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 as many Introductory courses (see below) as possible their freshman and sophomore year.  BIO 301, CHE 267 , CHE 268 and CHE 269 should be taken no later than spring of their junior year.

Students are expected to complete the first semester of organic chemistry before taking cell biology. Core Courses (see below) BIO 311 , BIO 371, BIO 381, BIO 391 and BIO electives should be started in the junior year with emphasis on those core courses that serve as pre-requisites for future BIO electives of interest. In the senior year, students can take remaining BIO electives and Core Courses. Pre-professional students (pre-med, pre-vet, pre-pharmacy, pre-dental) should meet with a 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 CHE 142. To earn a Biology degree, students must have at least a C (2.0) average in all required courses (including biology electives). 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 declaring the BIO major complete eight semester hours in general chemistry with laboratory, seven semester hours in organic chemistry with laboratory, eight semester hours of biology courses (typically general biology with laboratory), and one course in statistics. 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 U.I.S., the required courses are:

Introductory Courses (for core course work) 1
BIO 141 General Biology I 4
BIO 142 General Biology II 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		 4
CHE 269 Organic Chemistry II 3
MAT 121 Applied Statistics 3
Total Hours 26

Core Requirements

BIO 301 General Seminar (sophomore or junior year) 3
BIO 311 Cell Biology (offered in spring, junior or senior year) 4
BIO 371 Principles Of Ecology (offered in fall, junior or senior year) 4
BIO 381 Genetics (offered in spring, junior or senior year) 4
BIO 391 Evolution (junior or senior year) 4
BIO 401 Integrative Biology: Senior Seminar (final semester) 3
BIO Electives (300 and 400 Level BIO courses, at least 2 lab courses) 1 14
Total Hours 36

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. These students should also take the laboratory associated with the second semester of Organic Chemistry CHE 271.