Biology, B.A.

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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 Pre-Medical Studies: Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry and Veterinary Medicine Concentration .

A minimum of 42 credits in biology (except BIO 1000 , BIO 1002 , BIO 1004 , BIO 2006 and BIO 3000 ) is required, including at least nine lecture courses and a minimum of four BIO laboratory courses. Students must complete:

1. Required core courses

BIO 1200 - Biology I (4)
BIO 1300 - Biology II (4)
BIO 1201 - Biology Laboratory (1)
BIO 3232 - Biochemistry I (4) or BIO 3230 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry (4)
BIO 3400 - Genetics (4)
BIO 3340 - Evolutionary Biology (4)
BIO 4970 - Scientific Inquiry and Communication (4)

2. One course from each of the following areas

4. Three biology laboratory courses at the 3000 level or above

Note: One course may be BIO 4995 - Independent Research. BIO 3361 and BIO 4995 may only count toward one laboratory requirement, even if taken multiple times. BIO 2101 does not fulfill this requirement.

5. Additional biology elective courses, at the 2000 level or above, as needed to meet the 42-credit minimum

6. Chemistry requirements

CHM 1440 - General Chemistry I (4) and CHM 1470 - General Chemistry Laboratory I
CHM 1450 - General Chemistry II (4) and CHM 1480 - General Chemistry Laboratory II
CHM 2340 - Organic Chemistry I (4)

7. Physics requirements

PHY 1010 - General Physics I (4) or PHY 1510 - Introductory Physics I
PHY 1100 - General Physics Lab I (1)
PHY 1020 - General Physics II (4) or PHY 1520 - Introductory Physics II
PHY 1110 - General Physics Lab II (1)

8. Mathematics requirement

MTH 1441 - Precalculus (4) (or MTH 1331 and MTH 1332 )
(or course competency as determined by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics)

9. Statistics requirement

STA 2222 - 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 specific requirements and published in a later catalog.

Additional Information

In addition to these major requirements, students must complete the Oakland University General Education Requirements , the College of Arts and Sciences College Exploratory Requirement , and an appropriate number of free elective classes to meet the overall credit requirement for the degree (in most cases 124; some degrees may require a greater number).

As a general rule, no more than eight credits of course work used to satisfy one major, minor or concentration may be applied toward another, but exceptions to this rule may be allowed with the written approval of the program coordinators.