Biological Sciences B.A.

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View information for the Department of Biological Sciences , including Learning Objectives for the department and its programs.

The Bachelor of Arts degree is designed to provide breadth and background in the natural sciences and to allow sufficient flexibility to accommodate the diverse needs of the general student. Persons preparing for careers in such areas as agriculture, industry, and elementary teaching will find this degree adaptable to their objective.

Program Learning Objectives

Knowledge and Skills

Biological knowledge: Successful students will demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles and unifying themes of biology.
Cognitive skills: Successful students will demonstrate the ability to think critically, synthesize rather than memorize information presented to them, and use this information to formulate scientific questions, design experiments to answer these questions, and collect, analyze, interpret, and report data.
Research skills: Successful students will demonstrate the ability to find, evaluate, and integrate published information, and demonstrate computer literacy through the ability to use databases and information technology.
Communication skills: Successful students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing as professional scientists.
Technical/Analytical skills: Successful students will demonstrate knowledge of and the ability to use mainstream laboratory/field procedures, methods, and instrumentation to conduct biological investigations and safety issues associated with each.
Teamwork skills: Successful students will demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively and solve problems in a group.

Values

7. Stewardship advocacy: Successful students will demonstrate understanding and appreciation of the relevance of biology to society, the value of knowledge and life-long learning, integrity, and the ability to identify and evaluate ethical issues.
8. Natural Resources: Successful students will have an appreciation of the inherent value of the components of the natural world and their interconnectedness.

Requirements

1. Complete the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements.

A student must comply with all University regulations and satisfy the following requirements:

Units and Residency (minimum of 120 units: 40 units of upper division coursework and 30 semester units at Stanislaus State. At least 24 of these 30 units must be earned in upper-division courses, at least 12 must be in the major, and at least 9 must be applicable to General Education-Breadth requirements)
Grade Point Average (minimum grade point average of 2.0 (C) or better)
General Education (minimum of 49 units)
Upper Division Writing Proficiency (minimum of 3 units)
- Writing Proficiency (WP) Course (may double count in the major)
United States Constitution and California State and Local Government (minimum of 3 units)
Multicultural Requirement (minimum of 3 units) (may double count with General Education requirements or in the major)

Subsequently all students must submit an application for graduation and receive approval from the major advisor, department chair, and Director of Academic Advising. For more information see the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements .

2. Complete the prerequisites to the major.

(8 units)

BIOL 1050 - General Biology I
BIOL 1150 - General Biology II

or
An equivalent complete introductory biology sequence

3. Complete the cognates to the major.

(14 units)

CHEM 1100 - General Chemistry I 4 unit(s)
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry II 4 unit(s)
At least 4 units from:
- CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I
  and
  CHEM 3012 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
- PHYS 2100 - Basic Physics I
  and
  PHYS 2250 - General Physics I

4. Complete the required courses for the major.

Courses taken without the pre-requisites will not be applied toward the degree. With approval of the major adviser, a maximum of 4 units may be satisfied by lower division courses. A maximum of 2 units may be satisfied by BIOL 4900 series courses (colloquium, independent study, internship, teaching assistantship) or CR-graded coursework from courses graded exclusively CR/NC. Completion of a minor is not required.

The Major

(37 units)

1. Complete the Biology Core courses.

(13 units)

BIOL 3310 - Cellular and Molecular Biology 3 unit(s)
BIOL 3350 - Introductory Genetics 3 unit(s)
BIOL 3680 - Ecology 4 unit(s)
BIOL 4400 - Evolution 3 unit(s)

2. Complete the subareas.

(24 units)

a. Diversity and Systematics

(8 units)

BOTY 3700 - Flowering Plants 4 unit(s)
ENTO 3000 - Entomology 4 unit(s)
ENTO 4330 - Medical and Veterinary Entomology 4 unit(s)
MBIO 3010 - Bacteriology 3 unit(s) and
MBIO 3032 - Bacteriology Lab
ZOOL 3610 - General Vertebrate Zoology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4420 - Invertebrate Zoology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4440 - General Parasitology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4620 - Herpetology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4630 - Ornithology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4640 - Mammalogy 4 unit(s)

b. Structure and Function

(4 units)

BOTY 3130 - Morphology Plants Algae Fungi 4 unit(s)
BOTY 4200 - Plant Physiology 4 unit(s)
MBIO 4500 - Bacterial Physiology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 3130 - Vertebrate Embryology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 3150 - Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4151 - Histology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 4230 - Animal Physiology 4 unit(s)

c. Genetics and Biotechnology

(2 units)

BIOL 4820 - Medical Genetics 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4830 - Population Genetics 2 unit(s)
BIOL 4840 - Genetic Biotechnology 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4850 - Forensic DNA Technology 2 unit(s)
BIOL 4870 - Recombinant DNA 2 unit(s)

d. Electives

(10 units)

Complete 10 additional units from the Diversity/Systematics, Structure/Function, Biotechnology/Genetics categories, or from the following:

BIOL 3100 - Biological Illustration 2 unit(s)
BIOL 4000 - Biogeography 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4010 - Research and Technical Writing in Biology (WP) 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4100 - Immunology 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4040 - Writing for Science and Life (WP) 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4300 - Conservation Biology 3 unit(s)
BIOL 4630 - Marine Ecology 4 unit(s)
BIOL 4650 - Freshwater Ecology 4 unit(s)
BIOL 4930 - Biology Lab Teaching Assistant 1-2 unit(s) *
BIOL 4940 - Internship in Biology 2-4 unit(s) *
BIOL 4950 - Selected Topics in Biology 1-5 unit(s) *
BIOL 4951 - Selected Topics in Biology 1-5 unit(s) *
BIOL 4960 - Biology Colloquium 1 unit(s) *
BIOL 4980 - Individual Study 1-4 unit(s) *
BOTY 3000 - Principles Plant Propagation 3 unit(s)
BOTY 4600 - Plant Ecology 4 unit(s)
MBIO 4300 - Medical Microbiology 4 unit(s)
MBIO 4600 - Food Microbiology 4 unit(s)
ZOOL 3600 - Animal Behavior 3 unit(s)
ZOOL 4250 - Vertebrate Endocrinology 3 unit(s)
ZOOL 4280 - Physiology of Human Systems 4 unit(s)
Approved lower-division biology courses*

*A maximum of 2 units may be satisfied by BIOL 4900 series courses or CR-graded coursework from courses graded exclusively CR/NC.

*A maximum of 4 units may be satisfied by lower division biology courses.

Environmental Sciences Concentration

A student with a major in biological sciences may complete additional requirements in the sciences and mathematics to qualify for an Environmental Sciences concentration, in addition to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences. This program requires study in biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physical sciences, along with an environmental seminar and investigation of an environmentally-related problem. Further details are found on the Environmental Sciences Concentration page.