Biology Major, B.S. (Standard Track)

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: 

• BIOL 2992 Research Orientation  (2 credits)

• BIOL 4900 Independent Studies   (1-4 credits)
• BIOL 4910 Research in Biology   (1-4 credits)

   

Advising
Students are required to visit one of the following advisors at least once a semester:

Joanna Cyrier in the Academic Resource Center (ARC) in the Culp Student Center will advise all students every semester until completion of 90 total credit hours.

After completing 90 total credit hours, students will be advised every semester by Dr. Hugh Miller, Brown 306.

After completing the core (Biology for Science Majors I, II, and III and General Genetics), students will be required to obtain permits for all upper level menu courses during their advisement.
 

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

• BIOL 1000 Academic Advantage 
• BIOL 1010 Biology for Non-majors I /BIOL 1011 Biology for Non-majors Laboratory 
• BIOL 1020 Biology for Non-majors II /BIOL 1021 Biology for Non-majors Laboratory II 

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

General Program Information

To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements put forth 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. Please follow the format below:

University-level Degree and Graduation Requirements

• Degree and Graduation Requirements 
• Completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours is required.
• CSCI 1100  or the proficiency exam
• Proficiency Intensive Course Requirements
• Senior Exit Exam
• Additional Requirements for Transfer Students
• Second Bachelor Degrees
• Double Majors/Double Degrees

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.

TBR General Education Requirements: 42 Credit Hours

Below you will see 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, we only list those courses 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: 

• ENGL 1010 - Critical Reading and Expository Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 1020 - Critical Thinking and Argumentation (3 credits)

• Students required to complete learning support in writing must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of ENGL 1010  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading. Students needing learning support in both reading and writing should enroll in ENGL 1010-Lxx immediately upon completing learning support in reading. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport. Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1010  and ENGL 1020 .

   

Oral Communication

Complete one of the following:

• SPCH 1300 - Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits)
• SPCH 2300 - Public Speaking (3 credits)
• SPCH 2320 - Argumentation and Debate (3 credits)

• When one of the oral communication courses listed above is completed to meet the general education core requirement, that course will not count toward ETSU’s oral communication-intensive requirement. (See “Other Graduation Requirements.”) Any additional course from this list that is completed will count toward the oral communication-intensive requirement.

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: 

• ENGL 2030 - Literary Heritage (3 credits)
• ENGL 2110 - American Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2120 - American Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2210 - British Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2220 - British Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2330 - World Literature (3 credits)
• ENGL 2430 - European Literature (3 credits)

Fine Arts

Complete one of the following:

• ARTH 2010 - Art History Survey I (3 credits)
• ARTH 2020 - Art History Survey II (3 credits)
• DANC 3500 - Dance as a Human Experience (3 credits)
• HUMT 2310 - Arts and Ideas I (3 credits)
• HUMT 2320 - Arts and Ideas II (3 credits)
• MUSC 1030 - Introduction to Music (3 credits)
• MUSC 1035 - History of Jazz (3 credits)
• THEA 1030 - Introduction to the Theatre (3 credits)

Humanities

Complete the following:

• PHIL 2640 - Science and the Modern World (3 credits)

Social and Behavioral Sciences

6 credits, consisting of two of the following: 

• ANTH 1240 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 1050 - Economics and Society (3 credits) or
• ECON 2210 - Principles of Macroeconomics (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 2220 - Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits)
• GEOG 1012 - Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 credits)
• HDAL 2310 - Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
• HDAL 2340 - Understanding Cultural Diversity (3 credits)
• PSCI 1110 - Political Life (3 credits)
• PSCI 1120 - Introduction to American Government (3 credits)
• PSYC 1310 - Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
• SOCI 1020 - Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)
• SOCI 2020 - Social Problems (3 credits)
• SRVL 1020 - Introduction to Service-Learning in the Community (3 credits)
• WMST 2010 - Introduction to Women’s Studies (3 credits)

History

6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

• HIST 2010 - The United States to 1877 (3 credits)
• HIST 2020 - The United States since 1877 (3 credits)

• Note:  HIST 2030 History of Tennessee  (3 credits) may be substituted for 3 credits of United States History.

Natural Sciences

Complete the following:

• CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry Lecture I (4 credits)
• CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry Laboratory I (0 credit)
• CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry Lecture II (4 credits)
• CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry Laboratory II (0 credit)

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/

• MATH 1910 - Calculus I (4 credits)

Biology Major Standard Track

The concentration requires 36 credit hours of biology courses and the completion of a minor. The student must complete the core courses, non-biology requirements, choice of course(s) from the menu lists, capstone course and 2-6 additional credit hours in Biology. These additional biology courses can be used to complete the 36 required credit hours for the major.

Biology Core Requirements

Core Courses (to be completed prior to starting advanced courses):

• BIOL 1110 - Biology for Science Majors Lecture I (4 credits)
• BIOL 1111 - Biology for Science Majors Laboratory I (0 credit)
• BIOL 1120 - Biology for Science Majors Lecture II (4 credits)
• BIOL 1121 - Biology for Science Majors Laboratory II (0 credit)
• BIOL 1130 - Biology for Science Majors Lecture III (4 credits)
• BIOL 1131 - Biology for Science Majors Laboratory III (0 credit)
• BIOL 3100 - General Genetics (3 credits)

Required Biology Course

• BIOL 4995 Capstone: Review of Biology Concepts (1 credit) 

(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

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.

Note:

Completion of one course in each menu usually leaves 2-4 credits needed. Students can choose any credit, including Independent Study and/or Research in Biology in biological sciences, to fulfill their additional credits needed for graduation.

Required Non-Biology Courses

Required Biology Electives

Biology Electives: 2-6 credit hours

Minor: 18-24 Credit Hours

Additional Information

Click here to view Suggested Course Sequence for B.S. in Biology.