Departments & Programs
Department of Biology
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
Degree Requirements
First-Year Experience Course Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 19 credit hours are required to take SCI-I 120 Windows on Science (1 cr.) or an equivalent first-year experience course.Area Requirements
Area I English Composition and Communication Competency
See the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.
Written Communication (6 cr.)
ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing and Inquiry (3 cr.)
A second writing course with ENG-W 131 as a prerequisite, e.g. ENG-W 150, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 231, ENG-W 270, ENG-W 320, or ENG-W 350.
Oral communication
COMM-R 110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 cr.)
Area II World Language Competency
See School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs.” Students must have first-year proficiency in a world language (first year sequence (131 & 132) or a 200-level world language course or 200 level world language proficiency).
Area IIIA Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultural Understanding Competencies (12 cr.)
- List H course: Choose one course (3 cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.
- List S course: Choose one course (3 cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.
- One additional course from either List H or List S
- List C course: Choose one course (3 cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.
For the most current list of courses in the areas of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Understanding, please refer to the IU Indianapolis General Education Curriculum.
Area IIIC Life and Physical Sciences Competency
Physics Two semesters of basic physics (PHYS-P 201 / PHYS-P 202 or PHYS-I 152 / PHYS-I 251).
Chemistry Two semesters of Principles of Chemistry with laboratories (CHEM-C 105/CHEM-C 125 3/2 cr.; CHEM-C 106/CHEM-C 126 3/2 cr.), two semesters of organic chemistry lecture and one semester of laboratory (CHEM-C 341/CHEM-C 343, CHEM-C 342), plus prerequisite basic sequence or background to enter sequence above. The second laboratory in organic chemistry (CHEM-C 344) is required for admission to some medical schools and is strongly recommended for students in most other programs. Consult a PREPs or departmental advisor.
Area IIID Analytical Reasoning Competency
MATH-I 159 or MATH-I 153 / MATH-I 154. (Starting point for mathematics courses should be worked out with a departmental advisor based on the math placement test and/or background of the student.) The computer programming requirement may be satisfied with CSCI-N 200, CSCI-N 201, CSCI-N 207, or CSCI-N 211 (other 300+ level courses may be used with permission).
Note: Computer Science CSCI-N 241 and CSCI-N 299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as general electives.
Area IV Biology Major Requirements
Required Core Sequence
- BIOL-K 101 / BIOL-K 103 Concepts of Biology I and II (BIOL-K 102/BIOL-K 104 Honors)
- BIOL-K 322 Genetics and Molecular Biology
- BIOL-K 324 Cell Biology
- BIOL-K 341 Principles of Ecology and Evolution
Upper-Level Courses
- At least one lecture course from each of areas I-II listed below.
- Three laboratory courses beyond BIOL-K 101 / BIOL-K 103 selected from areas below. To receive credit for a laboratory, an accompanying pre- or co-requisite lecture must be completed with a minimum grade of C-. BIOL-K 493 will count as one laboratory course only if BIOL-K 490 is also taken.
- Capstone Experience. This requirement is met by taking either BIOL-K 493 Independent Research (1 cr.) or BIOL-K 490 Capstone (1 cr.) in the senior year. BIOL-K 493 cannot be used as both a third laboratory and as a capstone. BIOL-K 490 addresses the integration of knowledge in the principles of undergraduate education as well as values and ethics as they relate to the student’s major. The capstone is an independent, creative effort by the student that is integrative and builds on the student’s previous work in the major; it may include research projects, independent study and projects, a practicum, a seminar, and/or a field experience.
- Electives consisting of sufficient lecture and laboratory course work to total 30 credit hours (including core sequence credit hours). These credits may be selected from any of the areas listed below.
- Residency Credits. In order to graduate students must have a minimum of 32 credit hours at the 300-level or above at IU Indianapolis. B.A. students usually need at least one 300-level course in addition to their required biology and chemistry courses to meet this requirement.
A maximum of 15 credit hours of biology earned previously at other institutions is applicable toward the major for the B.A. degree.
A minimum 2.00 GPA must be earned in BIOL-K courses. No grade lower than a C-.
Once admitted, students are expected to fulfill their course requirements within the major at IU Indianapolis.
Areas/Electives
I. Molecular/Cellular Area
- Undergraduate Level
- BIOL-K 338 Introductory Immunology
- BIOL-K 360 Computational Biology
- BIOL-K 384 Biochemistry
- BIOL-K 416 Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- BIOL-K 451 Neuropharmacology
- BIOL-K 484 Cellular Biochemistry
- BIOL-K 488 Endocrinology in Health and Disease
- Undergraduate and Graduate Level
- BIOL-I 507 Principles of Molecular Biology
- BIOL-I 512 Advanced Cell Biology
- BIOL-I 516 Molecular Biology of Cancer
- BIOL-I 544 Sensory Systems
- BIOL-I 559 Endocrinology
- BIOL-I 560 Neurodegenerative Diseases
- BIOL-I 561 Immunology
- BIOL-I 564 Molecular Genetics of Development
- BIOL-I 574 Molecular and Cell Bone Biology
II. Organismal Area
- Undergraduate Level
- BIOL-K 331 Developmental Biology
- BIOL-K 350 Comparative Animal Physiology
- BIOL-K 356 Microbiology
- BIOL-K 411 Global Change Biology
- FIS-I 440 Population Genetics
- Undergraduate and Graduate Level
- BIOL-I 556 Physiology I
- BIOL-I 557 Physiology II
Laboratory Courses (select 3)
- BIOL-K 323 Genetics and Molecular Biology Lab (BIOL-S 323 Honors)
- BIOL-K 325 Cell Biology Lab (BIOL-S 325 Honors)
- BIOL-K 333 Developmental Biology Lab
- BIOL-K 339 Immunology Lab
- BIOL-K 342 Principles of Ecology and Evolution Lab
- BIOL-K 357 Microbiology Lab (BIOL-S 357 Honors)
- BIOL-K 361 Computational Biology Lab
- BIOL-K 461 Cadaveric Human Anatomy (only 2 cr. count towards lab degree requirements)
