Dec 14, 2024  
2019-2020 Academic Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biology, Pre-Professional, B.S.


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Degrees and Major Fields of Study

The pre-professional concentration is appropriate for students who wish to apply to medical, dental, veterinary, or other professional programs. The curriculum is designed to provide the necessary prerequisite coursework and opportunities for students to acquire sufficient foundational knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics to prepare for the rigor of these programs.

Criteria for Admission to Program

Students pursuing a degree in biology are officially admitted to the program upon satisfying the following criteria:

2.0 GPA for all university work completed at time of admission to program.

Grades of C or better in the following core courses:

Minimum Graduation Requirements (120 credit hours)


C or Better On All Courses Toward The Major.


Core Requirements (56 credit hours)


Biology (23 credit hours)


Chemistry (16 credit hours)


Physics (8 credit hours)


The Department of Biology strongly recommends that students take PHYS 203   and PHYS 204 .

Mathematics (6-7 credit hours)


The Department of Biology strongly recommends that students take MATH 170 .

Capstone (3-4 credit hours)


Electives in the Major (12 credit hours)


At least 4 credit hours must come from at least two of the following categories: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution. A course used to fulfill the requirement in one category may not be used again to fulfill the requirement in another category. At least 8 credit hours must come from 300 or 400-level courses. At least two courses must have a lab component. 

Students are strongly encouraged to select electives by carefully researching program specific prerequisite course work. For example, admission requirements to most medical schools do not include anatomy and physiology. However, admission requirements to programs leading to a Doctor of Physical Therapy generally do include two semesters of anatomy and physiology with labs.

Special topics courses (BIOL 299 , BIOL 399 ,BIOL 499 ), seminar (BIOL 491 ), directed research (BIOL 492 ), and internships (BIOL 493 ) are assigned a specific category at the time they are offered.

Cellular and Molecular Biology


Additional Requirements (13 credit hours)


  • Free Electives

Plus (6 credit hours)


General Education Requirements (33 credit hours)


First Year Experience (4 credit hours)


College Writing (7 credit hours)


Religion (3 credit hours)


History (6 credit hours)


Social Science (3 credit hours)


Choose from the following:

Fine Arts (3 credit hours)


Choose from the following:

Health (3 credit hours)


Physical Education Activity (1 credit hour)


  • Physical Education Activity Credits: 1 hour

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Degrees and Major Fields of Study