Biology, Pre-Professional, B.S.

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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:

BIOL 101 (General Biology I)
BIOL 102 (General Biology II)
CHEM 101 (General Chemistry I) or PHYS 102 (General Physics I) or PHYS 203 (Advanced General Physics I)
MATH 133 (College Algebra) or MATH 170 (Calculus I)

Minimum Graduation Requirements (120 credit hours)

C or Better On All Courses Toward The Major.

Core Requirements (56 credit hours)

Biology (23 credit hours)

BIOL 101 - General Biology I Credits: 4 hours
BIOL 102 - General Biology II Credits: 4 hours
BIOL 210 - Biological Evolution Credits: 3 credit hours
BIOL 325 - Introduction to Biochemistry Credits: 4 hours
BIOL 341 - Microbiology Credits: 4 hours
BIOL 401 - Genetics Credits: 4 hours

Chemistry (16 credit hours)

CHEM 101 - General Chemistry I Credits: 4 hours
CHEM 102 - General Chemistry II Credits: 4 hours
CHEM 275 - Organic Chemistry I Credits: 4 hours
CHEM 276 - Organic Chemistry II Credits: 4 hours

Physics (8 credit hours)

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

PHYS 101 - General Physics I Credits: 4 hours
PHYS 102 - General Physics II Credits: 4 hours
or
PHYS 203 - Advanced General Physics I Credits: 4 hours
PHYS 204 - Advanced General Physics II Credits: 4 hours

Mathematics (6-7 credit hours)

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

MATH 133 - College Algebra Credits: 3 hours or
MATH 170 - Calculus I Credits: 4 hours
and
MATH 160 - Introduction to Probability and Statistics Credits: 3 hours

Capstone (3-4 credit hours)

BIOL 491 - Senior Seminar Credits: 3 hours or
BIOL 492 - Directed Research Credits: 4 hours or
BIOL 493 - Cooperative Internship Experience Credits: 2 hours and
BIOL 494 - Cooperative Internship Presentation Credits: 2 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.