Biology - General, BS

For more information on the Biology Department

Required Credits: 60

Program Code: BS-BIO-GEN

Biology Majors must earn a C- or better in all core courses prior to taking upper-level (3000-4000) Biology courses.

Biology Majors must earn a C- or better in all core courses in order to graduate.

Biology Majors are only allowed to repeat a core course once.

Pioneer Success Seminar

Required Course: 1

WPU 1011 Pioneer First Year Success Seminar Credits: 1.0

University Core Curriculum (Biology and Biotechnology)

Required Credits: 40

Two (2) University Core Curriculum courses are specified for this major:

UCC Area 3D, Ways of Knowing; Scientific Perspectives: CHEM 1600
UCC Area 3E, Ways of Knowingl Quantitative Thinking: MATH 1600

Click here for all University Core Curriculum requirements and courses.

World Languages Requirement

Required Credits: 0-6

Click here for World Languages requirement and courses.

Biology Major Core Courses

Required Credits: 20

BIO 1630 General Biology I Credits: 4.0
BIO 1640 General Biology II Credits: 4.0
BIO 2050 Cell Biology Credits: Credits: 4.0
BIO 2060 General Genetics Credits: 4.0
BIO 2490 Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Credits: 4.0
BIO 1120 and BIO 1130 may be taken instead of BIO 1640 by permission of the department chairperson, in which case BOTH courses must be taken.

Biology Major Electives

Required Courses: 3

Minimum Credits: 10

Once course must be a four (4) credit Biology course

BIO 3120 may not be used to fulfill this requirement

BIO 3020 - BIO 4850: Click here to search courses.

In addition, the following course also counts as a Biology Major Elective:

CHEM 4270 Biochemistry Credits: 4.0

Biology Major Plant Elective

Required Course: 1

Minimum Credits: 3

BIO 3610 General Botany Credits: 4.0
BIO 3650 Plant Physiology Credits: 4.0
BIO 3350 Field Botany Credits: 3.0
BIO 4630 Terrestrial Plant Ecology Credits: 4.0

Biology Major Capstone

Required Credits: 3

BIO 4800 Biology Seminar Credits: 3.0
BIO 4990 Independent Study Credits: 2.0 - 6.0

Additional Required Courses Supporting Biology and Biotechnology

Required Credits: 24

All of the following three (3) Chemistry courses:
CHEM 1620 General Chemistry II Credits: 4.0
CHEM 2570 Organic Chemistry I Credits: 4.0
CHEM 2580 Organic Chemistry II Credits: 4.0
One (1) of the following three (3) Mathematics courses
MATH 1610 Calculus II Credits: 4.0
MATH 2300 Statistics I Credits: 4.0
MATH 3720 Mathematical Models for Biological Sciences Credits: 4.0
One (1) of the following two (2) course Sequences:
PHYS 2550 College Physics I Credits: 4.0
PHYS 2560 College Physics II Credits: 4.0
Or
PHYS 2600 General Physics I Credits: 4.0
PHYS 2610 General Physics II Credits: 4.0

Technology Intensive Requirement (Biology and Biotechnology)

Required Courses: 2

Two (2) Technology Intensive courses are completed within the major requirements:

No additional Technology Intensive courses are required for graduation.

Click here for Technology Intensive requirement and courses.

Writing Intensive Requirement (Biology and Biotechnology)

Required Courses: 4

One Writing Intensive course is completed as part of the University Course curriculum, Area 2B: ENG 1100

One Writing Intensive course is completed as part of the Biology Major requirements:

BIO 4800 or BIO 4990

Two additional Writing Intensive courses are required for graduation.

Click here for Writing Intensive requirement and courses.