Description of Undergraduate Program
See Also: Available Course Syllabi
Biological Sciences Major
The biological sciences major offers concentrations in: BCMB; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Microbiology; and Plant Biology. An honors option is available in all four concentrations.
Prerequisites to All Concentrations
Chemistry 120-130; Physics 221-222; Mathematics 141-142 or 151-152; Biology 130 or Botany 110-120; Biology 140-240-250
Progression Requirements
Students may declare a biological sciences major after completing the prerequisites Chemistry 120-130, and Biology 130 or Botany 110-120 courses with at least a 2.5 GPA in those courses. A cumulative 2.5 GPA is required to declare and to continue in the major. Students wishing to declare a major in biological sciences will be assigned a faculty advisor in one of the biological sciences departments in consultation with the student. Declaration of a biological sciences major should occur as soon as the student decides on this course of study, but not later than three semesters before the expected graduation date in order to ensure that requirements can be met in a timely manner.
Biochemistry & Cellular & Molecular Biology Concentration
The concentration consists of 32 hours including Chemistry 350-360-369, BCMB 401-402, and ...
- At least 16 additional credit hours selected from BCMB courses numbered 300 or above (except BCMB 310, 410, 457) or from the following courses in other departments: Microbiology 310-319, 410, 411, 420-429, 430, 440; Botany 321, 404; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 350, 360, 460.
- At least two of the 16 credit hours must be selected from the following laboratory courses: BCMB 403, 416, 419, 429 and 452, and Biology 401.
- At least three of the 16 credit hours must be selected from the following physiology courses: BCMB 440, Botany 321, and Microbiology 310. No more than 9 of the 16 credit hours may be in non-BCMB courses.
Honors Option
An honors option is offered to students with a cumulative GPA in biological sciences prerequisite courses of 3.5 or above and who have completed Biology 130-140-240-250. The honors option also requires a substantive research project carried out under the supervision of a BCMB faculty member and a thesis describing the results of that project. The thesis must be approved by the faculty supervisor.