Biological Sciences, B.S.

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Biology program critiera for program honors at graduation requires that students complete BIOL 494 - Senior Research: Data Analysis and Presentation with a grade of “C” or better, in addition to meeting the Schmid College requirements for Degree Program Honors .

Program Learning Outcomes and Educational Effectiveness Evaluation Plans for B.S. in Biological Sciences.

Students pursuing the B.S. in Biological Sciences 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 71 credits total to complete this degree.
Complete the capstone requirement BIOL 498 , with a grade of C or better.

Majors are required to enroll in FFC 100B - First Year Foundations: Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering to satisfy their General Education requirement.

Grand Challenges Initiative (3 credits)

SCI 150 - Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering I 1 credit
SCI 200 - Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering II 1 credit
SCI 250 - Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering III 1 credit

biology core (9 credits)

BIOL 101 - Introduction to the Biological Sciences Major 1 credit
BIOL 204 - From Molecules to Cells: Evolution of Life on Earth (Gen Biol I) 3 credits
BIOL 204L - From Molecules to Cells: Evolution of Life on Earth (Gen Biol I), Lab 1 credit
BIOL 205 - Evolution and Diversity of Multicellular Organisms (Gen Biol II) 3 credits
BIOL 205L - Evolution and Diversity of Multicellular Organisms (Gen Biol II), Lab 1 credit

science core (32 credits)

PHYS 107 - General Physics for the Life Sciences I, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
PHYS 108 - General Physics for the Life Sciences II, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
MATH 110 - Single Variable Calculus I 3 credits
MATH 111 - Single Variable Calculus II 3 credits
CHEM 140 - General Chemistry I 3 credits
CHEM 140L - General Chemistry I Laboratory 1 credit
CHEM 150 - General Chemistry II 3 credits
CHEM 150L - General Chemistry II Laboratory 1 credit
CHEM 230 - Organic Chemistry I 3 credits
CHEM 230L - Organic Chemistry I Laboratory 1 credit
CPSC 292 - Introduction to Exploratory Data Analysis 3 credits
MATH 303 - Biostatistics 3 credits

area of study requirements (minimum 24 credits)

Complete all the requirements within one of the areas of study listed below.

16 credits must be lecture/lab combinations.
a maximum of 3 credits of BIOL 290 , BIOL 291 , BIOL 299 , BIOL 490 , BIOL 491 or BIOL 499 can be applied towards total elective credit for this requirement.

capstone course (3 credits)

BIOL 498 - Capstone Course for Biological Sciences Majors 3 credits (grade of C or better required)

total credits 71

*Students accepted into the Integrated Bachelor of Science/Master of Science in Food Science should consult with their faculty advisor about graduate level courses that can be taken as part of the integrated program as electives in the undergraduate program.

molecular biology area of study (minimum 24 credits)

three of the following (9-12 credits)*
BIOL 208 - Introduction to Molecular Genetics, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 302 - Introduction to Bioinformatics 3 credits
BIOL 317 - Microbiology, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 330 - General Genetics, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BCHM 335 - Biochemistry I-Biomolecules, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BCHM 337 - Immunology 3 credits
BIOL 401 - Cancer Biology 3 credits
BCHM 436 - Molecular Genetics, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BCHM 438 - Virology 3 credits
BIOL 450 - Cell Biology 3 credits
one course from each of the other areas of study (6-8 credits)
course from anatomy and physiology area of study 3-4 credits
course from ecology and evolution area of study 3-4 credits
select one or two additional courses from any area of study (4-8 credits)
courses may include BIOL 290 , BIOL 291 , BIOL 299 , BIOL 490 , BIOL 491 , or BIOL 494

anatomy and physiology area of study (minimum 24 credits)

three of the following (9-11 credits)
BIOL 210 - Human Anatomy, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 309 - Hormones and Behavior 3 credits
BIOL 343 - Computational Neuroscience 3 credits
BIOL 345 - Comparative Biomechanics 3 credits
BIOL 365 - Human Physiology Part A 3 credits
BIOL 366 - Human Physiology Part B, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 385 - Comparative Physiology 3 credits
BIOL 407 - Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology 3 credits
BIOL 410 - Developmental Biology 3 credits
one course from each of the other areas of study (6-8 credits)
course from molecular biology area of study 3-4 credits
course from ecology and evolution area of study 3-4 credits
select one or two additional courses from any area of study (4-8 credits)
courses may include BIOL 290 , BIOL 291 , BIOL 299 , BIOL 490 , BIOL 491 , or BIOL 494

ecology and evolution area of study (minimum 24 credits)

three of the following (11-12 credits)
BIOL 301 - Plant Biology, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 319 - Ecosystem Ecology, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 324 - Ecology, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 338 - Ornithology, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 369 - Evolution: From DNA to Dinosaurs 3 credits
BIOL 433 - Animal Behavior, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
BIOL 440 - Marine Biology, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
one course from each of the other areas of study (6-8 credits)
course from molecular biology area of study 3-4 credits
course from anatomy and physiology area of study 3-4 credits
select one or two additional courses from any area of study (4-8 credits)
courses may include BIOL 290 , BIOL 291 , BIOL 299 , BIOL 490 , BIOL 491 , or BIOL 494 .

these courses may be waived with the appropriate test scores, as noted below:

PHYS 107  - Minimum score of five on IB Physics HL waives students from this class.
MATH 110  - Minimum score of four on AP Calculus AB or minimum of five on IB Mathematics HL exam waives students from this class. Minimum score of four on AP Calculus BC students from MATH 110  and MATH 111 .
MATH 111  - Minimum score of four on AP Calculus BC exam waives students from this class. Minimum score of four on AP Calculus BC waives students from MATH 110  and MATH 111 .
CHEM 140 /CHEM 140L  - Minimum score of four on AP Chemistry or five on IB Chemistry HL exam waives students from this class.
BIOL 204  - Minimum score of four on AP Biology or IB Biology HL exam waives students from this class.
CPSC 292  - Minimum score of four on AP Computer Science waives students from this class.