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 concentration in pre-medical studies: medicine, dentistry, optometry and veterinary medicine.

A minimum of 42 credits in biology (BIO 111 and above) required, including at least nine lecture courses and a minimum of four BIO laboratory courses. Students must complete:

1. Required courses

BIO 111 - Biology (4)
BIO 113 - Biology (4)
BIO 116 - Biology Laboratory (1)
BIO 315 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry (4)
BIO 341 - Genetics (4)
BIO 387 - Evolutionary Biology (4)
BIO 495 - Scientific Inquiry and Communication (3)

2. One course from each of the following areas

Cell-Molecular/Biomedical

Systems Biology

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

(BIO 405 , BIO 490 , BIO 495 and BIO 497 do not satisfy this requirement).

4. Minimum of three biology laboratory courses above the introductory level

One of which may be BIO 490 .

5. 14 credits of chemistry

CHM 157 - General Chemistry I (0 or 5)
CHM 158 - General Chemistry II (5)
CHM 234 - Organic Chemistry I (4)

6. 10 credits of physics

PHY 101 - General Physics I (4) and
PHY 102 - General Physics II (4)
or
PHY 151 - Introductory Physics I (4) and
PHY 152 - Introductory Physics II (4)
Depending on MTH option.
and
PHY 158 - General Physics Laboratory (2)

7. 4 credits of mathematics

MTH 141 - Precalculus (0 or 4) (or course competency as determined by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics)

8. 4 credits of statistics

STA 228 - Statistical Methods for Biology (4) (recommended) or
STA 225 - Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Reasoning (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.