Students are required to complete all major requirements and supporting coursework as detailed below in order to earn their degree in Biology. Those students looking to complete a concentration in the following fields should familiarize themselves with the additional requirements by clicking the link below.
COURSEWORK
Introductory Biology
Select one course from the list below:
Cellular and Molecular Biology (2 courses)
| BIO 130 | Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology | 4 units |
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And one course from:
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| BIO 221 | Molecular Biology | 4 units |
| BIO 224 | Genetic Analysis | 4 units |
| BIO 226 | Cell Biology | 4 units |
Environmental Biology
Select one course from the list below:
| BIO 106 | Biology of California | 4 units |
| BIO 260 | Biodiversity and Organization of Marine Ecosystems | 4 units |
| BIO 270 | Ecology | 4 units |
| BIO 275 | Flora of Southern California | 4 units |
Evolutionary Biology
Organismal Biology
Select one course from the list below:
| BIO 240 | Vertebrate Physiology | 4 units |
| BIO 250 | Plant Form and Function | 4 units |
| BIO 275 | Flora of Southern California | 4 units |
Upper-division Biology
Students must select three 300-level Biology courses. At least two of these must be Occidental College Biology laboratory courses.
Senior Seminar
Supporting Coursework
Students are required to complete five additional courses. Two must be in chemistry as detailed below and three additional quantitative courses.
Chemistry
| CHEM 120 | Foundations of General Chemistry | 4 units |
Or
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| CHEM 130 | Advanced Placement General Chemistry | 4 units |
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And
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| CHEM 220 | Organic Chemistry I | 4 units |
Quantitative Coursework
Three 4-5-unit courses are required to satisfy the quantitative requirement. These courses include a Mathematics/Calculus, Data Analysis, and an elective Quantitative Course. Two 2-unit courses taken at Occidental College may be combined to satisfy one quantitative elective requirement.
Students are required to take one of five classes (Calculus 1, Calculus 2, MATH 210, MATH 212, or MATH 214) to satisfy the math requirement for the Biology major. Students who pass out of Calculus 2 may take MATH 210, MATH 212, MATH 214 or an additional Data Analysis course to satisfy the math requirement for the Biology major.
Mathematics/Calculus
Select one course from the list below:
Data Analysis
Select one course from the list below:
| BIO 260 | Biodiversity and Organization of Marine Ecosystems | 4 units |
| BIO 268 | Biostatistics | 4 units |
| COGS 255 | Data Analysis and Visualization | 4 units |
| COMP 146 | Statistics | 4 units |
| GEO 255 | Remote Exploration of Earth | 4 units |
| MATH 150 | Statistical Data Analysis | 4 units |
| PSYC 201 | Statistics in Psychological Science | 4 units |
The most current version as taught as 146 statistics in COMP Sci. is suitable as a data analysis course.
Additional Quantitative Elective
Select an additional course from the math or data analysis lists above or one course from the list below.