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CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
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The Biology Major, Environmental Science Concentration gives students a broad preparation in biological science that has a coordinated environmental focus. The curriculum consists of courses in biology, chemistry, and math. Other elective courses may also be selected from Geography & Earth Science or Computer Science.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curriculum for the Biology Major (All colleges, excluding Teacher Certification programs) - 39 credits.

 

Biology Core Requirements (25 credits):

 

BIO 103 Introductory Biology or 105 General Biology 4 credits

BIO 204 Plant Biology 3 credits

BIO 210 Animal Biology 3 credits

BIO 306 Genetics 4 credits

BIO 307 Ecology 3 credits

BIO 315 Cell Biology 4 credits

BIO 419 Quantitative Methods in Ecology 3 credits

BIO 491 Capstone Seminar in Biology 1 credit

 

Suggestions:

 

Year 1 (Sem 1) - take Bio 105

Year 1 (Sem 2) - take Bio 204 and/or Bio 210

Year 2 (Sem 2) - take Bio 307

Year 3 (Sem 1) - take Bio 419

The remaining credits must be taken from the following electives in biology and microbiology:

BIO 321 Ornithology 3 credits

BIO 337 Plant Physiology 3 credits

BIO 341 Limnology 3 credits

BIO 404 Plant Taxonomy 3 credits

BIO 405 Aquatic Vascular Plants 2 credits

BIO 412 Mycology 4 credits 

BIO 414 Freshwater Invertebrate Zoology 3 credits

BIO 422 Ichthyology 3 credits

BIO 429 Evolution 3 credits

BIO 440 Bioinformatics 2 credits

BIO 447 Standard Methods & Quality Assurance of Water Analysis 3 credits

BIO 448 Aquatic Toxicology 4 credits

BIO 463 Aquatic Animal Health 3 credits

BIO 464 Stream and Watershed Ecology 3 credits

 

MIC 230 Fundamentals of Microbiology 4 credits

MIC 350 Bacterial Diversity 3 credits

MIC 434 Aquatic Microbial Ecology 3 credits

Suggestion: Include 2 field courses in your curriculum (e.g., Bio 321, 341, 404, 405, or 414).

Note: Up to two credits of BIO 499 Independent Research may count toward the major.

Other Requirements:

Three semesters of chemistry, including CHM 103 General Chemistry I, CHM 104 General Chemistry II, CHM 300 Survey of Organic Chemistry (or CHM 303 Organic Chemistry Theory I, CHM 304 Organic Chemistry Theory II and CHM 305 Organic Chemistry Laboratory) and eight credits of mathematics (MTH 175 Applied Calculus or MTH 207 Calculus I, MTH 145 Elementary Statistics or MTH 250 Statistics are required.

A minimum of five-six credits of environmental science support courses are also required, which includes CHM 301 Analytical Chemistry, or GEO/ESC 250 Fundamentals of Cartography  and GEO/ESC 481 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, or C-S 120 Software Design I and MTH 305 Statistical Methods.

Suggestion: Take CHM 103 and 104 during your freshman year.

Sample Course Schedule

Freshman Year
Fall
BIO 105 General Biology
CHM 103 General Chemistry I
Spring
BIO 210 Animal Biology
BIO 204 Plant Biology
CHM 104 General Chemistry II
Sophomore Year

Fall
BIO 341 Limnology
ESC 101 Introduction to Earth Science
CHM 300 Organic Chemistry
Spring
BIO 307 Ecology
MTH 175 Applied Calculus
GEO/ESC 250 Fundamentals of Cartography

Junior Year

Fall
BIO 419 Quantitative Methods in Ecology
GEO/ESC 481 Introduction to Geographical Information Systems
Spring
MIC 230 Microbiology
MTH 205 Statistics
CEI 450 Cooperative Education Internship

Senior Year

Fall
BIO 306 Genetics
BIO 405 Aquatic Vascular Plants
BIO 499 Undergraduate Research
Spring
BIO 315 Cell Biology Pelicans
BIO 321 Ornithology
BIO 491 Seminar/Capstone
CEI 450 Cooperative Education Internship