Biology Major - General Biology Option

The General Biology option provides exposure to all the major conceptual areas of biology. It is intended for students wishing to tailor a program to match their interests. It prepares students for professional careers in veterinary medicine or graduate school in a broad area of the biological sciences. It is also recommended for those students who are undecided about specific career goals in biology.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE WITH A MAJOR IN BIOLOGY - GENERAL BIOLOGY OPTION:

Liberal Arts Core - Credits: 39

See Liberal Arts Core .

Specific Departmental Requirements:

BIO 112 - Intro to Organismic and Evolutionary Bio Credits: 4
BIO 113 - Intro to Cell and Molecular Bio Credits: 4
BIO 206 - General Botany Credits: 4
BIO 207 - General Zoology Credits: 4
BIO 260 - Genetics Credits: 4
BIO 320 - Fundamentals of Ecology Credits: 4
BIO 321 - General Physiology Credits: 4
Other upper-division biology courses, excluding cooperative education and internship - Credits: 12
BIO 496 - Senior Seminar Credits: 3
BIO 497 - Senior Thesis Credits: 3

Subtotal Specific Departmental Requirements: Credits - 46

Auxiliary Requirements:

COMP 250 - Academic Inquiry and Writing Credits: 4
CHEM 150 - Fund of Chem I: Atoms/Molecules Credits: 4
CHEM 151 - Fund of Chem II: Chem Reaction Credits: 4
CHEM 250 - Organic Chem I:Organic Compounds Credits: 4
CHEM 251 - Organic Chem II:Biological Chem Credits: 4
* MATH 121 - Pre-Calculus Credits: 4
MATH 201 - Elementary Statistics Credits: 4

Subtotal Auxiliary Requirements - Credits: 28

Recommended Courses

(suggested for those students anticipating graduate school): Math 221, Calculus I, Phys 201 and 202 Physics - Non Calculus I and II

Total Major Requirements - Credits: 74

Free Electives (variable)

TOTAL REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION - CREDITS: 120

Note: Among the minimum 120 credits required for the degree, 45 credits must be upper-division (300- and 400-level) courses.

Note: The following courses require a grade of C- or better for continued progression through the degree program: BIO 112 , BIO 113 , BIO 206 , BIO 207 , BIO 260 .

Note: Students double majoring in Chemistry-Biochemistry Option and Biology-General or Biology-Cellular and Molecular Biology Option may take the senior seminar sequence in either chemistry (Chem 496 and 497) or biology (Bio 496 and 497); these students do not have to take both senior seminar sequences.

*Biology-General Biology majors may meet the Math 121 auxiliary requirement with a higher-level Math course, such as Math 210, 221 or 222.

General Biology Option Suggested Course Sequence

Freshman Fall Semester		Freshman Winter Semester
BIO 112 CHEM 150 MATH 110 or MATH 113 ¹ LIBERAL ARTS	4 4 4 4	BIO 113 CHEM 151 MATH 121 COMP 150	4 4 4 4
Total Credits	16	Total Credits	16

Sophomore Fall Semester		Sophomore Winter Semester
BIO 206 CHEM 250 ³ COMP 250 LIBERAL ARTS	4 4 4 4	BIO 207 BIO 260 CHEM 251 ⁴ LIBERAL ARTS	4 4 4 4
Total Credits	16	Total Credits	16

Junior Fall Semester		Junior Winter Semester
LIBERAL ARTS BIO 320 MATH 201 ES 100 /PE	4 4 4 1	BIO 321 BIO 496 EGC Upper-division Bio	4 3 4 4
Total Credits	13²	Total Credits	15

Senior Fall Semester		Senior Winter Semester
BIO 497 Upper-division Bio EGC Upper-division elective	3 4 4 4	Upper-division Bio 3 Upper-division electives	4 11-12
Total Credits	15	Total Credits	15-16²

Total Upper-Division Credits Required	49-50
Total Credits	122-123

¹ The math course that a student will take is determined by a placement test. There are five levels of math that one may enter. Placement into a course lower than Math 110 will delay this schedule, and placement into a higher course than Math 110 will accelerate it.

² During these semesters students should take additional courses in preparation for a biology career, medical school, veterinary, or graduate school. Your biology faculty advisor can help you with the selection of these courses.

³ Courses offered fall term only.

⁴ Courses offered winter term only.

Print this Page