Biology, B.S.

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The College of Arts and Sciences offers an undergraduate major in Biology with a curriculum that provides a strong background in the basic concepts of molecular, organismic, and population biology. In addition, laboratory courses provide the training needed for highly developed laboratory skills. Graduates are qualified for a wide range of entry-level positions as biologists in areas such as pharmaceutics, biotechnology, education, microbiology, and the environment. Students also are prepared for advancement to medical, dental, and veterinary studies, or for graduate level work in biology, including the master’s program in Environmental Biology at GovState.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the BS in Biology program, students will:

Demonstrate knowledge of biology content areas including molecular, organismic and population biology.
Communicate ideas in a scientific style that is clear and logically organized.
Identify and refine their academic and career goals.

Degree Requirements

Students must meet all university requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

In addition, only grades of “C” or better will be accepted for transfer for the following courses normally taken at the lower-division level: eight hours of general biology with laboratory, three hours of botany with laboratory, three hours of zoology with laboratory, eight hours of general chemistry with laboratory, eight hours of organic chemistry with laboratory, and college algebra.

General Education Requirements (38-41 Hours)

The following courses must be taken to meet major and general education requirements:

General Biology I with Laboratory (4)
General Chemistry I with Laboratory (4)
MATH - 2281 Applied Calculus (4)

Required Courses (63 Hours)

The following courses must be taken at the lower-division level:

General Biology II with Laboratory (4)
General Chemistry II with Laboratory (4)

The following courses can be taken at either the lower-division or upper-division level:

Botany with Laboratory (3)
Zoology with Laboratory (3)
Organic Chemistry with Laboratory (8)
BIOL - 3360 Comparative Anatomy (3)
BIOL - 3361 Comparative Anatomy Laboratory (1)
BIOL - 4430 Microbiology (3)
BIOL - 4431 Microbiology Laboratory (1)
PHYS - 2141 Intermediate Physics I (3)
PHYS - 2142 Intermediate Physics Lab I (1)
PHYS - 2143 Intermediate Physics II (3)
PHYS - 2144 Intermediate Physics Lab II (1)

The following courses must be taken at the upper-division level:

Upper-Division Applications Selectives (9 Hours)

Select nine hours from the following courses:

NOTE:

Other biology courses as approved by the academic advisor.

Electives (7 Hours)

May include credit-hours needed to meet minor requirements.

Additional courses such as Analytical Chemistry (CHEM-3233 /CHEM-3234 ), Analytical Biochemistry (CHEM-6333 /CHEM-6334 ), Introduction to Computer Technology (CPSC-2005 ), or Computer Programming: Visual BASIC (CPSC-3120 ) are strongly recommended.