Program: Biology, BA (BIOL) - Abilene Christian University

2022-2023 Catalog With Addendum

Apr 02, 2025

Bachelor of Arts Degrees (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts degree in biology serves as a professional degree for those who typically do not wish to pursue graduate work in the biomedical or laboratory sciences. It may serve as a foundation for field and ecological sciences provided a sufficient statistics course is also taken. It may serve as a solid liberal arts degree for students wishing to pursue science writing, for example.

Admission Requirements

Before being admitted to a program, a student must satisfy the requirements listed in the ACT/SAT Placement Information section of this catalog.

University Requirements

Please see the University Requirements section of this catalog.

Major Requirements

Biology

BIOL 121 - Introductory Biology I Credit Hours: 3 *
BIOL 122 - Introductory Biology I Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
BIOL 123 - Introductory Biology II Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 124 - Introductory Biology II Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
BIOL 312 - Cell Biology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 351 - Genetics Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 362 - Ecology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 364 - Ecology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
BIOL 497 - Seminar in Biology Credit Hours: 3 (capstone and writing-intensive course)
*Hours may also fulfill university requirements and are not included in total major hours

Choose 4 hours from the following:

BIOL 403 - Marine Biology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 404 - Marine Biology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
or
BIOL 408 - General Mammalogy Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 409 - General Mammalogy Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
or
BIOL 413 - Plant Systematics Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 414 - Plant Systematics Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
or
BIOL 486 - Comparative Botany Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 488 - Comparative Botany Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
or
BIOL 487 - Comparative Zoology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 489 - Comparative Zoology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1

Choose 7 hours not previously taken from:

BIOA or BIOL 300-499
CHEM 453 - Biochemistry I: Foundations of Biochemistry Credit Hours: 3
CHEM 454 - Biochemistry II: Gene Expression Credit Hours: 3
CHEM 456 - Biochemistry III: Metabolism Credit Hours: 2
CHEM 463 - Biochemistry Laboratory I Credit Hours: 1

Total: 29 Credit Hours

Supplement for Major

Chemistry

CHEM 131 - General Chemistry Laboratory I Credit Hours: 1
and
CHEM 133 - General Chemistry I Credit Hours: 3 *
CHEM 114 - Introductory Organic and Biological Chemistry Credit Hours: 3
CHEM 112 - Introductory Organic and Biological Chemistry Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
or
CHEM 132 - General Chemistry Laboratory II Credit Hours: 1
CHEM 134 - General Chemistry II Credit Hours: 3
*Hours may also fulfill university requirements and are not included in total major hours

Course Concentration

Courses in another department (required CHEM and University Requirements courses are excluded) Credit Hours: 9

Foreign Language

FLLA 221 - Intermediate Latin I Credit Hours: 3
FLLA 222 - Intermediate Latin II Credit Hours: 3
or
FREN 221 - Intermediate French I Credit Hours: 3
FREN 222 - Intermediate French II Credit Hours: 3
or
GER 221 - Intermediate German I Credit Hours: 3
GER 222 - Intermediate German II Credit Hours: 3
or
SPAN 221 - Intermediate Spanish I Credit Hours: 3
SPAN 222 - Intermediate Spanish II Credit Hours: 3

Sophomore (or higher) Literature

(Not including ENGL 351 ) Credit Hours: 3

Statistics

MATH 123 - Elementary Statistics Credit Hours: 3
or
MATH 377 - Statistical Methods I Credit Hours: 3
or
BIOL 483 - Biostatistics Credit Hours: 3

Total: 26 Credit Hours

Electives

Minimum - 17 Credit Hours

Total Major Hours: 72

Other Graduation Requirements

Minimum GPA in major: 2.00
Minimum GPA for graduation: 2.00
Minimum advanced hours: 33
Minimum total hours: 128

Courses numbered 0** do not count in minimum hours required for degree.