2016-2017 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2016-2017 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biology, General Biology, BS


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Engineering and Sciences

The biological sciences are undergoing an extraordinary revolution, and the plans of study are formulated to give students a broad basis for comprehending the diverse nature of this field. Biology builds upon this knowledge and attempts to understand the complex systems that ultimately give rise to biodiversity. Our curriculum is designed so that this basic biological knowledge can readily be applied to critical practical problems in health and medicine, agriculture and the management of other renewable resources, and the nature of populations and their control.

The amount of information that is currently being discovered in the biological world is daunting, and we recognize that some students may want to focus within an area of specialization. Students begin our curriculum with a four-semester biology core. These courses provide a common knowledge base for all biology majors. The sequence begins with an overview of evolutionary, environmental, and organismal concepts, and then proceeds to examine relationships between development, structure, and function as adaptational mechanisms. The third and fourth semesters are concerned with cellular organization and function followed by genetic and molecular principles so important to modern biology.

Degree Requirements


PNW General Education Core (30 Credits Minimum)


Speech Communication (3 Credits)


Humanities (3 Credits)


Select from the Humanities Core list

Social Sciences (3 Credits)


Select from the Social Sciences Core list

First-Year Experience (FYE) (1 Credit)


Other Required Courses (41 Credits)


Concentration Required Courses (7-8 Credits)


Choose two of the following three categories, and then choose a course from each of the chosen categories. The course not chose can be used to meet the General Biology Concentration Elective requirement.

Biology Electives (12 Credits)


Only (4) 30000 level or above biology courses can be used to fulfill this requirement. BIOL 33000  and BIOL 34200  cannot be used to fulfill this requirement. Maximum 3 credits of independent studies/research/BIOL 48800  internship can be used to fulfill this requirement.

EXL Elective (1 Credit)


(no minimum credit requirement)

Two Experiential Learning (E X L) units are required for graduation. Experiential Learning courses ranges from 0 to 3 credits. BIOL 21000 , BIOL 34200 , BIOL 48800 , BIOL 48900 , SCI 49100 , ENGL 10500 , ENGL 41401, and IDIS 10001  can be used to fulfill this requirement. Any other E X L courses are acceptable.

Humanities/Social Sciences Electives (9 Credits)


Gen Ed requires a 3.0 credit Humanities and a 3.0 credit Social Science course. It is important that these be chosen from the approved Gen Ed course list. This degree also requires 9.0 credits of additional electives from these two subject areas that are not required to be chosen from the Gen Ed list. Some professional schools have specific Humanities and Social Sciences course requirements for admission. Please select (3) recommended courses accordingly to fulfill this requirement or choose any courses of interest. Humanities Elective: Department of Biological Sciences accepts Humanity Elective courses with the following course subject codes: AD, COM, ENGL, ETHN, FLL, HIST, LAS, MUS, PHIL, WOST, and THTR. (Six credit hours of foreign languages may also be used to fulfill the requirement.) Social Sciences Elective: CDFS 21000 and PSY 35000  are recommended. The Department accepts Social Sciences Elective courses with the following subject code: ANTH, BHS, CDFS, COM, ECON, MGMT, POL, PSY, SOC, & WOST.

Free Electives (15 Credits)


Any (5) courses from the PNW curriculum are acceptable, students must complete at least one elective course at the 30000 level or higher.

Total 120 Credits Required


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: College of Engineering and Sciences