Biology, Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
The four-year curriculum in biology prepares students for graduate study in biology, for employment in laboratory or field programs in private industry or government agencies and for teaching in secondary schools. This curriculum also prepares students for admission into schools of medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine, and into allied health programs.
Degree requirements – Bachelor of Science in Biology
Transfer students
Extended Teacher Preparation Program
Honors in biology
Degree requirements Bachelor of Science in Biology
The curriculum for a Bachelor of Science in Biology requires a minimum of 120 credits, with at least 40 of those credits in biology or other approved courses. A cumulative GPA of 2.0 for biology courses is required. At least six laboratory experiences must be taken from all biology courses; only one of these may be BIOL 492 Independent Study or BIOL 495 Research and Thesis. Registration in BIOL 492 or 495 must be for a minimum of two credit hours to count as one of the six required laboratory experiences. No more than eight credits of the 100-level (or introductory level) biology courses can be applied to the major.
Collateral requirements. The following requirements must be fulfilled by all majors:
Mathematics: Majors must take or place out of MATH 151 Precalculus Mathematics and take STAT 210 Basic Practice of Statistics and one additional course from the following options (or the equivalent):
- A statistics (STAT) course numbered 314 or above
- MATH 200 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
All students enrolling in a mathematics, statistics or computer science course must satisfy the prerequisites for the course before enrolling in the course. The prerequisites may be satisfied either by placement into the course based on the results of either the VCU Mathematics Placement Test or by successful completion of the prerequisite course. Depending on the test results, students may be placed in MATH 141 or MATH 151 before being admitted into one of the courses listed above.
Chemistry: The Department of Biology requires students to meet the Department of Chemistry’s course requirement of a minimum grade of C in all prerequisite courses.
CHEM 101-102 and CHEZ 101 and 102 General Chemistry and Laboratory I and II
CHEM 301-302 and CHEZ 301 and 302 Organic Chemistry and Laboratory I and II
Physics: Students must complete one of the following options:
- PHYS 201-202 General Physics
- PHYS 207 University Physics I and PHYS 208 University Physics II
Biocore. The following courses must be taken by all biology majors. A minimum grade of C in BIOL 151, 152, BIOZ 151, 152, BIOL 218, BIOL 310 and BIOL 317 is required for enrollment in all courses for which they are prerequisites and to successfully complete the B.S. in Biology.
BIOL 151, 152 Introduction to Biological Science I, II
BIOZ 151, 152 Introduction to Biological Science Laboratory I, II
BIOL 218 Cell Biology
BIOL 310 Genetics
BIOL 317 Ecology
Biology capstone (either BIOL 475 Biology Capstone Seminar, BIOZ 476 Biology Capstone Laboratory or BIOL 477 Biology Capstone Experience)
Biology electives. Select from all biology (BIOL and BIOZ) courses applicable to the biology major and biochemistry (CHEM 403). All majors must complete at minimum:
- One course (3 or more credits) from the animal group
- One course (3 or more credits) from the plant group
- Six laboratory experiences, including one in the animal or plant group
- Additional courses from the animal or plant groups, or other biology electives, to satisfy the 40 biology credits required for the major
The laboratory experience may be fulfilled by a separate laboratory section (BIOZ) or by laboratory hours included in a lecture-based (BIOL) course. Not all courses are offered each semester. BIOL courses at the 500 level are available to seniors and graduate students only.
Animal group
BIOL 301 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
BIOL 302 Animal Embryology
BIOL 309 Entomology
BIOL 312 Invertebrate Zoology
BIOZ 312 Invertebrate Zoology Laboratory
BIOL 313 Vertebrate Natural History
BIOZ 313 Vertebrate Natural History Laboratory
BIOL 391 Topics in Biology (as approved)
BIOZ 391 Topics in Biology Laboratory (as approved)
BIOL 416 Ornithology
BIOZ 416 Ornithology Laboratory
BIOL 417 Mammalogy
BIOL 435 Herpetology
BIOL 445 Neurobiology and Behavior
BIOL 503 Fish Biology
Plant group
BIOL 320 Biology of the Seed Plant
BIOL 321 Plant Development
BIOZ 321 Plant Development Laboratory
BIOL 322 Economic Botany
BIOL 323 Plant Physiology
BIOL 391 Topics in Biology (as approved)
BIOZ 391 Topics in Biology Laboratory (as approved)
Other biology electives
BIOL 291 Topics in Biology
BIOL 292 Independent Study
BIOL 303 Bacteriology
BIOZ 303 Bacteriology Laboratory
BIOL 307 Aquatic Ecology
BIOZ 307 Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
BIOL 308 Vertebrate Histology
BIOZ 310 Genetics Laboratory
BIOL 311 Animal Physiology
BIOZ 317 Ecology Laboratory
BIOL 332/ENVS 330 Environmental Pollution
BIOL 341/ANTH 301 Human Evolution
BIOL 351/BNFO 301 Introduction to Bioinformatics
BIOL 361 Biomedical Research
BIOL 391 Topics in Biology
BIOL/BNFO/MATH 380 Introduction to Mathematical Biology
BIOZ 391 Topics in Biology Laboratory
BIOL 392 Introduction to Research
BIOL 401 Applied and Environmental Microbiology
BIOL/ANTH 403 Primatology
BIOL 413 Parasitology
BIOL 431 Introduction to Marine Biology
BIOL/FRSC 438 Forensic Molecular Biology
BIOZ/FRSZ 438 Forensic Molecular Biology Laboratory
BIOL 450 Biology of Cancer I
BIOL 451 Biology of Cancer II
BIOL 455 Immunology
BIOL 490 Research Seminar
BIOL 491 Topics in Biology
BIOZ 491 Topics in Biology Laboratory
BIOL 492 Independent Study
BIOL 493 Biology Internship
BIOL 495 Research and Thesis
BIOL 496 Biology Preceptorship
BIOL 497 Ecological Service Learning
BIOL/MICR 502 Microbial Biotechnology
BIOL 507 Aquatic Microbiology
BIOL 508 Barrier Island Ecology
BIOL 509 Microbial Ecology
BIOL 510 Conservation Biology
BIOL 514 Stream Ecology
BIOL/HGEN 516 Population Genetics
BIOL 518 Plant Ecology
BIOL 520 Population Ecology
BIOL 521 Community Ecology
BIOL 522 Evolution and Speciation
BIOL 524 Endocrinology
BIOL 530/HGEN 501 Human Genetics
BIOL 532 Water Pollution Biology
BIOL 535 Wetlands Ecology
BIOL 540/BNFO 540 Fundamentals of Molecular Genetics
BIOL 545/LFSC 510 Biological Complexity
BIOL 548/LFSC 520 Bioinformatic Technologies
BIOL 550 Ecological Genetics
BIOL 560 Conservation Medicine
BIOL 565 Advances in Cell Signaling
BIOL 591 Special Topics in Biology
CHEM 403 Biochemistry I
Courses not applicable to the major: The following courses are not applicable toward the biology major requirements, but may be used as general electives toward the bachelor’s degree:
BIOL 101 Biological Concepts
BIOZ 101 Biological Concepts Laboratory
BIOL 103 Environmental Science
BIOL 201 Human Biology
BIOZ 201 Human Biology Laboratory
BIOL 205 Basic Human Anatomy
BIOL 209 Medical Microbiology
BIOZ 209 Medical Microbiology Laboratory
BIOL 217 Principles of Nutrition
PHIS 206 Human Physiology
PHIZ 206 Human Physiology Laboratory
Transfer students
Transfer students intending to major in biology must satisfy all biology major course requirements and complete a minimum of 15 credits of VCU biology courses at the 300-, 400- or 500-level.
Extended Teacher Preparation Program
Biology majors interested in teaching careers in secondary education can enroll in the Extended Teacher Preparation Program, which simultaneously awards a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in teaching. For more information about this program, jointly administered by the College of Humanities and Sciences and the School of Education, contact the School of Educations Student Services Center.
Honors in biology
Biology majors may graduate with honors in biology. To qualify, students must have overall and biology GPAs of at least 3.5 and must complete the following courses in this sequence: BIOL 392 Introduction to Research, at least four credits of BIOL 495 Research and Thesis and BIOL 490 Research Seminar. Grades of A or B must be earned in each of the listed courses. Students who qualify will have the notation “Honors in Biology” placed on their transcript. Students must meet all Department of Biology requirements for graduation. Students should consult with their academic advisers to create a program suitable to their particular needs and interests.