UPG students may complete a biology major by following one of two program tracks- an Environmental Science track and a Health Careers track. The Environmental Science track is designed to prepare students for careers in environmental science as well as for graduate work in environmental science. The Health Careers track prepares student for graduate work in biology as well as for medical, dental or veterinary school.

Liberal Arts Courses for all tracks
Biology majors should choose the following science sequence as part of their General Education Requirements.

CHEM 0011 and 0012 General Chemistry 1 and 2

 Core Courses for all tracks 10 credits
BIOSC 0170 and 0180 Foundations of Biology I and II
0070 and 0080 and Laboratories

Environmental Science Track 6 courses (some with labs), 21 credits
BIOSC 0371 Ecology with Lab
BIOSC 1372 Environmental Science I
BIOSC 1377 Environmental Science II- Soil Science with Lab
BIOSC 1378 Environmental Science III- Water Quality with Lab
BIOSC 1910 Environmental Internship
BIOSC elective *any other 3-credit BIOSC course

Health Careers Track Lectures and labs that total at least 19 credits
All students take genetics and either the single-semester biochemistry or the multi-course biochemistry sequence and then select additional lecture and lab electives. Students must take a minimum of two lecture/lab combinations. Courses marked with asterisks are recommended for students who are seeking the strongest preparation for graduate and medical, dental, and veterinary school.

BIOSC 0350 Genetics

BIOSC 1000 Biochemistry
OR
BIOSC 1810 Molecular Structure and Function* and

BIOSC 1820 Metabolic Pathways* and
BIOSC 1830 Biochemistry Lab

BIOSC 1200 Vertebrate Morphology
BIOSC 1209 Vertebrate Morphology Lab
BIOSC 1480 Embryology
BIOSC 1489 Embryology Lab
BIOSC 1760 Immunology
BIOSC 1850 Microbiology*
BIOSC 1859 Microbiology Lab*
BIOSC 1870 Animal Physiology
BIOSC 1880 Animal Physiology Lab
BIOSC 1940 Molecular Biology*
BIOSC 1950 Molecular Genetics Lab*

Other Science Courses (Health Career Track) 9 courses and labs, 24 credits
CHEM 0310 and 0320 Organic Chemistry 1 and 2
0330 and 0340 and Laboratories
PHYS 0110 and 0111 Introduction to Physics 1 and 2
0212 Laboratory
MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1
MATH 0230* Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2

Other Science Courses (Environmental Track) 8 courses and labs, 20 credits
CHEM 0250 Analytical Chemistry
0260 and Laboratory
CHEM 0310 and 0320 Organic Chemistry 1 and 2
0330 and 0340 and Laboratories
MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1
MATH 0230* Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2

*with the consent of the faculty adviser, students may substitute STAT 1131-Intro to Applied Statistics or a computer programming course (e.g., CS 0004 or CS 0402) for MATH 0230.

Additional Requirements for all tracks 2 courses – 3 credits
Biology majors take the following sequence of courses to fulfill the capstone course requirement:
BIOSC 1961 Senior Research for Biology I
BIOSC 1962 Senior Research for Biology II

Students must earn at least a C grade in all Biological Science courses used to fulfill the requirements for the major and a C- in all other required science courses.