Biology, B.S.

Undergraduate Requirements

The Biology major can be used to fulfill requirements for admission to medical¹, dental, veterinary, optometry or pharmacy schools, for wildlife biology certification by The Wildlife Society².

Specific Biology courses are required for every student majoring in Biology: BIOL 1020 /BIOL 1021 , BIOL 1022 /BIOL 1023 , BIOL 3005  and BIOL 4099  (12 hrs). Every Biology major must also take at least one course from each of the four Biology list electives A, B, C, and D (14 hrs, see below). A course taken to fulfill requirements in one listed area may not count toward a second area. The remaining elective biology courses may be taken to fulfill subject area concentrations or certification requirements.

For all 4000-level botany courses, BIOL 2004 /BIOL 2005  is recommended. For all 3000- and 4000-level zoology courses, BIOL 2010  is recommended. For all 3000- and 4000-level cell and molecular courses, BIOL 2020  is recommended.

A total of 45 credit hours in Biology courses for majors are required for a Biology degree. A minimum of 16 of the Biology elective credit hours must be 3000- or 4000 - level courses (courses taken for the four Biology list electives may count towards this requirement). A minimum final GPA of 2.0 in Biology courses is required for graduation with the B.S. in Biology. Students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in all Biology courses.

Independent study (Biology 4003), Research Participation (BIOL 4097 /BIOL 4098 ), Cooperative Internships (BIOL 4096 ) and Senior Biology Seminar (BIOL 4099 ) can be used as Biology electives (not to exceed more than 7 credits total). Speak with your academic advisor before enrolling in any courses.

¹ Pre-medical and pre-dental students should see page 21. Pre-pharmacy students should consult the pre-pharmacy curriculum.

² Wildlife Biology certification from the Wildlife Society. Certification requirements include 6 hours of wildlife management courses (Game Birds [BIOL 4086 ], Game Mammals [BIOL 4088 ]), 6 hours of wildlife biology that must include Mammalogy (BIOL 4082 ) or Ornithology (BIOL 4084 ) but may also include Herpetology (BIOL 4080 ), 3 hours of ecology (BIOL 3002 ), 9 hours of zoology (from BIOL 2010 , BIOL 3030 , BIOL 3032 , BIOL 4014 , and BIOL 4078 ), or 9 hours of botany (from BIOL 2004 /BIOL 2005 , BIOL 4012 , BIOL 4034 , BIOL 4036 , BIOL 4040 , and BIOL 4051 ). A total of at least 36 credit hours must be earned from the five subject areas, wildlife management wildlife biology, ecology, zoology, and botany. Other requirements include 9 hours of physical sciences from two different disciplines; 9 hours of quantitative sciences, statistics (MATH 1016 ), plus an elective such as computer science, mathematical modeling, or sampling design; 12 hours of communications (ENGL 1001 , ENGL 1002 , CMST 2001  [non-science elective]; and ENGL 3022  [non-science elective]); and 6 hours of Policy, Administration, and Law (Resource Conservation & Management [AGRO 3001 ] and Resource & Environmental Economics [ECON 3090 ]).