Majors

The Biology department offers three undergraduate degree programs.

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biology is a structured program for biology majors who are interested in pursuing those aspects of the field that require a strong background knowledge in physics, chemistry, and mathematics and for students who want to fulfill pre-medical/pre-dental requirements.

Concentrations

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Biology is a flexible program that can prepare students for graduate school in the life sciences or can be integrated with other areas including law, ethics, history, sociology, computer science, and management. The B.A. provides a solid foundation in biology, but removes some of the chemistry and quantitative requirements that characterize the B.S. program. Students in the B.A. program have more flexibility to select courses within the biology curriculum or other B.A. electives. Students should note that, unlike the B.S. program, the B.A. program does not fulfill medical school admission requirements.

Bioinformatics Concentration

The Bioinformatics Concentration is offered to students majoring in Biology, Mathematics, and Computer Science.

In order to obtain a concentration in Bioinformatics a student must complete a number of core and elective requirements. Courses that count towards a student's primary major can be used to simultaneously count towards the bioinformatics core or elective requirements as well. For example, the basic requirements for the biology major will automatically fulfill the required elective course requirement at the level of BIOL 2000 or above, and the BIOL 4200, BIOL 5240, or BIOL 6160 courses can double count to fulfill biology electives. Computer science majors will naturally fulfill the three CS course requirement in their primary coursework. Computer science students taking the B.S. option will also naturally fulfill the Probability requirement through CSCI 2244 (Randomness and Computation).

One elective course may be substituted by a semester of research in bioinformatics. Students wishing to pursue this option should visit the Biology Department (Higgins 355) for course approval.

Biochemistry is an interdisciplinary major, administered jointly by the Biology and Chemistry departments. The major provides the student with a broad background in biochemistry and related courses in biology and chemistry.

Bioinformatics Concentration

The Bioinformatics Concentration is offered to students majoring in Biology, Mathematics, and Computer Science.

In order to obtain a concentration in Bioinformatics a student must complete a number of core and elective requirements. Courses that count towards a student's primary major can be used to simultaneously count towards the bioinformatics core or elective requirements as well. For example, the basic requirements for the biology major will automatically fulfill the required elective course requirement at the level of BIOL 2000 or above, and the BIOL 4200, BIOL 5240, or BIOL 6160 courses can double count to fulfill biology electives. Computer science majors will naturally fulfill the three CS course requirement in their primary coursework. Computer science students taking the B.S. option will also naturally fulfill the Probability requirement through CSCI 2244 (Randomness and Computation).

One elective course may be substituted by a semester of research in bioinformatics. Students wishing to pursue this option should visit the Biology Department (Higgins 355) for course approval.