Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S.


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Transferability of credits from other institutions that are not already approved for articulation to Chapman will be determined at the discretion of the program director.

Students with sufficient high school background or appropriate AP or IB test scores may waive one course or more of the following: BIOL 204 CHEM 140 /CHEM 140L , MATH 110 , MATH 111 , MATH 115 , PHYS 107 . (Note, however, BIOL 204 CHEM 140 /CHEM 140L  and PHYS 107  courses may need to be taken at a college/university to fulfill the requirements for medical school and/or other graduate programs.)

Program Learning Outcomes and Educational Effectiveness Evaluation Plans for B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Students pursuing the B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are required to:

  • Earn an overall GPA of 2.000 for all required major courses.
  • Complete all courses in the major for a letter grade, except those where the default grading option is P/NP.
  • Complete a minimum of 21 credits from upper-division courses in the major.
  • Complete the exit exam and a capstone requirement.

Majors required to enroll in FFC 100 - First-Year Foundations  to satisfy their General Education requirement must enroll in the topic “Grand Challenges in Science and Technology.”

capstone requirement (0-3 credits)


(see options below)

total credits 71-78


*PHYS 101 /PHYS 101L  and PHYS 102 /PHYS 102L  may be substituted for PHYS 107  and PHYS 108 .

**MATH 110 /MATH 111 /MATH 210  may be substituted for MATH 115  and MATH 116 .

exit exam requirement


All majors will take a standardized exit exam on the Saturday after fall break or spring break in the senior year. The score on this exam will be used by the Faculty to decide whether Degree Program Honors are awarded, in addition to the requirements listed under “Degree Program Honors” under “Schmid College of Science and Technology.” The exit exam can only be taken once.

capstone requirement


Students are required to complete a capstone project before graduation. Students cannot graduate until the capstone project has been successfully completed and the faculty advisor has notified the Office of the University Registrar that the capstone requirement has been fulfilled. This requirement shall be fulfilled by completing one of the listed options. Students seeking honors must complete option one, two or four.

Option one: Successful completion of undergraduate research experience in between junior and senior year funded by the National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society, Chapman SURF or other national research agency that sponsors undergraduate research. The research experience must be at least eight weeks long, require full-time work in a laboratory setting and lead to the completion of a well-defined research project. A student selecting this option will submit a formal research paper modeled after a formal lab report to the academic advisor by end of the final semester of the senior year and present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will also give an oral presentation of their research to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.

Option two: Successful completion of a pre-approved research internship immediately preceding or during senior year that results in the completion of a research project. The student must register for three credits of BCHM 490  and work with a faculty member and research supervisor to identify the student’s research project. A student selecting this option will submit a formal research paper modeled after a formal lab report to the faculty internship supervisor by end of the final semester of the senior year and present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will also give an oral presentation of their research to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.

Option three: Successful completion of a significant review of the literature. The student must register for two credits of BCHM 491  or BCHM 499  in the fall semester of their senior year to begin work on this project and one credit in the spring semester of their senior year. The student shall expect to invest considerable time and effort researching and writing this review, which will be 30 to 40 pages in length and appropriately cited. The review is due to the faculty mentor at the end of the final semester of the senior year and the student must present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will give an oral presentation of their paper to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.

Option four: Successful completion of independent research overseen by a faculty member in the sciences (this will satisfy chemistry in-depth course requirements). The student will register for BCHM 491  or BCHM 499  for a minimum of three credits over two consecutive semesters (or one semester with approval of the program director) in their senior year and complete a faculty-mentored student research project. The student will write a formal research paper modeled after the formal lab report and will present this research in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. The report is due at the end of the final semester of the senior year. When appropriate, a faculty member may substitute a team research project for an individual research project. When a team project is substituted, all members of the team must write a research paper modeled after the formal lab report. The team will present this project in poster format at the University Student Scholar Symposium. Students will give an oral presentation of their research to the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty at the end of fall or spring semester in their senior year.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. Suggested 4-year Plan


Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. Suggested 4-year Plan  

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