2024-2025 Academic Catalog

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Biology, B.A.

(minimum of 62 total credits)

I. Foundational Program Requirements (38-40 credits)

All of the following courses:

BI 121Foundations of Cell & Molecular Biology

3
BI 131Lab Explorations Cellular &Molecular BI

1
BI 132Lab Explorations Physiology and Ecology

1
BI 281Genetics

3
BI 281LGenetics Lab

1
BI 496Senior Seminar

1
CH 101General Chemistry I

3
CH 101LGeneral Chemistry I Lab General Chemistry Lab

1
CH 102General Chemistry II

3
CH 102LGeneral Chemistry II Lab

1
CH 301Organic Chemistry I

3
CH 301LOrganic Chemistry I Lab

1
 
PHYS 201Physics I:Mechanics

4
or
PHYS 205Physics Using Calculus I: Mechanics

4
 
MA 121Differential Calculus

3
or
MA 131Calculus of Single Variable Functions

4
 
MA 315Probability and Statistics

3
 

Plus two of the following courses:

BI 122Foundations of Organismal & Evol Biology

3
BI 123Fnds of Ecology Evolution & Diversity

3
ES 124Climate and Environment

3
 
BI 121, BI 122, and BI 123 all fulfill the Natural Science requirement for Core if taken with either BI 131 or BI 132 lab.

II. Other Course Requirements (24 credits)

At least one Advanced Research Experience (2 credits):

BI 390Research Experience in Plant Ecology

2
BI 391Research Exp in Molecular Biology

2
BI 392Res Exp Cell Molecular Neuroscience

2
BI 393Res Exp Cellular Mechanotransduction

2
BI 394Research Exp in Animal Physiology

2
Each topic can only count once toward lab credit.

Plus two biology lab credits at the 300-level, or an additional ARE (2 credits):

 
BI 305LMicrobiology Lab

1
BI 306LPlant Biology Lab

1
BI 307LAnimal Physiology Lab

1
BI 311LEcology Lab

1
BI 323LComparative Anatomy Lab

1
BI 329LMolecular Biology Lab

1
BI 369LCell and Molecular Neuroscience Lab

1
BI 370LEvolutionary Analysis Lab

1
BI 389LSpecial Topic

1

At least six courses from the following list, with a minimum of two courses in each biology subdiscipline:

Subdiscipline 1: Cell and Molecular Biology (2 courses):

BI 305Microbiology

3
BI 329Molecular Biology

3
BI 350Developmental Biology

3
BI 369Cell and Molecular Neuroscience

3
BI 382Cell Biology

3

Subdiscipline 2: Organismal Biology and Ecology (2 courses):

BI 306Plant Biology

3
BI 307Animal Physiology

3
BI 311Ecology

3
BI 312Global Change Ecology

3
BI 323Comparative Anatomy

3
BI 370Evolutionary Analysis

3

Other Science Electives (2 courses):

CH 302Organic Chemistry II

3
CH 302LOrganic Chemistry II Lab

1
CH 353Biochemistry I

3
PHYS 202Physics II: Elec/Mag/Opt

4
PHYS 206Physics Using Calculus II

4
Or two additional Biology courses from subdisciplines listed above.

III. Other Program Requirements

  1. All biology majors must earn a grade of “C-” or better in all major courses (sections I and II above) and successfully pass the senior comprehensive examination in biology. Students must pass prerequisite courses with a “C-” or better to advance to subsequent courses.
  2. All degree students should review requirements for graduation as described in this catalog.

IV. Note to pre-professional students (pre-med, pre-dental, etc.)

  1. All program requirements (sections I, II and III above) apply to pre-professional students.
  2. Pre-professional students should consider the following:
    1. Many professional programs require a second semester of Organic Chemistry, a second semester of Physics, and a Biochemistry course. You are advised to complete CH 302, PHYS 202 and CH 353 as part of your course requirements in section II.
    2. Some professional programs may require calculus. You are advised to discuss this possibility with your pre-professional advisor and possibly complete calculus as your math requirement.
    3. More information can be found in the Pre-Professional Programs section of this catalog.