Bachelor of Science in Biology

A major in Biology offers a student both the theory and experience to prepare for either postgraduate work or bachelor-level entry jobs in industry or teaching. The requirements for the Biology major are designed to provide a solid foundation in multiple sub disciplines of the biological sciences while allowing flexibility according to student interests and career goals. By carefully selecting biology electives, undergraduates may prepare with an appropriate concentration for the particular field in which to continue their studies in graduate and professional programs or allied health licensure programs. A sample four year progression plan for students entering as a first year student can be found here.

Major Requirements

University Core

Core

University Core Requirements

The curriculum of the Biology major includes this major course sequence:

BIOL 180	Biological Diversity	4
BIOL 190	Biological Unity	3
BIOL 223SI	Oral Presentation Biological Science	3
BIOL 280	Methods in Field Biology	3
BIOL 290	Basic Laboratory Techniques in Biology	3
BIOL 470	Biology and Marine Science Capstone	3
Total Credit Hours:		19

And the following required allied courses:

CHEM 204	General Chemistry I	3
CHEM 204L	General Chemistry I Lab	1
CHEM 205	General Chemistry I I	3
CHEM 205L	General Chemistry I I Lab	1
CHEM 310	Organic Chemistry I	3
	And
CHEM 310L	Organic Chemistry I Laboratory	1

CHEM 311	Organic Chemistry II	3
	And
CHEM 311L	Organic Chemistry II Laboratory	1

MATH 140	Calculus I	4
MATH 206	Statistical Methods in Science	4

PHYS 111	Principles of Physics I	4
	And
PHYS 112	Principles of Physics II	4
	Or
PHYS 151	General Physics: Mechanics	4
	And
PHYS 152	General Physics: Electricity & Magnetism	4
	Or
PHYS 151	General Physics: Mechanics	4
	And
PHYS 112	Principles of Physics II	4
Total Credit Hours:		32

General Electives

Requirement

15 credit hours of additional upper division BIOL courses

And 15 credit hours of additional upper division BIOL courses, one of which must be writing intensive (see notes for complete WI requirements). Of the 15 credit hours, one course must be selected from the Unity course menu and one course must be selected from the Diversity course menu:

BIOL xxx	Three 300- or 400-level 4-credit hour BIOL lab courses*	12
BIOL xxx	300- or 400-level BIOL courses	3
Total Credit Hours:		15

BIOL xxx: *Cannot include independent study or internship

BIOL xxx: May include independent study or internship

Unity Course Menu

Diversity Course Menu

BIOL 301WR. Microbiology (4)

BIOL 308. Principles of Immunology (4)

BIOL 309. Animal Physiology (4)

BIOL 337. Genetics (3)

BIOL 402WR. Cell Biology (4)

BIOL 409WI/CHEM 409WI. Pharmacology and Toxicology (3)

BIOL 435WI/CHEM 435WI. Biochemistry I (4; F)

BIOL 436/CHEM 436. Biochemistry II (4; S)

BIOL 454. Histology (4)

BIOL 302/MSC 302. Invertebrate Zoology (4)

BIOL 303. Vertebrate Biology (4)

BIOL 304WI/MSC 304WI. Ichthyology (4; F)

BIOL 305. Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (4)

BIOL 307. Primates (3)

BIOL 312. Plant Taxonomy (4)

BIOL 314. Evolution (3)

BIOL 320WI. Human Ecology, Infectious, and Zoonotic Disease (4)

BIOL 330/MSC 330. Marine Mammal Biology (4)

BIOL 380. Herpetology (4)

BIOL 382. Entomology (4)

BIOL 404. Ecology (4)

BIOL 406. Advanced Ornithology (4; S)

BIOL 412WI/MSC 412WI. Physiological Ecology (4)

BIOL 417WI. Conservation Ecology (4)

BIOL 434WI. Animal Behavior (3)

MSC 310WR. Marine Ecology (4; S)

MSC 406WI. Biological Oceanography (3)

MSC 408. Biology of Marine Plants (3)

MSC 422. Coral Reef Ecology (4)

Biology Four Year Plan

This guide is for planning purposes in consultation with your advisor. For official program requirements, please refer to the academic catalog and your degree audit. To complete the program in 4 years, students will need to enroll in an average of 15 credits (approx. 5 classes) per semester. Degree requirements are made up of core requirements (C), major requirements (M), and elective courses (E).

First Year
Semester 1
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 180 or BIOL 190	Biological Diversity or Biological Unity	C minimum	4/3	M
CHEM 204 / L	General Chemistry I / Lab	MATH 104. C minimum	4	M / C
ENGL 103 or CS 150 or MATH 140	Introductory Writing or Personal Prod. Using Tech. or Calculus 1	MATH 110. C minimum	3/4	M/C
JU 111, JU 159 (scholars), JU 169 (honors)	First Year Seminar Experience		3	C

First Year
Semester 2
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 180 or BIOL 190	Biological Diversity or Biological Unity	C minimum	4/3	M
CHEM 205 / L	General Chemistry II / Lab	CHEM 204 / L. C minimum	4	M
ENGL 103 or CS 150 or MATH 140	Introductory Writing or Personal Prod. Using Tech. or Calculus 1	MATH 110. C minimum	3/4	M/C
ENGL 103 or CS 150 or MATH 140	Introductory Writing or Personal Prod. Using Tech. or Calculus 1	MATH 110. C minimum	3/4	M/C

Second Year
Semester 3
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 280 or BIOL 290 or BIOL 223 SI	Methods in Field Biology or Basic Lab Techniques or Oral Present. in Biological Sci.	BIOL 180, ENGL 103, CS 150 BIOL 190, ENGL 103, CS 150, CHEM 205/L. C minimum BIOL 180 or 190 or MSC 111/112 or MSC 113/114. C minimum	3	M/C
BIOL 280 or BIOL 290 or BIOL 223 SI	Methods in Field Biology or Basic Lab Techniques or Oral Present. in Biological Sci.	BIOL 180, ENGL 103, CS 150 BIOL 190, ENGL 103, CS 150, CHEM 205/L. C minimum BIOL 180 or 190 or MSC 111/112 or MSC 113/114. C minimum	3	M/C
CHEM 310 / L	Organic Chemistry I / Lab	CHEM 205 / L. C minimum	4	M
Core / Elective			3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E

Second Year
Semester 4
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 280 or BIOL 290 or BIOL 223 SI	Methods in Field Biology or Basic Lab Techniques or Oral Present. in Biological Sci.	BIOL 180, ENGL 103, CS 150 BIOL 190, ENGL 103, CS 150, CHEM 205/L. C minimum BIOL 180 or 190 or MSC 111/112 or MSC 113/114. C minimum	3	M/C
CHEM 311 / L	Organic Chemistry II / Lab	CHEM 301 / L. C minimum	4	M
MATH 206	Statistical Methods in Sci.	MATH 110, 112, or 140. C minimum	4	M
Core / Elective			3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E

Third Year
Semester 5
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 3XX/4XX	Upper Division BIOL Lab Course and/or Upper Division BIOL Course	Lab course requirement: 3 courses required, excludes independent study/internship. C minimum	4 and/or 3	M
BIOL 3XX/4XX	Upper Division BIOL Lab Course and/or Upper Division BIOL Course	Lab course requirement: 3 courses required, excludes independent study/internship. C minimum	4 and/or 3	M
PHYS 111 or PHYS 151	Principles of Physics I or General Physics I: Mechanics	Math 110 or MATH 112 MATH 140. C minimum	4	M
Core / Elective		WI requirement: at least one of the two courses in major. C- minimum	3	C / E

Third Year
Semester 6
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 3XX/4XX	Upper Division BIOL Lab Course and/or Upper Division BIOL Course	Lab course requirement: 3 courses required, excludes independent study/internship. C minimum	4 and/or 3	M / C
PHYS 112 or PHYS 152	Principles of Physics II or Gen. Physics II: Elec & Magnet.	PHYS 111 PHYS 151 and MATH 141. C minimum	4	M
Core / Elective		WI requirement: at least one of the two courses in major. C- minimum	3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E

Fourth Year
Semester 7
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 3XX/4XX or BIOL 470	Upper Division BIOL Lab Course or Upper Division BIOL Course or Capstone	Lab course requirement: 3 courses required, excludes independent study/internship. C minimum Capstone: C or higher in BIOL 223SI, BIOL 280, BIOL 290 and 10 cr hrs. of upper division BIOL	3/4	M
Core / Elective		WI requirement: at least one of the two courses in major. C minimum	3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E

Fourth Year
Semester 8
Prefix/Number	Course Title	Prerequisites/Comments	Crs	Area	Sem
BIOL 3XX/4XX or BIOL 470	Upper Division BIOL Lab Course or Upper Division BIOL Course or Capstone	Lab course requirement: 3 courses required, excludes independent study/internship. C minimum Capstone: C or higher in BIOL 223SI, BIOL 280, BIOL 290 and 10 cr hrs of upper division BIOL	3/4	M
Core / Elective		WI requirement: at least one of the two courses in major. C minimum	3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E
Core / Elective			3	C / E

Credit Distribution
Area	Notes	Credits
Major (M)	Required major courses	66
Core (C)	Choose from list below. May be satisfied by major courses	30
Electives (E)	Can be satisfied with concentration, minor, second major courses	24
Total		120

Core Courses (37 credits)
Area	Course(s)	Planned
Economics	ECON 189 or 201
English	ENGL 103 (depending on placement, student may need ENGL 101 first). 'C-' or better required. NOTE: All students enrolled in ENGL 103 must pass an Exit Exam at the end of the term. Students not passing this exit exam are required to enroll in ENGL 214WI prior to reaching 60 hours. It is not necessary to pass this exam in order to pass ENGL 103. ENGL 214WI counts as an elective course.	X
English (Lit)	ENGL 189, 202, 203, 204, or 206
Fine Arts	Three hours in ART, ARH, DANC, MUS, or THEA
Global Studies	One 102-level (or above) foreign language course or equivalent, or any International Studies (IS) course at the 300-level
History	One three-credit HIST course at the 100- or 200-level
Humanities	Any HUM-xxx course (Pre-reqs: ENGL 103 and English/Literature core requirement)
Lab Science	100-level natural science with a lab (satisfied by major)	X
Mathematics	MATH 140 (satisfied by major)	X
Philosophy	PHIL 101, 189, or 212
Social Science	GEOG 189 or 200; POL 189, 205 or 208; PSYC 189 or 201; SOC 189 or 203
Technology	CS 150, DSIM 203RI, MUS 150, or any XXX-xxx TI (Technology Intensive) course

General Requirements for all bachelor’s degrees:

A minimum of 120 credit hours earned with a minimum of 30 credit hours completed at JU.
A minimum of a "C" (2.0) average for all work taken at JU.
A student must satisfy all requirements of the University Core Curriculum in addition to all major and degree requirements.
A student is responsible for meeting the specific graduation requirements of the selected major and degree. A student who pursues more than one major must meet all degree requirements for each major.
A student must have at least a "C" (2.0) average in the major.
At least 12 credit hours in the major in courses numbered 300 or above must be completed at JU.
A minimum of forty-two credit hours must be in courses numbered 300 or above.
At least one each of an upper-level Writing-Intensive and Speech-Intensive course (designated with a “WI” or “SI” in the course number; may be satisfied by courses already required for major).
At least 3 credit hours in Experiential Learning (defined as Undergraduate Research, Research Intensive with “RI” designation, Internship, Study Abroad, or Service Learning; may be satisfied by courses already required for major).
At least 3 credit hours in a DEI designated course; may be satisfied by a course within in major or an elective course.
First-year students will be automatically enrolled in and must complete JU 111 or JU 159 (for Scholars), or JU 169 (for Honors). Transfer students in their second year and students entering with an AA degree are exempt.

NOTE: This four-year plan is meant to be a guide. For full degree requirements, please consult the academic catalog.

Biology Major Notes:

For students that double major in Biology and Chemistry (Biochemistry track), only courses that are specifically required for both majors may be counted towards both majors. Upper division electives may not be counted toward both majors simultaneously.
Two writing intensive (WI or WR) courses must be completed with a minimum grade of “C-“. One must be a BIOL 300- or 400-level; the other WI course may be from any discipline.
Students double majoring in Biology and Marine Science must take all the required courses for each major.
Students may not double major in Biology and Life Science.
Biology majors must take an exit exam designated by the department during their senior year or as part of BIOL 470.
Of the 15 credit hours of upper division BIOL electives, at least one course must be selected from the Unity course menu, and at least one course must be selected from the Diversity course menu located in the Academic Catalog under the Biology program of study description.

Total Credit Hours: 120

Biology Major Important Notes:

For students that double major in Biology and Chemistry [Biochemistry track], only courses that are specifically required for both majors may be counted towards both majors. Upper division electives may not be counted toward both majors simultaneously.
Students double majoring in Biology and Marine Science must take all of the required courses for each major.
Students may not double major in Biology and Life Science.
Two writing intensive (WI or WR) courses must be completed with a minimum grade of “C-“. One must be a 300- or 400-level BIOL course; the other WI course may be from any discipline.
A minimum grade of “C” is required of Biology majors in the following courses: BIOL 180, BIOL 190, BIOL 223SI, BIOL 280, BIOL 290, and BIOL 470.
A minimum grade of “C” is required of Biology majors in allied courses: PHYS 111, PHYS 112, PHYS 151, PHYS 152, MATH 140, MATH 206, CHEM 204, CHEM 204L, CHEM 205, CHEM 205L, CHEM 301, CHEM 301L, and CHEM 302, CHEM 302L.
Biology majors must take an exit exam designated by the department during their senior year or as part of BIOL 470.