Biology Major

The BS degrees in Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Coastal Marine Science, and Neuroscience require completion of 39 to 42 credits in biology and 23 to 38 credits in supporting courses depending on the major students choose. Many of these courses also fulfill the requirements of the University’s Foundational or Thematic Liberal Arts Core.

Program Requirements

Required Courses for All Majors

Required Biology Core Courses

BI 111	Concepts in Biology I: Molecules to Cells	3
BI 112	Concepts in Biology II: Cells to Organisms	3
BI 113	Concepts in Biology I Laboratory	1
BI 114	Concepts in Biology II Laboratory	1
BI 201	Genetics & Evolution	3
BI 202	Ecology & Evolution	3
BI 203	Genetics & Evolution Laboratory	1
BI 204	Ecology & Evolution Laboratory	1
BI 399	Senior Seminar	2

Required Supporting Courses for All Majors

CH 151	General Chemistry I	3
CH 152	General Chemistry II	3
CH 153	General Chemistry Laboratory I	1
CH 154	General Chemistry Laboratory II	1
CH 221	Organic Chemistry I	3
CH 223	Organic Chemistry Laboratory I	1

MA 131	Elementary Statistics	3

MA 140	Precalculus	4
	or above (MA 151 Calculus I is recommended)

Additional Required Courses for the Biology Major

Students must select six additional Biology courses at the 200 level or higher, comprising at least one course from the Environmental, Organismal, and Molecular areas. Two of the six courses must be at the 300 level. Three of the six courses must include labs (one at the 300 level). Three credits of research (BI 390) or internship (BI 360) are encouraged. Human Anatomy & Physiology I (BI 206) does not count toward this requirement, but Human Anatomy & Physiology II (BI 207) can count. For the most up to date listing of courses and special topics, please consult the listing maintained on the Biology Department’s website.

Environmental Area

BI 210/211	Plant Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 230	Microbiology	4
BI 240/241	Invertebrate Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 245/246	Vertebrate Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 255	Animal Behavior	4
BI 260	Marine Biology	4
BI 265	Conservation Biology	4
BI 274	Coastal Management	3
BI 276	Oceanography	3
BI 278	Coastal Ecology	3
BI 305	Behavioral Neurobiology	3
BI 350/351	Ecology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4

Organismal Area

PS 350/BI 205	Essentials of Neuroscience	3
BI 210/211	Plant Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 230	Microbiology	4
BI 240/241	Invertebrate Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 245/246	Vertebrate Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 255	Animal Behavior	4
BI 260	Marine Biology	4
BI 305	Behavioral Neurobiology	3
BI 306	Pharmacology	3
BI 312/314	Systems Physiology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 325	Immunology	3
BI 340	Cancer Biology	3
BI 345	Neurobiology	4

Molecular Area

BI 230	Microbiology	4
BI 306	Pharmacology	3
BI 311/313	Cell Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
BI 320	Applied Molecular Genetics	4
BI 325	Immunology	3
BI 335	Topics in Genetics	3
BI 340	Cancer Biology	3
BI 345	Neurobiology	4
BI 355	Molecular Biology	4

Additional Required Courses for the Molecular and Cellular Biology Major

BI 311/313	Cell Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4

BI 320	Applied Molecular Genetics	4
	or
BI 355	Molecular Biology	4

BI 360	Internship	3-6
	or
BI 390	Supervised Research	3

Three additional electives (1 with lab) must be taken, two of which must be chosen from courses classified in the Molecular Area (see above and Biology Department website).

Additional Required Supporting Courses for the Molecular and Cellular Biology Major

MA 151	Calculus I	4
CH 222	Organic Chemistry II	3
CH 224	Organic Chemistry Laboratory II	1
CH 341	Biochemistry I	3
CH 343	Biochemistry Laboratory I	1

MA 151: strongly suggested—fulfills the MA 140 or above requirement

Additional Required Courses for the Coastal and Marine Science Major

BI 274	Coastal Management	3
BI 278	Coastal Ecology	3
BI 303	GIS for Environmental Science

BI 360	Internship	3-6
	or
BI 390	Supervised Research	3

Four additional electives (3 with lab) must be taken, two of which must be chosen from courses classified in the Environmental Area, and one of which must be chosen in the Organismal area. One of the four courses must be at the 300 level. (See above and Biology Department website.)

Additional Required Courses for the Neuroscience Major

Take all of the following

PS 350/BI 205	Essentials of Neuroscience	3
BI 345	Neurobiology	4

BI 360	Internship	3-6
	or
BI 390	Supervised Research	3
	or
PS 397	Capstone: Psychological Research	3

PS 110	Introduction to Psychology	3
PS 201	Research Design & Analysis I	3

Five additional courses from the following list (at least two must be in Biology and two must be in Psychology)

BI 255	Animal Behavior	4
	or
BI 305	Behavioral Neurobiology	3

BI 299	Special Topics in Biology	3-4
BI 306	Pharmacology	3
BI 311/313	Cell Biology (3 cr) with Lab (1 cr)	4
PS 335	Human & Animal Learning	3
PS 352	Hormones & Behavior	3
PS 353	Psychopharmacology	3
PS 389	Advanced Special Topics	3