Departments & Programs
Department of Biology
Bachelor of Science 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 or ENG-W 140 Reading, Writing and Inquiry (3 cr.)
The second semester of English composition may be satisfied with ENG-W 150, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 231, ENG-W 270, ENG-W 320, or ENG-W 350.
Oral Communication (3 cr.)
COMM-R 110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 cr.)
Area II World Language Competency
No world language proficiency is required for a Bachelor of Science degree. However, knowledge of a world language is strongly recommended for any student planning to attend graduate school.
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 with laboratories (CHEM-C 341/CHEM-C 343 3/2 cr.; CHEM-C 342/CHEM-C 344 3/2 cr.), plus prerequisite basic sequence or background to enter sequence above. (A course in analytical chemistry or biochemistry is also strongly recommended; determination should be made in consultation with a PREPs or departmental advisor.)
Area IIID Analytical Reasoning Competency
Course work through two semesters of calculus (MATH-I 231 / MATH-I 232 or MATH-I 165 / MATH-I 166). Starting point to be worked out with 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 approval).
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 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 and II listed below.
- Four laboratory courses beyond BIOL-K 101 / BIOL-K 103 selected from areas listed below. To receive credit for a laboratory course, an accompanying pre- or co-requisite lecture course 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 for the BS may be met with BIOL-K 493 Independent Research (2 to 3 credit hours) and BIOL-K 494 Senior Research Thesis (1 credit hour) or by taking the BIOL-K 490 Capstone (1 credit hour). The BIOL-K 493 / BIOL-K 494 option will consist of the completion BIOL-K 493 (research) and the preparation of a written report (BIOL-K 494) on the results of the research project. The title and nature of the BIOL-K 493 / BIOL-K 494 sequence is to be determined in consultation with the department research sponsor. A student may complete BIOL-K 493 in lieu of one of the required labs. If the student uses BIOL-K 493 for a lab, they must complete BIOL-K 490 for the capstone requirement.
- Electives consisting of sufficient BIOL-K lecture and laboratory course work to total 40 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.S. students usually fulfill the requirement with required biology and chemistry courses. Transfer students may need additional 300-level hours.
A maximum of 20 credit hours of biology earned previously at other institutions is applicable toward the major for the B.S. degree.
A minimum 2.00 GPA must be earned in BIOL-K courses. No grade lower than a C- allowed.
Once admitted, students are expected to complete 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 4)
- 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-N 461 Caderveric Human Anatomy (only 2 cr. count towards lab degree requirements)
