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 or BIOL 2030 is recommended. For all 3000- and 4000-level zoology courses, BIOL 2010 or BIOL 2030 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.
A total of 8 credit hours in Math and Physical Science electives (see below) must be taken from the approved list of atmospheric science, chemistry, geoscience, math, or physics 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 Premedicine, Predentistry, and Preoptometry . 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 3024 ([non-science elective]); and 6 hours of Policy, Administration, and Law (Resource Conservation & Management [AGRO 3001 ] and Resource & Environmental Economics [ECON 3090 ]).
