Biology, BA (BIOL)

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.

General Education Requirements

Please see the General Education 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 general education requirements and are not included in total major hours

Choose 11 hours not previously taken from:

BIOL 300-499, excluding BIOL 353 and BIOL 354
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

Experiential Learning

Students are required to complete an experiential learning component.

Choose one option from the list below:

BIOL 357 - Microbiology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^
BIOL 364 - Ecology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^
BIOL 399 - Biology Research Credit Hours: 3 ^
BIOL 493 - Human Anatomy Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 ^
BIOL 498 - Cancer Biology Credit Hours: 3 ^
PHP 308 - Global Healthcare Credit Hours: 3 ^
^Hours fulfill either general education or major requirements and are not counted a second time for this requirement.

Total: 0 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 general education requirements and are not included in total major hours

Course Concentration

Courses in another department (required CHEM and General Education 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

Statistics

MATH 123 - Elementary Statistics Credit Hours: 3 *
or
MATH 377 - Statistical Methods I Credit Hours: 3
or
BIOL 483 - Biostatistics Credit Hours: 3
*Hours may also fulfill general education requirements and are not included in total major hours

Total: 20-23 Credit Hours

Electives

Minimum - 22-25 Credit Hours

Total Major Hours: 74

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.