Departments & Programs

Biotechnology

B.S./M.S. in Biotechnology

General Requirements

Students must complete the following Foundations, Mathematics, CASE Intensive Writing, Foreign Language, Critical Approaches, Breadth of Inquiry, and Public Oral Communication requirements:

  1. Writing, (English Composition, CASE Intensive Writing). Note: The CASE Intensive Writing (IW) requirement is satisfied by an IW class of BIOT-T 322. Note: To avoid schedule conflicts, Biotechnology students should enroll in an IW class of T322 as soon as they complete course prerequisites.
  2. Mathematics, fulfilled by major.
  3. Foreign language, three semesters in the same language or equivalent proficiency.
  4. One Critical Approaches course—students are advised to choose a course that will serve as one of the required arts and humanities or social and historical studies courses listed below.
  5. Arts and humanities, two courses.
  6. Social and historical studies, two courses.
  7. Natural and mathematical sciences, fulfilled by major.
  8. One Public Oral Communication course.

Core Undergraduate Requirements

Students should apply for admission to the B.S./M.S. degree program between their sophomore and junior years, and must complete the following with a minimum grade of C– in each course and a minimum major grade point average of C (2.000):

  1. BIOL L112 and L211.
  2. Either (a) BIOL M250 and M315 or (b) BIOL M430 and/or M435.
  3. BIOT T301, T310, T312, T315, T322, T425/T525, and T440/T540. (17 cr.)
  4. At least 12 credit hours of BIOT-T490 Independent Research (a maximum of 6 credits may be used as an upper-level elective).
  5. MATH M211 or M215 (or M119 and M120).
  6. CHEM C117-C127, C341, C342, A314, and A316 (15 cr.)
  7. One of the following statistics courses: MATH K310, PSY K300, LAMP L316, STAT S300 or S303, or SPEA K300. (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.)
  8. PHYS P201-P202 or P221-P222 (10 cr.).

Note: Students who need to satisfy the Foundations, Mathematics, Intensive Writing, Foreign Language, Breadth of Inquiry, Critical Approaches, and Public Oral Communication requirements through course work will need approximately 98 credit hours to complete all of the requirements listed in the statement above. Students who bring to college study a proficiency in foreign language and completion of the English Composition requirement may be able to satisfy all requirements with 90 credits. Students who bring other competencies that would result in prerequisites being waived might be able to complete these requirements with fewer than 90 credits. In all cases, however, a student must have completed a minimum of 90 credit hours in the College (including electives if necessary) and all requirements listed above before beginning graduate-level course work.

Graduate Requirements

In addition to the above undergraduate course requirements for the B.S. component of this program, accelerated B.S./M.S. degree students must complete all graduate course work with a minimum grade of B– or above. A minimum grade of B is necessary to remain in good standing in the Graduate School.

For specific graduate course requirements for the M.S. in Biotechnology, please see the University Graduate School Bulletin.