Bachelors
The Bachelor’s Degree
Advising
Students with junior and senior standing should meet with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Biology advisor before initial registration. The student should prepare a plan to ensure that all requirements are being met and discuss this plan with the college advisor. The department recommends that students take BIO 301, CHE 267 and CHE 268 no later than the fall of their junior year.
Students are expected to complete organic chemistry before taking cell biology. The department also recommends that CHE 322 be taken as early as possible following completion of the introductory chemistry sequence. BIO 345 and BIO 346, BIO 351, BIO 361, and BIO 371
can be taken in the junior year. In the senior year, students can take BIO 311, BIO 381, and biology electives. BIO 311 can be taken earlier (e.g., junior year) assuming the organic chemistry requirement has been met. Pre-professional students (pre-med, pre-vet, pre-pharmacy, pre-dental) should meet with a Natural Science Division pre-professional advisor when planning their program. They should also consult the pre-professional website.
Transfer Courses
Transfer courses must have a grade of C or better (grades of C- or lower will not be accepted).
Grading Policy
To be able to enroll in upper division courses, students must earn at least a C in BIO 141 and BIO 241. To earn a Biology degree, students must have at least a C (2.0) average in all of the required courses (including the biology elective). Because writing is a core skill for biologists, students must earn at least a C to receive credit in BIO 301. Those performing below this level (C- or lower) are required to retake the course.
Degree Requirements
Students entering the major must have completed eight semester hours in general chemistry with laboratory, four semester hours in organic chemistry with laboratory, eight semester hours of biology courses (including general biology with laboratory), and one college-level mathematics course (college algebra is not recommended as it will not count toward UIS’ general education math requirement). The general chemistry and general biology courses taken need to be the introductory sequence for science majors. Up to 12 semester hours of approved lower-division courses may be transferred from an accredited institution of higher education to make up deficiencies. For students completing this course work at UIS, the required courses are:
| Prerequisite Courses (for upper division course work) 1 | ||
| BIO 141 | Unity of Living Organisms | 4 |
| BIO 241 | Biology of Organisms in the Environment | 4 |
| CHE 141 | General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHE 142 | General Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHE 267 & CHE 268 |
Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory 1 |
4 |
| 1 |
One semester of organic chemistry is a prerequisite for some biology core courses. Transfer students with credit equivalent to CHE 267 and CHE 268 can substitute general electives. |
Core Requirements
| BIO 301 | General Seminar (sophomore or junior year) | 3 |
| CHE 322 | Laboratory Techniques (sophomore or junior year) | 1 |
| BIO 311 | Cell Biology (suggested spring, junior or senior year) | 4 |
| BIO 345 & BIO 346 |
General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab (suggested fall, junior or senior year) |
4 |
| BIO 351 | Organismal Botany (suggested fall, junior year) | 4 |
| BIO 361 | Comparative Vertebrate Biology (suggested spring, junior year) | 4 |
| BIO 371 | Principles Of Ecology (suggested fall, junior year) | 4 |
| BIO 381 | Genetics (suggested spring, junior year) | 4 |
| BIO elective (400- or 500-level, suggested senior year) | 4 | |
| Total Hours | 32 | |
NOTE: Pre-professional students (pre-med, pre-vet, pre-pharmacy, pre-dental) and students planning to go to graduate school should take a year of physics with laboratory (ASP 201 and ASP 202). Calculus is required for this course sequence. Students should also take a second semester of organic chemistry with laboratory (CHE 269 and CHE 271).