecology (5)
BIO 303 - Field Biology (4)
BIO 311 - Botany (4)
BIO 317 - Vertebrate Zoology (5)
BIO 353 - Animal Behavior (4)
BIO 373 - Field Botany (4)
BIO 377 - Marine Biology (4)
BIO 465 - Medical Parasitology (4)
BIO 471 - Stream Ecology (3)
BIO 474 - Tropical Field Ecology (3)

3. Two additional biology elective courses, one of which must be a 400-level lecture course

Note: BIO 405 , BIO 430 , BIO 432 , BIO 490 , BIO 495 and BIO 497 do not satisfy this requirement.

4. Minimum of four biology laboratory courses, of which three must be at the 300 level or above

Note: One course may be BIO 490 - Independent Research. BIO 332 and BIO 490 may only count toward one laboratory requirement, even if taken multiple times. BIO 206 does not fulfill this requirement.

5. Chemistry requirements

CHM 144 - General Chemistry I (4) and
CHM 147 - General Chemistry Laboratory I
(1)
CHM 145 - General Chemistry II (4) and
CHM 148 - General Chemistry Laboratory II
(1)
CHM 234 - Organic Chemistry I (4)

6. Physics requirements

PHY 101 - General Physics I (4) or
PHY 151 - Introductory Physics I
(4)
PHY 110 - General Physics Lab I (1)
PHY 102 - General Physics II (4) or
PHY 152 - Introductory Physics II
(4)
PHY 111 - General Physics Lab II (1)

7. Mathematics requirement

MTH 141 - Precalculus (4) (or course competency as determined by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics)

8. Statistics requirement

STA 228 - Statistical Methods for Biology (4)

Note

Corresponding lecture and lab courses should normally be taken simultaneously. Note that some courses have incorporated labs into lecture credit while other labs are given separate credit.

Students using this catalog to meet biology B.A. major requirements may also use any course subsequently approved as satisfying requirements in the cell-molecular/biomedical and systems biology elective areas and published in a later catalog.