BA/BS Major in Biology

Requirements for a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Biology

Additional Graduation Requirements

General Education Component
Area I (Written Composition)6
Area II (Humanities and Fine Arts) 112
Area III (Natural Sciences and Mathematics)11
Principles of Biology
and Principles 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 111Principles of Biology 24
BI 112Principles of Biology 24
BI 200WBiological Literature2
BI 306Genetics4
BI 307Microbiology4
BI 312Evolution3
BI 375Cell Biology4
BI 498Senior Assessment Seminar1
Prescribed Supporting Courses
CH 111General Chemistry3
CH 111LGeneral Chemistry Laboratory1
CH 112General Chemistry3
CH 112LGeneral Chemistry Laboratory1
CIS 125Business Applications of Microcomputer Software3
or CS 135 Computer Skills for Problem-Solving
Major Concentration Requirements36-58
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.
General Electives
General Elective hours, if required, to bring total to 120.
Total Hours120-123
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

Ecology
Select one from the following:4
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 Morphology
Animal Physiology
Invertebrate Zoology
Natural History of the Vertebrates
Embryology
Southeastern Fishes
Parasitology
Biochemistry
CH 311Organic Chemistry4
CH 311LOrganic Chemistry Laboratory1
BI 441Biochemistry3
Prescribed Supporting Courses
Biostatistics
Applied Statistics I
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 (and ) 1
Calculus I 1
Select one of the following sequences:8-10
General Physics I
and General Physics II
Technical Physics I
and Technical Physics II
Total Hours35-40
1

These courses are required in the major or minor if not completed as part of the General Education Component.

Option II: General Biology

Ecology
Select one 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)
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 Morphology
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)
Southeastern Fishes
Parasitology
Histology
Additional 300-/400-level BI Elective
One course selected from the following (not already used to satisfy the above elective category requirements):3-4
Comparative Vertebrate Morphology
Animal Physiology
Invertebrate Zoology
Natural History of the Vertebrates
Non-Vascular Plants
Vascular Plants
Marine Invertebrate Zoology
Microbial Ecology and Evolution
Marine Vertebrate Zoology
Immunology
Molecular Biology
Marine Botany
Embryology
Southeastern Fishes
Plant Physiology
Plant Taxonomy
Histology
Minor
A minor in another discipline is required.18-21
Total Hours32-37

Option III: Environmental Biology

Organismal Biology (Plants)8
Non-Vascular Plants
Vascular Plants
Plant Taxonomy
Organismal Biology (Animals)12
Animal Physiology
Invertebrate Zoology
Natural History of the Vertebrates
Southeastern Fishes
Special Topics in Biology
Population Biology11
Ecology
Microbial Ecology and Evolution
Marine Ecology
Aquatic Ecology
Required Supporting Courses13
Earth Science/Physical Geology
Water Resources
Biostatistics
Applied Statistics I
Environmental Regulations
Select one of the following blocks of courses:9-10
Environmental GIS Certificate
Geographic Information Systems
Geography Capstone Project
Web GIS
Advanced GIS
GIS Applications
Earth Science Coursework:
Energy
Sustainable Food and Agriculture
Environmental Justice
Tectonics
Paleobiology
Topics in Earth Science
Hospitality and Events Management Micro-credential:
Lodging Systems
Food and Beverage Operations Management
Conventions, Meetings and Trade Show Management II
Event Planning
Sustainability in Hotel, Restaurant, and Event Operations
Media Writing Micro-credential:
Media Writing
Advanced Reporting
Copy Editing
Feature Writing
Public Relations for Non-Profits Micro-credential:
Public Relations Writing
Crisis Management and Community Relations
Aural-Visual Production
Layout and Design I
Marine Science 1
Marine Geology (Marine Geology)
Advanced Marine Technical Methods (Adv. Marine Technical Methods)
Experimental Oceanography (Experimental Oceanography)
Total Hours53-54
1

BI 412 (4) Marine Ecology is required for the Population Biology Elective.

Option IV: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
BI 415Molecular Biology4
BI 441Biochemistry3
Organismal Biology
Select one from the following:3-4
Invertebrate Zoology
Natural History of the Vertebrates
Plant Taxonomy
Parasitology
Ecology
Select one from the following:4
Microbial Ecology and Evolution
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
MA 345Applied Statistics I3
or BI 333 Biostatistics
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 1
Select one of the following sequences:8-10
General Physics I
and General Physics II
Technical Physics I
and Technical Physics II
Total Hours42-46
1
These courses are required in the major and minor if not completed as part of the General Education component.