Department of Biology

The Department of Biology of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs offers a BA degree in Biology. Re

2007-2008 DEPARTMENTAL CORE REQUIREMENTS

FOR BIOLOGY MAJOR 

Note:  All of the following courses must be taken to receive a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Biology.  A grade of C or above must be attained in all required courses.  See additional notes below

Biology Major Notes:

Failure to take courses in the recommended sequence will result in future scheduling conflicts.  If a student fails to take the biology major courses in the recommended sequence, the Biology Chair will not sign waivers or give permission to expedite graduation.  Furthermore, the Biology Faculty has the right to deny students in their classes who have not taken the pre-requisites for their specific course.  It is therefore recommended that the students follow the sequence of courses for their Biology major

1.            The Biology Faculty recognizes that departmental required core courses and certain Biology Area Requirements are needed for the development of competence in the biological sciences.  The major must take all required core courses and at least one different course from each of the three area requirements. (See Area Requirements below)

2.            Students must complete at least 30 hours of coursework in biology including a minimum of 16 hours in upper-division (300 or above) courses.  A grade of C- or better is required for all core courses.  These required courses must be repeated if a D or F is received.  54 hours in the major is the maximum towards fulfilling the 120 hour graduation requirement. 

3.            All courses biology courses numbered 300 and above require that the student has successfully completed Biology 110, 111, 115, and 116 and Chemistry 103 and 106.  Additional prerequisites are noted in the bulletin.

4.            One Semester of Biochemistry is required.  Biol 483 is a survey course and will meet this requirement.  This course is designed for biologist and chemists whose area of interest does not require a full year of biochemistry.  Students who are interested in applying to graduate school, professional and medical schools are required to take the two semester sequence Biol 481 and Biol 482.  Students cannot count either Biol 481 or Biol 482 as a one semester biochemistry course.

5.            One semester of Organic Chemistry is required.  Chem 330/340 is a survey course and lab that will meet this requirement.  This course is designed for biologists and chemists whose area of interest does not require a full year of organic chemistry.  Students who are interested in applying to graduate school or professional and medical schools are required to take the two semester sequence Chem 331/333 and Chem 332/334.  Students cannot count either Chem 331/334 or Chem 332/334 as a one semester organic chemistry course. 

6.            One year of physics is required.  The two semester Physics for Life Sciences (Pes 101/115 and 102/215 can be taken or the calculus based General Physics (Pes 111/115 and Pes 112/215 is acceptable. 

7.            Competency in Calculus is required.  Math 135 will meet this requirement.  It can also be met by scoring 4 or 5 in the AP Math-Calculus test or 3, 4, or 5 in the AP Math-Calculus BC test. 

8.            A maximum of 8 hours of credit taken as Biology Independent Study (Biol 940-949) or Biology Externship (Biol 471—474) count toward the major

9.            A laboratory fee is charged for all Biology courses with formal laboratories, field work or those that have technology charges.

quired courses include Introductory Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, and Senior Seminar. For students with special interests, a wide variety of courses are offered at the undergraduate level (e.g., histology, immunology, molecular biology).

Major Requirements

Course List: link to course descriptions in "The Bulletin"