BA/BS Major in Biology
Requirements for a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Biology
Additional Graduation Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Component | ||
| Area I (Written Composition) | 6 | |
| Area II (Humanities and Fine Arts) 1 | 12 | |
| Area III (Natural Sciences and Mathematics) | 11 | |
| Cellular Foundations of Biology and Organismal Foundations of Biology | ||
Select one from the following: | ||
| College Algebra | ||
| College Trigonometry | ||
| Pre-Calculus Algebra and Trigonometry | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Area IV (History, Social and Behavioral Sciences) | 12 | |
| Major Core Requirements in Biology | ||
| BI 111 | Cellular Foundations of Biology 2 | 4 |
| BI 112 | Organismal Foundations of Biology 2 | 4 |
| BI 200W | Biological Literature | 2 |
| BI 306 | Genetics | 4 |
| BI 307 | Microbiology | 4 |
| BI 312 | Evolution | 3 |
| BI 375 | Cell Biology | 4 |
| BI 435 | Biostatistics | 3 |
| BI 498 | Senior Assessment Seminar | 1 |
| Prescribed Supporting Courses | ||
| CH 111 | General Chemistry | 3 |
| CH 111L | General Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CH 112 | General Chemistry | 3 |
| CH 112L | General Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CIS 125 | Business Applications of Microcomputer Software | 3 |
| or CS 135 | Computer Skills for Problem-Solving | |
| Major Concentration Requirements | 32-53 | |
| Select one from the following Options: | ||
| Minor Requirements | ||
| Option I: Professional Biology | ||
A minor is not required. | ||
| Option II: General Biology | ||
A minor, second major or second degree is required | ||
| Option III: Environmental Biology | ||
A minor is not required. | ||
| Option IV: Cellular and Molecular Biology | ||
A minor is not required. | ||
| Option V: Pre-Health | ||
A minor is not required. | ||
| General Electives | ||
| General Elective hours, if required, to bring total to 120. | 2-23 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
- 1
For BA degree, select six hours of a required foreign language at the introductory level.
- 2
These courses are required in the major or minor if not completed as part of the General Education Component.
Concentration Options
Option I: Professional Biology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ecology | ||
| Select at least 4 hours from the following: | 4 | |
| Tropical Ecology and Field Experience: Exploration of an Education Abroad Site | ||
| Ecology | ||
| Aquatic Ecology | ||
| Cellular and Molecular Biology Elective | ||
| Select one of the following courses: | 4 | |
| Microbial Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Molecular Biology | ||
| Histology | ||
| Organismal Biology (Plants) Elective: | ||
| Select one from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Non-Vascular Plants | ||
| Vascular Plants | ||
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Plant Taxonomy | ||
| Organismal Biology (Animals) Elective | ||
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Natural History of the Vertebrates | ||
| Embryology | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Southeastern Fishes | ||
| Parasitology | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| CH 311 | Organic Chemistry | 4 |
| CH 311L | Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| BI 441 | Biochemistry | 3 |
| Additional upper-level science elective | 4 | |
Select at least 4 hours of coursework (not already used to satisfy any other major or minor requirements) from among 300-/400-level BI or CH courses | ||
| Prescribed Supporting Courses | ||
| Select one of the following sequences or courses: | 4-6 | |
| Calculus for Business and Life Sciences I and Calculus for Business and Life Sciences II 1 | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Select one of the following sequences: | 8-10 | |
| General Physics I and General Physics II | ||
| Technical Physics I and Technical Physics II | ||
| Total Hours | 39-44 | |
- 1
This math sequence does not satisfy the Area III mathematics requirement.
Option II: General Biology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ecology Elective | ||
| Select 4 hours from the following: | 4 | |
| Coastal Wetlands Ecology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Marine Ecology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Marine Behavioral Ecology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Tropical Ecology and Field Experience: Exploration of an Education Abroad Site | ||
| Ecology | ||
| Aquatic Ecology | ||
| Organismal Biology (Plants) Elective | ||
| Select one from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Non-Vascular Plants | ||
| Vascular Plants | ||
| Marine Botany (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Plant Taxonomy | ||
| Organismal Biology (Animals) Elective | ||
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Natural History of the Vertebrates | ||
| Marine Invertebrate Zoology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Marine Vertebrate Zoology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Southeastern Fishes | ||
| Parasitology | ||
| Histology | ||
| Additional 300-/400-level BI Elective | ||
| Two courses selected from the following (not already used to satisfy the above elective category requirements): | 6-8 | |
| Marine Biology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Natural History of the Vertebrates | ||
| Non-Vascular Plants | ||
| Vascular Plants | ||
| Marine Invertebrate Zoology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Microbial Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Marine Vertebrate Zoology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Molecular Biology | ||
| Marine Botany (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Embryology | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Southeastern Fishes | ||
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Plant Taxonomy | ||
| Histology | ||
| Minor | ||
| A minor in another discipline is required. | 18-21 | |
| Total Hours | 35-41 | |
Option III: Environmental Biology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Organismal Biology (Plants) | 8 | |
| Non-Vascular Plants | ||
or BI 465 | Plant Pathology | |
| Plant Taxonomy | ||
| Organismal Biology (Animals) | 12 | |
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Natural History of the Vertebrates | ||
or BI 453 | Southeastern Fishes | |
or BI 499 | Special Topics in Biology | |
| Population Biology | 8 | |
| Ecology | ||
| Select at least 4 hours from: | ||
| Microbial Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Marine Ecology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) 1 | ||
| Tropical Ecology and Field Experience: Exploration of an Education Abroad Site | ||
| Aquatic Ecology | ||
| Required Supporting Courses | 10 | |
| Earth Science/Physical Geology | ||
| Environmental Regulations | ||
| Select one of the following blocks of courses: | 9-10 | |
| Environmental GIS Certificate | ||
| Digital Earth | ||
| Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Geography Capstone Project | ||
| Web GIS | ||
or GE 484 | Advanced GIS | |
or GE 485 | GIS Applications | |
| Earth Science Coursework: | ||
| At Least 3 hours of 100-/200-level Earth Science (ES) courses | ||
| At Least 9 hours of 300-/400-level Earth Science (ES) courses | ||
| Marine Science 1 | ||
| Marine Geology (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
or BI 309 | Biodiversity of Coastal Ecosystems | |
| Advanced Marine Technical Methods (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Experimental Oceanography (at Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | ||
| Total Hours | 47-48 | |
- 1
BI 412 (4) Marine Ecology is required for the Population Biology elective if completing Marine Science block.
Option IV: Cellular and Molecular Biology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular Biology & Biochemistry | ||
| BI 415 | Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BI 441 | Biochemistry | 3 |
| Organismal Biology | ||
| Select one from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Natural History of the Vertebrates | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Plant Taxonomy | ||
| Parasitology | ||
| Ecology | ||
| Select one from the following: | 4 | |
| Microbial Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Tropical Ecology and Field Experience: Exploration of an Education Abroad Site | ||
| Ecology | ||
| Aquatic Ecology | ||
| Cellular/Molecular Biology | ||
| Select a minimum of 8 hours from the following: | 8 | |
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Embryology | ||
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Histology | ||
| Research/Internship | ||
| Special Topics in Biology | ||
| Prescribed Supporting Courses | ||
| CH 311 & 311L | Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 5 |
| Select one of the following sequences or courses: | 4-6 | |
| Calculus for Business and Life Sciences I and Calculus for Business and Life Sciences II 1 | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Select one of the following sequences: | 8-10 | |
| General Physics I and General Physics II | ||
| Technical Physics I and Technical Physics II | ||
| Total Hours | 39-43 | |
- 1
- This math sequence does not satisfy the Area III mathematics requirement.
Option V: Pre-Health
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Supporting Courses | 18 | |
| Pre-Health Professions Orientation | ||
| General Chemistry and General Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| General Chemistry and General Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Business Applications of Microcomputer Software | ||
or CS 135 | Computer Skills for Problem-Solving | |
| General Psychology | ||
| Introductory Sociology | ||
| Organismal Biology | 3-4 | |
| One course selected from: | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Natural History of the Vertebrates | ||
| Non-Vascular Plants | ||
| Vascular Plants | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Southeastern Fishes | ||
| Plant Taxonomy | ||
| Parasitology | ||
| Ecology | 4 | |
| Select at least 4 hours from: | ||
| Tropical Ecology and Field Experience: Exploration of an Education Abroad Site | ||
| Ecology | ||
| Aquatic Ecology | ||
| Upper-level Anatomy/Physiology | 4 | |
| One course selected from: | ||
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Embryology | ||
| Histology | ||
| Upper-level Social Science | 3 | |
One course selected from: | ||
| Abnormal Psychology | ||
| Developmental Psychology | ||
| Physiological Psychology | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
or SO 442 | Social Psychology | |
| Sociology of Gender and Sexual Behavior | ||
| Medical Sociology | ||
| Death and Dying | ||
| Cultural Diversity and Social Inequality | ||
| Pre-Health Electives | 21-30 | |
| Select 21-30 hours from among the following courses or sequences (not already used to satisfy the above elective category requirements): | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Human Anatomy and Physiology II | ||
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Molecular Biology | ||
| Embryology | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| Parasitology | ||
| Histology | ||
| Research/Internship | ||
| Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Medical Terminology | ||
| Calculus for Business and Life Sciences I and Calculus for Business and Life Sciences II | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| General Physics I and General Physics II | ||
| Technical Physics I and Technical Physics II | ||
PY 300/400-level elective (3-6) | ||
SO 300/400-level elective (3-6) | ||
| Total Hours | 53-63 | |