Departments & Programs

Biology

Major in Microbiology—B.A.

Purpose

The B.A. degree is designed to provide training in microbiology for those students who do not intend to obtain an advanced degree in microbiology or attend medical, dental, or optometry school. The degree is suitable for students who are double majors as well as those individuals whose career goals include being a laboratory technician or working in an outside field, such as business or environmental studies.

Required Courses

Students must complete the following courses with a minimum grade of C– in each course:

  1. L112 Introduction to Biology: Biological Mechanisms (3 cr.) and L113 Biology Laboratory (3 cr.).
  2. L211 Molecular Biology (3 cr.).
  3. M250 Microbiology (3 cr.) and M255 Microbiology Lab (2 cr.).
  4. M440 Medical Microbiology: Lecture (3 cr.) or M460 Biology of the Prokaryotes (3 cr.).
  5. M480 Microbial Genetics (3 cr.).
  6. Either M350 Microbial Physiology and Biochemistry (3 cr.) or L312 Cell Biology (3 cr.).
  7. Two additional courses from the following: B351, L321, M375, M430, or M440. If M440 is selected in section 4, it cannot be selected for credit in section 7.
  8. One additional laboratory from the following: M360, M435, M445, M465, or M485.
Additional Requirements

Students must also complete the following with a minimum grade of C– in each course:

  1. Chemistry C117, C118 or N330, and C341 or R340. For those planning professional school, this sequence is recommended: C117, C341, C342, C343, and N330.
  2. Mathematics M119 or M211.
  3. One of the following statistics courses: Mathematics K310, Psychological and Brain Sciences K300 or K310, Liberal Arts and Management Program L316, Statistics S300, or SPEA-K 300. (Note that although SPEA K300 fulfills the statistics requirement, it does not count toward College of Arts and Sciences credit hours if the total hours allowed outside the College have been met.)
  4. Physics P201-P202 or P221-P222.

Students must also meet the degree requirements for the B.A. degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.