BA in Biology

COURSE COMPLETION CHECKLISTS

 

FOUR-YEAR CURRICULUM MAPS

 

PROGRAM DETAILS

PRINTABLE VERSION: Download here

General Education- UK-Core Requirements

  • 1 Intellectual Inquiry in Arts and Creativity Course - 3 Credit Hours
  • 1 Intellectual Inquiry in the Humanities Course - 3 Credit Hours
  • 1 Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences Course - 3 Credit Hours
  • 1 Intellectual Inquiry in the Natural, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences Course - satisfied by major
  • 1 Composition and Communication I Course - 3 Credit Hours
  • 1 Composition and Communication II Course - 3 Credit Hours
  • 1 Quantitative Foundations Course -  satisfied by major
  • 1 Statistical Inferential Reasoning Course - satisfied by major
  • 1 Community, Culture, and Citizenship in the USA Course - 3 Credit Hours
  • 1 Global Dynamics Course - 3 Credit Hours

Total: 21 Credit Hours

Graduation Composition and Communication Requirement (GCCR)

*Oral Component - BIO 425 - satisfied by major

*Written Component (choose one):

  • BIO 398: Research and Writing in Biology - 1-3 Credit Hours
  • BIO 404: Advanced Genetics - 3 Credit Hours
  • BIO 405: Human Genetics - 3 Credit Hours
  • BIO 418: Ecological Genetics - 3 Credit Hours
  • BIO 430G: Plant Physiology - 4 Credit Hours
  • BIO 445: The Biology of Sex - 3 Credit Hours
  • WRD 305: Writing Public Science - 3 Credit Hours
  • WRD 310: Writing in the Natural Sciences - 3 Credit Hours

These courses can also count towards the Upper Level Biology Electives within the Major. 

Total: 1-4 Credit Hours

College Requirements

  • 6 credit hours Natural Sciences Courses (satisfied by major)
  • 6 credit hours Social Sciences Courses
  • 6 credit hours Humanities Courses
  • 3 credit hours Race & Ethnicity course
  • 6 credit hours A&S Electives
  • Foreign Language: Complete 202 course of one language OR 2 semesters of one language and 3 semesters of a different language - 0-15 Credit Hours

Total: 21 Credit Hours + Foreign Language Hours 

Pre-Major Requirements

  • BIO 148: Introductory Biology I - 3 Credit Hours
  • BIO 152: Principles of Biology II - 3 Credit Hours
  • BIO 155: Introductory Biology Lab I OR BIO 198: Scholars Biology Research - 1-2 Credit Hours
  • CHE 105: General College Chemistry I AND CHE 111: General Chemistry Lab I - 5 Credit Hours (4+1 hours)
  • CHE 107: General College Chemistry II AND CHE 113: General Chemistry Lab II - 5 Credit Hours (3+2 hours)
  • MA 137: Calculus I OR MA 113: Calculus I OR MA 123: Elem Calculus and its Applications - 4 Credit Hours

*The CHE 105 requirement can be satisfied with CHE 109 and CHE 110 (8 Credit Hours).

Total: 21-26 Credit Hours

Major Requirements

  • Minimum major requirement for graduation is 56 credit hours in courses as detailed below. The overall GPA and Major GPA must be at least 2.0.

Core Courses

1st Tier Core

  • BIO 303: Intro to Evolution - 4 Credit Hours
  • BIO 304: Principles of Genetics - 4 Credit Hours

2nd Tier Core (To be taken after completion of 1st Tier Core)

  • Choose two of the following three courses:
    • BIO 315: Intro to Cell Biology - 4 Credit Hours 
    • BIO 325: Ecology - 4 Credit Hours
    • BIO 350: Animal Physiology OR BIO 430G: Plant Physiology - 4 Credit Hours
      *All are 4 credit hour courses with a lab component - 8 Credit Hours total*
  • BIO 425: Biology Seminar - 1 Credit Hour
  • STA 296: Statistical Methods and Motivations - 3 Credit Hours

Core Total: 20 Credit Hours

Courses Outside the Major

  • CHE 230: Organic Chemistry I OR CHE 236: Survey of Organic Chemistry - 3 Credit Hours
  • CHE 231: Organic Chemistry Lab I - 1 Credit Hour 
  • PHY 211: General Physics OR PHY 151*: Intro to Physics - 3-5 Credit Hours
    *PHY 151 is not accepted for admission into Medical, Dental, or Pharmacy School. Check with your advisor before choosing a physics course.

Outside Major Total: 7-9 Credit Hours

Electives Options

Complete ONE of the following options. Students cannot mix and match requirements from the two options.

Option A – Minor Option

14 of these hours must be at the 300-level or above

MINOR

Complete the requirements for any minor other than the Biology Minor - 18-21 Credit Hours

UPPER-LEVEL BIOLOGY ELECTIVES 

4-9 Credit Hours to be chosen from 300+ level BIO courses or the full list of acceptable electives. A maximum of only three credits of Independent Research (BIO 395) may be used as electives in this section. Note: ANA 209, BIO 208 and PGY 206 CANNOT be used for this requirement.

***For the B.A. with Minor option, a minimum of 6 of the 4-9 upper-level elective credit hours be BIO courses. If fewer than 6 hours are required to complete the requirements, all hours must be BIO courses***

If students double-dip major and minor requirements, additional biology electives must be taken to meet the graduation requirement of 54 hours for the BA in Biology.

Option A Total: 25-27 Credit Hours 

Option B – Topical Focus Option 

14 of these hours must be at the 300-level or above.

TOPICAL FOCUS

Students who have multiple interests or interests that do not fall into the requirements for a minor offered at the University of Kentucky may select a 12 hour credit hour sequence of courses with a topical focus. Courses in several disciplines and in the various interdisciplinary programs may be combined to pursue the topical focus. Students interested in pursuing Option B MUST have the 12 credit hour sequence of courses APPROVED IN ADVANCE by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dept. of Biology. Students must submit an APPROVAL OF TOPICAL FOCUS FORM to the DUS.

Complete a 12 credit hour sequence of courses with a topical focus. At least 6 of these hours must be at the 300-level or above.

UPPER-LEVEL BIOLOGY ELECTIVES 

13-15 Credit Hours to be chosen from 300+ level BIO courses or the full list of acceptable electives. A maximum of only six credits of Independent Research (BIO 395) may be used as electives in this section.  Note: ANA 209, BIO 208 and PGY 206 CANNOT be used for this requirement.

***For the B.A. with Topical Focus, a minimum of 9 of the 15 upper-level electives must be BIO courses***

Option B Total: 25-27 Credit Hours 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Total Credit Hours for Major = 54 Credit Hours

Total Credit Hours for Graduation = 120 Credit Hours

*Note: Students earning a BA in Biology must take at least 39 hours of 300-level or above course work.