Biology Major,
Bachelor of Science
Department of Biology
Full speed ahead
A Bachelor of Science degree with a major in biology at FMU biology requires 120 credit hours, including the satisfactory completion of the following courses. This curriculum can be tailored to fit a variety of career goals within the overall framework of the major.
General Education Requirements
Communications (9 hours)
- ENGL 101: Analysis & Argument (3)
- ENGL 102: Rhetoric Genre Research (3)
- SPCO 101: Basics of Oral Communication (3)
Social Sciences (9 hours)
- POLI 101: U.S. Government or POLI 103: Introduction to Political Science (3)
- Two elective courses in Anthropology (ANTH), Economics (ECON), Geography (GEOG), Political Science (POLI), or Sociology (SOCI). (3)
- Honors (HNRS) courses 250-259 will also fulfill this requirement.
Humanities (12 hours)
- Literature (ENGL) (3)
- History (HIST) (3)
- Fine Art Appreciation (ART 101, MUSI 101, or THEA 101) (3)
- One elective course in Art (ART), Literature (ENGL), History (HIST), Music (MUSI), Theater (THEA), or Philosophy & Religious Studies (PRS) or AAAS 200: Introduction to African American Studies or GNDR 200: Gender Studies (3)
- Honors (HNRS) courses 260-269 will also fulfill this requirement.
Mathematics (6 hours)
- A minimum of 6 hours of mathematics courses MATH 111 or higher.
Natural Sciences (12 hours)
- Biology majors fulfill this General Education requirement automatically.
- A minimum of 12 hours of science courses with laboratories.
- Biology (BIOL) or Environmental Science (ENVR) (4)
- Chemistry (CHEM), Physics (PHYS), or Physical Science (PSCI) (4)
- Astronomy (ASTR), Biology (BIOL), Chemistry (CHEM), Environmental Science (ENVR), Physics (PHYS), Physical Science (PSCI), Psychology (PSYC 206/216), or
- Honors (HNRS) courses 280-289 will also fulfill this requirement.
Major Requirements
Biology Core (9 hours)
- One course from Introductory Group I: (4)
- One course from Introductory Group II: (4)
- BIOL 499: Biology Capstone Seminar (1)
Biology Blocks (16 hours)
- One course from the Cellular and Molecular Biology Block: (4)
- One course from the Organismal Diversity Biology Block: (4)
- One course from the Ecology Block: (4)
- One course in the Genetics and Evolution Block: (4)
Biology Electives (11 hours)
- Three additional (BIOL) courses are needed to bring the total biology credits to 36 hours.
- Courses must be 200-level or above.
- Internship courses (BIOL 490, 494, and 498) do not fulfill the biology elective requirements for the biology major.
Chemistry (12 hours)
- CHEM 111/111L: General Chemistry I (4)
- CHEM 112/112L: General Chemistry II (4)
- CHEM 201: Organic Chemistry I
Physics (8 hours)
OR
Minor/Collateral Requirements
FMU students are required to complete either a minor or two collaterals in addition to their major for graduation.
- A minor in another discipline requires at least 18 hours of coursework in that discipline.
- Some restrictions may apply, please check minor requirements for other disciplines.
- Many Biology majors choose to take 2 more chemistry courses to complete the Chemistry Minor.
- Collaterals in other disciplines require 12 hours of coursework in those disciplines.
- Some restrictions may apply, please check collateral requirements in other disciplines.
- Biology majors earn a Chemistry Collateral automatically when they complete the major requirements.
Additional Information
- Additional elective courses in any discipline may be needed to reach the total 120 hours required for graduation.
- Many Biology majors choose to earn credit from research projects or internships. Talk to your advisor for more information.
- When choosing electives, students should remember that certain career paths may seek knowledge that are not strictly required for the Biology major.
- Examples: statistics, computer science, GIS skills, etc.
- To advance to a higher biology course, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in each prerequisite biology course.