The bachelor of science degree is designed to build a strong foundation in the skills and content of modern biology, improve students' learning skills, and aid students in applying problem-solving skills to scientific and public issues. It is the first professional degree in the discipline and prepares students for careers in biological sciences and/or further training, including Ph.D. programs and professional schools. The degree offers a balanced biology curriculum and a research experience centered around faculty research interests in molecular, cellular, and organismal biology.
A central emphasis of the Biology Program is mastery of scientific skills and knowledge. Scientific facilities available to students include a new, well-equipped building with research laboratories. Both undergraduate and graduate students use these facilities under the supervision of faculty.
The foundational B.S. and the more-specialized M.S. curricula prepare biology students for many career options, including technicians, scientific sales representatives, project managers in life science and allied health professions, and teachers at the secondary, community college, and university levels. Recent biology graduates have successfully continued their careers in research, medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine.
Students entering the program must have completed eight to ten semester hours in general chemistry with laboratory, five to eight semester hours of biology courses (including general biology with laboratory), and college algebra. Before graduation, a student must complete one semester of organic chemistry with laboratory, which may be taken before or after the student has entered the Biology Program. Up to 12 semester hours of approved lower-division courses may be transferred from an accredited institution of higher education to make up deficiencies.
Students should consult a program faculty member before initial registration. If this is not possible, students must contact a program representative at registration. During the first semester at UIS as a biology major, the program will assist the student in selecting an adviser from among the biology faculty.
The student should prepare a plan to ensure that all requirements are being met. The program recommends that students take the general seminar, organismal botany, and organic chemistry in the fall of their junior year. Students are expected to complete organic chemistry before taking cell biology. Cell biology and comparative vertebrate biology are usually taken in the spring of the junior year. In the fall of the senior year, students typically take ecology and microbiology. Genetics is used as the capstone course. It is assumed that students will have completed most of the required biology sequence before enrolling in this course.
Core Requirements
BIO 301 General Seminar (sophomore or junior year) 3 Hrs.
CHE 322 Laboratory Techniques (suggested fall junior year) 1 Hr.
BIO 311 Cell Biology (suggested spring, senior year) 4 Hrs.
BIO 345 & 346 General Microbiology/Lab (suggested fall, senior year) 4 Hrs.
BIO 351 Organismal Botany (suggested fall, junior year) 4 Hrs.
BIO 361 Comparative Vertebrate Biology (suggested spring, junior year) 4 Hrs.
BIO 371 Principles of Ecology (suggested fall, senior year) 4 Hrs.
BIO 381 Genetics (suggested spring, senior year) 4 Hrs.
Biology elective (suggested senior year) 4 Hrs.
Total Biology 32 Hrs.
Other Possible Requirements
CHE 367 Fundamental Organic Reactions (suggested fall, sophomore or junior year) 3 Hrs.
CHE 368 Experimental Organic Chemistry (suggested fall, sophomore or junior year) 1 Hr.
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.
Students should consult with advisers in the major for specific guidance regarding completion of general education requirements.
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.
Students can gain practical professional experience by participating in an applied study term. Placements have included state agencies such as the Illinois State Museum, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Department of Transportation, SIU School of Medicine, and Lincoln Memorial Gardens. Students may also conduct research with biology faculty members for their AST.
Biology majors with a GPA greater than 3.25 and one semester residency at UIS may elect to participate in the biology honors option. In addition to Biology Program and UIS requirements, honors students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25, successfully complete BIO 302 Honors Seminar, BIO 402 Biometrics, BIO 400 Undergraduate Research (4 hours), and present their findings in a formal paper and public seminar. Students must apply for participation in the honors program to the program convener and obtain the approval of their faculty research adviser before beginning the program.
A minor in biology is designed for students who wish to increase their knowledge of biology, increase their biological literacy, and acquire a foundation in biological sciences and critical thinking. Students may plan a broad-based minor, containing courses from each of the major organizational divisions of living things: cells, organisms, and communities. The minor may also focus on a particular aspect of biology such as botany, ecology, or physiology.
To earn a minor in biology, students must complete a minimum of 24 hours in biology, of which at least eight hours must be upper-division courses taken at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Electives should be selected in consultation with a biology faculty member. Some upper-division courses have particular prerequisites other than general biology. The faculty adviser will ensure that each student is properly prepared.
Two semesters of general biology with laboratory or its equivalent 8 Hrs.
Elective Courses 16 Hrs.
(A minimum of eight hours in biology must be taken at UIS)
Total 24 Hrs.
Applicants are expected to have completed any two of the following courses (or their equivalent) with a grade of C or better: Cell Biology, Microbiology, Genetics, and any two of the following courses (or their equivalent) with a grade of C or better: Botany, Vertebrate Biology, Ecology. They are also expected to have a GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale and to submit a letter that discusses academic and career goals. Conditional admission may be granted to students who have deficiencies in their academic backgrounds.
Accepted students will be assigned to an initial academic adviser who may change as a research focus is decided. Before the completion of 10 hours of program-approved course work, each student must develop a thesis proposal and convene an advisory committee with the assistance of a faculty adviser. See the Biology Graduate Student Handbook for additional information and procedures for the M.S. experience.
A maximum of eight credit hours of C grades are applicable to the degree, provided they are balanced by eight hours of A. However, C grades will not be accepted for required courses, and C grades taken in program-approved elective courses must be balanced by A grades in program-approved courses only. Master's candidates are expected to maintain a B average, and those students who fall below that level may lose their candidacy.
Core Requirements
BIO 402 Biometrics (or equivalent) 4 Hrs.
BIO 502 Biological Research and Policy I 2 Hrs.
BIO 503 Biological Research and Policy II 2 Hrs.
BIO 551 Advanced Cell Biology and Molecular Biology 4 Hrs.
BIO 571 Advanced Ecology and Evolution 4 Hrs.
Total 16 Hrs.
Thesis Option
BIO 585 Master's Thesis 8 Hrs.
Biology approved electives 12 Hrs.
Total 36 Hrs.
Project Option
BIO 575 Master's Project 4 Hrs.
Biology approved electives 16 Hrs.
Total 36 Hrs.
BIO 502 and 503 must be taken within the first 10 hours of graduate work, and BIO 402 must be completed before the project or thesis proposal is approved.
The closure activity is an oral presentation -- open to faculty, students, and guests -- of the written master's project or thesis. Each thesis/project begins with a proposal approved by the student's master's committee, who will determine if the project/thesis meets the standards of the profession. Students must enroll for either four hours of credit for the master's project (BIO 575) or eight hours of credit for the master's thesis (BIO 585); however, the total may be accrued in increments of one hour for the project and two hours for the thesis. Campus policy requires that students be enrolled in at least one semester hour of closure exercise credit for each semester after they have begun their graduate closure exercises until the exercise is completed. For biology students, this means that if the project is not completed by the end of four credit hours of continuing enrollment in BIO 575, students must register in BIO 576 (zero credit hours, one billable hour) in all subsequent semesters until the project is complete. Likewise, if the thesis is not completed by the time eight hours in BIO 585 is accrued in continuing enrollment, the student must enroll in BIO 586 (zero credit hours, one billable hour) each semester until the thesis is complete. Additional information and procedures for completing the master's closure exercise are available in the Biology Graduate Student Handbook in the program office.