Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biology Major, B.S. (no minor required)


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College of Arts and Sciences


Department of Biological Sciences


Biological Sciences Program Information


Department of Biological Sciences
PO Box 70703
Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: (423) 439-4329
Fax: (423) 439-5958
Web Address: www.etsu.edu/cas/biology


Biology Major
The Department of Biological Sciences offers a major in biology leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The major is designed for students who plan to enter such professions as biology, biochemistry, science education, medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, conservation, and industry. Some of our courses may be appropriate for students in other fields of study who desire to acquaint themselves with the phenomena of living organisms. The department offers the Master of Science in biology, and participates in the PhD in Biomedical Sciences through the Quillen College of Medicine. Further information on graduate programs is contained in the Graduate Catalog.
 

Undergraduate Research Opportunities
The Department of Biological Sciences has a commitment to providing undergraduate students with the opportunity for involvement in research. Many faculty welcome undergraduate students into their research programs. Opportunities for receiving undergraduate credit for research include the following courses:

Advising

Students with 0-59 earned credit hours:

Contact the Center for Advisement and Student Excellence (CASE) to schedule an appointment with your advisor.  Visit the CASE website (http://www.etsu.edu/cas/case/) or call (423) 439-5602.

Students with:

60-89 credit hours with last names A-I:
Contact Dr. Joe Bidwell - Sign up for an appointment time in 125 Brown Hall. 

60-89 credit hours with last names J-Z:
Dr. Karl Joplin - Sign up for an appointment time in 432 Brown Hall.

90 or more credit hours:
Dr. Hugh Miller - Office hours are posted on the door in 306 Brown Hall.

Transfer Students

Transfer students majoring in biochemistry should contact the chair of the department for advising as soon as possible. This will ensure that the student’s previous work will be coordinated efficiently with ETSU requirements.

Notes
Credit for the following courses will not apply toward a major or minor in the department:

The department DOES NOT accept AP biology credit from High School.

For general information about the department or courses, contact Dr. Joe Bidwell, Chair (bidwell@etsu.edu; (423) 439-4329).

General Program Information


To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements established by ETSU, by the East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees, by each college, and by each department. All students must meet the degree requirements at each of these levels outlined in the following list:

University-level Degree and Graduation Requirements


Total Credit Hours for Degree: 120


College of Arts and Sciences B.S. Degree Requirements


Students majoring in the College of Arts and Sciences must meet the following requirements for the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. Some requirements must be taken in addition to the General Education Core, whereas others specify which courses from the General Education Core must be taken.

Mathematics Specified General Education Core: MATH 1530  or MATH 1910  as specified by major.
   
Natural Sciences Eight (8) credit hours in a SINGLE laboratory science from the following:
  1. ASTR 1010  and ASTR 1020  
  2. BIOL 1010  /BIOL 1011  and BIOL 1020  /BIOL 1021  
  3. BIOL 1110  /BIOL 1111  and BIOL 1120  /BIOL 1121  or BIOL 1130  /BIOL 1131  
  4. CHEM 1110  /CHEM 1111  and CHEM 1120  /CHEM 1121  
  5. GEOL 1040 /GEOL 1041  and GEOL 1050 /GEOL 1051  
  6. PHYS 2010  /PHYS 2011  and PHYS 2020  /PHYS 2021  or PHYS 2110  and PHYS 2120  
  * Higher-level laboratory courses in these departments also meet this requirement.
   
Philosophy of Science PHIL 2640  
   
Reasoning PHIL 2030  or SPCH 2320  *
  * SPCH 2320  suggested to also meet the oral communication requirement.

 

General Education Requirements: 42 Credit Hours


Listed below are the categories and courses specified under East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a General Education requirement AND a requirement of this major. (Other majors may require different General Education courses.) Where specific courses are required for this major, only those courses are listed under the category. If there are no specific major requirements for a category, all course options appear.
 

Written Composition


Complete both of the following: 

Oral Communication


Note: Other courses from this block are acceptable, but this course satisfies the Reasoning requirement for the BS degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Humanities and Fine Arts


9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives.

Humanities


Note: Other courses from this block are acceptable, but this course satisfies the Philosophy of Science requirement for the BS degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.

History


6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

Note:


Other courses from this block are acceptable, but these courses satisfy the General Education Natural Science requirement and the requirements of the Biology curriculum.

Mathematics


Students will enroll in the appropriate general education math course during their first calendar year of enrollment at ETSU. Students required to complete learning support in mathematics must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of MATH 1530  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading or writing. Students needing learning support in reading or writing in addition to learning support in math should enroll in MATH 1530-Lxx immediately upon completing their other learning support requirements. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport/

Biology Major Requirements


The concentration requires 50 credit hours of biology courses. The student must complete the core courses, non-biology requirements, choice of course(s) from the menu lists, capstone course and 16-20 additional credit hours in Biology. These additional biology courses can be used to complete the 50 required credit hours for the major.

Required Biology Course: 1 credit hour


(This course is a graduation requirement and must be completed during the last two semesters prior to graduation. As part of this course, students will complete the Major Field Exam in Biology.)

Biology Menu Requirements: at least 14 credit hours


Select at least one course from each of the Organismal, Population, and Biodiversity menus and one lecture/lab combination from the Molecular menu.

Note that in the molecular menu, a lecture and a lab course must be completed but lecture and lab courses may be mixed. Example; BIOL 3150 combined with BIOL 4157.

The following courses are required in this program of study.  Some can also be used to fulfill certain General Education requirements.  If students take other general education courses, they must still satisfy these requirements in the major.

Note:


* Courses listed in more than one menu can only be used to satisfy ONE menu.

Required Non-Biology Courses


Required Biology Electives


Biology Electives: 16-20 credit hours

Minor: No minor required.


Graduation Requirements


Graduation in this major/concentration requires a minimum of 120 credits, including General Education requirements, CSCI 1100 , college degree requirements, major requirements, and minor requirements.

Passing the CSCI 1100 proficiency test produces no credit, but satisfies the graduation requirement (see http://www.etsu.edu/cbat/computing/uit/). If the total credits from these areas are less than 120 credits, students may use free electives to complete the requirement.

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