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 or better in BIO 141 and BIO 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

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
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

BIO Electives: BIO 306 and BIO 307 (Plants and Society) do not count towards the BIO elective. All 500 level BIO courses as well as TEP 437, PSY 412, MPH 471, and ENS 404 count towards the BIO elective. Students should ask the advisor for current list of courses. At least two courses out of the 14 BIO electives credit must be lab courses.

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.