Department of Health Sciences
Microbiology Concentration
Box 70673
Johnson City, TN 37614
423-439-4564
The mission of the Department of Health Sciences is to offer a quality educational experience which provides a fundamental knowledge of the basic sciences; to develop student communication skills; fosters enthusiasm for continued learning; to encourage a strong program of scholarly activities; and to promote a spirit of cooperation among members of the academic community and with the community-at-large.
The Department of Health Sciences, located in Lamb Hall, is a multidisciplinary department offering a variety of courses concerning those sciences relevant to or implicating the human body and human health, e.g.: Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiological Sciences. The department offers a B.S. degree in Health Sciences with concentrations in Microbiology or in Human Health. In addition, the department offers minors in Health Sciences. The department also has a joint graduate program with the Department of Biological Sciences and offers a M.S. degree in Biological sciences with a concentration in Microbiology.
The purpose of the Human Health Concentration is to provide a “human-centric” program with exposure to current concepts, laboratory techniques, and disease prevention/health care recommendations and protocols. The concentration emphasizes anatomy, physiology, disease, and human health. The graduates with a Microbiology concentration are qualified to be employed as technicians in academic or industrial research laboratories or pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional schools.
The purpose of a Health Sciences major with a Microbiology concentration is to produce graduates with a fundamental knowledge of the major fields of microbiology. The graduates with a Microbiology concentration are qualified to be employed as technicians in academic or industrial research laboratories or pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional schools.
General Program Information
To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements established by ETSU, by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), 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
TBR General Education Requirements: 41 Credit Hours
Listed below are the categories and courses specified under TBR General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a TBR 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.
Communication
9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication.
Written Composition
Complete both of the following:
Oral Communication
Complete one of the following:
Humanities and Fine Arts
9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives.
Literature
Complete one of the following:
Fine Arts
Complete one of the following:
Humanities Electives
Complete one of the following:
Social and Behavioral Sciences
6 credits, consisting of:
History
6 credits, consisting of both of the following:
Natural Sciences
8 credits, consisting of the following:
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/
Major Field Core: 26 Credit Hours
Microbiology Concentration Required Courses: 33 Credit Hours
Microbiology Concentration Disciplinary Electives: 6-8 Credit Hours
Microbiology Concentration Interdisciplinary Guided Electives: 12-14 Credit Hours
(chosen in consultation with advisor)
Free Electives: 0-2 Credit Hours
Additional Information
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) program certification requires that the student have at least 20 credit hours in microbiology as broadly defined. In addition to the ASM requirements and a year of Physics (2010-2011, 4 hours; 2020-2021, 4 hours), the National Registry of Microbiologists requires a minimum of one year of work experience before an applicant for registration may take written examinations in general microbiology and in at least two specialty areas. The specialties include both theoretical and applied aspects of pathogenic bacteriology, immunology and serology, parasitology, mycology, virology, and the combined areas of food, dairy, and sanitation microbiology, or of agricultural and industrial microbiology.
Click here to view the Microbiology Concentration (no minor required) Suggested Course Sequence
Additional Requirements
This concentration will satisfy the university’s requirement for a major and a minor field of study. All majors and minors must work in close consultation with their departmental advisors in preparing their schedules. Failure to do so could result in improper scheduling which might require extra coursework. All graduates must complete the General Education Core Requirements as listed in this catalog.
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