For up-to-date information regarding admission and graduation requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, please consult the UIS Catalog.
Admission Whether coming from the Capital Scholars program or transferring from another institution, students generally must complete eight semester hours in biology before entering the undergraduate degree program. These hours may consist of either:
Students must have eight to ten semester hours of college transfer general chemistry with laboratory and college algebra.
Before graduation, students must complete a minimum of one semester of organic chemistry with laboratory. This may be taken either before or after admission. During the two years at UIS, up to twelve semester hours of approved lower-division courses may be transferred from an accredited institution of higher education to make up deficiencies.
Students planning to attend graduate school should consider a minimum of one semester of calculus to increase their scores on the Graduate Record Examination. Students considering admission to a professional career, such as medicine or veterinary medicine, will need a year of physics.
Additional UIS Course Requirements
Incoming Freshmen: Complete ECCE coursework according to the General Education requirements.
Transfer Students Through the 2007-08 Academic Year: UIS requires 12 semester hours of courses focusing on at least two of the following three types of course areas:
The following chart illustrates the number of hours required to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Biology:
Course
|
Hours |
Suggested Semester |
| Prerequisite | ||
| 100-200-level Biology courses | 8 |
prior to admission |
| Core Requirements | ||
| BIO 301 General Seminar | 3 |
fall, junior year |
| CHE 322 Laboratory Techniques | 1 |
fall, junior year |
| BIO 351 Organismal Botany | 4 |
spring, junior year |
| BIO 361 Comparative Vertebrate Biology | 4 |
spring, junior year |
| BIO 345 & 346 General Microbiology & Lab | 4 |
fall, senior year |
| BIO 371 Principles of Ecology | 4 |
fall, senior year |
| BIO 311 Cell Biology | 4 |
fall, senior year |
| BIO 381 Genetics | 4 |
spring, senior year |
| Biology Elective | 4 |
senior year |
| Core Subtotal: | 32 |
|
| Other Possible Requirements* | ||
| CHE 367 Fundamental Organic Reactions | 3 |
fall, junior year |
| CHE 368 Experimental Organic Chemistry | 1 |
fall, junior year |
| UIS Requirements | 12 |
|
| General Electives** | 12-16 |
|
| Total: | 60 |
*One semester of organic chemistry is a prerequisite for some biology core courses. Transfer students with credit equivalent to CHE 367 and 368 can substitute general electives.
**Pre-professional students and students planning to go to graduate school should take a year of physics with laboratory.
The Biology program assesses all students for communication skills and for knowledge of biology. This assessment begins when students enter UIS and continues until graduation. Assessment tools include a written evaluation and the development of a portfolio of laboratory reports and papers. The written evaluation is given both at the beginning of a student’s study at UIS and just before graduation. This assessment is intended to help students in their academic planning and to help the program in curriculum development.
Assessment in the major and in general education skills is included in BIO 301 General Seminar, a required course for all biology majors that uses the learning skills assessment scores to assist the student in developing specific learning skills in biology. Students in general seminar must earn at least a C to receive credit. Those performing below this level are required to complete a learning skills development program.
