Course Planning Tips For Biology Majors
It is very useful to draft a 4-year course plan with the help of a Biology Faculty Advisor, and revise it each semester just before pre-registration. It is very important for you to realize that circumstances change, and departments may be unable to offer a particular elective each year, so you will want to have alternative choices. Your interests may change as you progress toward the degree.
Before studying this section, consult the appropriate degree requirements. There are several options:
- B.A. in Biology
- B.S. in Biology with concentration in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior (EEB)
- B.S. in Biology with concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB)
To see the requirements in detail, click the link below:
Also, consult some sample schedules
B.A. in Biology
B.S. in Biology, with concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology
B.S. in Biology, with concentration in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Topics
Introductory Chemistry
Most students take CHEM 107 and 108 in the freshman year. You MUST take CHEM 107 in the Fall, and CHEM 108 in the Spring, because these courses are taught only in those semesters. If you do not do so, you will need to catch up in the summer. The single 4-credit CHEM 111 course can be substituted for CHEM 107 + CHEM 108. Students who plan to apply to medical and other health professional schools should be aware that if they take CHEM 111, they will have to take another 4-credit inorganic chemistry class to fulfill entry requirements for many medical and other health professional schools. Consult the university's pre-health advising website.
Introductory Biology
Introductory Biology is a sequence of two 4-credit courses -- BIOL 117 and BIOL 118. Each course has lecture, laboratory / computer, and discussion sessions. BIOL 117 gives an introduction to Organismal and Population Biology; BIOL 118 gives an introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology. BIOL 117 will be offered only in the Fall semesters; BIOL 118 will be offered only in the Spring semesters. Both courses will also be offered every summer. The prerequisites to both courses are high school biology and chemistry. This also means that you can take BIOL 117 and BIOL 118 in either order.
Advanced Placement and College-Level Biology Course Transfer Credits
To download a document explaining our policy on Advanced Placement and other college-level biology courses relative to biology degree requirements, click here.
Prerequisites and Co-requisites
Prerequisite refers to a course that you must have completed. Co-requisite refers to a course that must be taken simultaneously if not already completed. BIOL 117, 118, CHEM 107, 108 and in some cases, Organic Chemistry I and/or Organic Chemistry II, are often listed as prerequisites or co-requisites. Faculty members list these to ensure that all students are fully prepared for the course. Registering in a course for which you do not have the pre- or co-requisites is risky at best.
Students who switch to Biology late in their college years may consider taking some of these prerequisites during the summer. The Chemistry Department offers CHEM 107 / 108 and the entire Organic Chemistry sequence in the summer. Courses in the summer are taught at a very fast pace and require considerable outside-class hours for homework and study.
Required Upper-level Biology Courses - Entered Fall 2001 or after
The Biology Department requires two or more core upper-level courses depending upon the degree sought.
B.A. and B.S. (EEB concentration) students select either Molecular Genetics (BIOL 301) or Cell Biology (BIOL 311)
B.S. (CMB concentration) students take both Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology
Neither of these courses has a laboratory component. Students who wish to fulfill lab requirements in these areas have that option. BIOL 425, Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a good accompaniment or can come after BIOL 301. BIOL 427, Cell Biology Laboratory, is a good accompaniment or can come after BIOL 311.
B.A. and B.S. (CMB concentration) students select either Ecology (BIOL 355 or BIOL 373) or Evolution (BIOL 351 or BIOL 378.
B.S. (EEB concentration) students take both Ecology and Evolution.
BIOL 355 and BIOL 373 cover the same material. Students may take only one. The difference is that BIOL 373 has a laboratory/field component that fulfills a lab requirement toward the degree. It is offered in the summer and takes advantage of the natural resources and balmy summer weather in Binghamton.
BIOL 351 is entitled Mechanisms in Evolution while BIOL 378 is entitled Macroevolution. These both address the concept of evolution but in different ways, so that a student who takes one of the courses as "core requirement" can still take the other course as "elective". Since BIOL 378 has a laboratory component, it simultaneously fulfills a lab requirement for the biology degree.
Biology Electives
General Tips
The ideal sequence of courses enables the beginning student to explore various sub-disciplines of biology and then enables the advanced student to pursue more specific goals. A Biology faculty advisor can help you with your plan.
It is all right to allow what other students say they have learned in a course to influence your selection. But be careful: do not base your selection on their comments on grading since those may keep you from taking just the course that will excite you and lead you a way to a fulfilling career.
For students who entered Binghamton University BEFORE Fall 2001
You can select as Biology electives most, but not all of our courses numbered 200 and above. Specifically, Basic Microbiology for Non-majors, Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Human Anatomy and Physiology II, and BIOL 490 will NOT count toward the upper-level Biology course requirement for the Biology major, but you may receive Harpur College credit for these courses. For the B.A. you may count a total of 4 credits of BIOL 494, 495, 496, and 497; for the B.S. you may count a total of 8 credits of BIOL 494, 495, 496, and 497.
Consult our list of courses and course descriptions.
For students who entered Binghamton University Fall 2001 or AFTER
For the BA Biology degree, you can choose Biology electives from all Biology courses numbered 300 and above except for BIOL 490. Also, BIOL 494, 495, 496 and 497 can apply toward a total of only 4 credits of Biology electives. BIOL 495 and 497 can apply toward only one course with a laboratory component.
For the BS Biology degree, your electives depend upon the concentration that you select -- either Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) or Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. (EEB) For both concentrations, BIOL 494, 495, 496 and 497 can apply toward a total of only 8 credits of Biology electives. BIOL 495 and 497 can apply toward a total of only two courses with a laboratory component.
Students who choose a concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology will be taking most of their electives and laboratory requirements from the group of courses in the CMB area. Some can be selected from the group of courses that is both CMB and EEB. At least 4 elective credits must be a course in the area of EEB.
Students who choose a concentration in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior will be taking most of their electives and laboratory requirements from the group of courses in the EEB area. Some can be selected from the group of courses that is both CMB and EEB. At least 4 elective credits must be a course in the area of CMB.
Consult our list of courses and course descriptions.
Laboratory Requirement
Up to Fall, 2001, the Biology Department designated courses that meet the laboratory requirement with an (L) following the title of the course in the University Bulletin. When General Education started to use the "L" to designate the Science Lab requirement, many students would get confused since the Schedule of Classes from which students select courses to register in only carries the Gen-Ed L.
The Biology Department has renumbered courses in such a way as to group courses with laboratory component together. BIOL courses with a laboratory component are distinguished by the following numbers:
BIOL 320-329
BIOL 340-349
BIOL 370-379
BIOL 420-429
BIOL 440-449
BIOL 470-479
BIOL 495 and BIOL 497
BIOL 480-489 with letters E to H, M to P, and U to X.
You may use a 4-credit or a 2-credit course to fulfill a lab requirement. B.A. majors may use one registration in Biology 495 and/or 497 to satisfy one lab requirement. BS majors may use two registrations in BIOL 495 or 497 to satisfy two lab requirements.
Mathematics, Science, Engineering and Computer Science Electives
General Tips for Selecting Math/Science/Eng'g/.CS courses
For pre-medical and other pre-health professional students: The ideal sequence of courses enables the beginning student to explore various sub-disciplines of biology and then enables the advanced student to pursue more specific goals. A Biology faculty advisor can help you with your plan.
For all students: It is all right to allow what other students say they have learned in a course to influence your selection. But be careful: do not base your selection on their comments on grading since those may keep you from taking just the course that will excite you and lead you a way to a fulfilling career.
Math and Science electives for students who entered BEFORE Fall 2001
The mathematics and science courses approved to fulfill this requirement are as follows:
CHEM 200-489, except 231, 332, 335, 391, 397
GEOL 111-489
MATH 148*, 221-489, except 391
PHYS 121-489, except 391
PSYC 220, 243, 344, 351, 353, 356, 358, 362
Computer Science and Engineering Courses: Students who want to use courses from the Watson School of Engineering as listed in the new requirements must see an advisor.
Math/Science/Eng'g/CS electives for students who entered on Fall 2001 or AFTER
The mathematics and science courses approved to fulfill this requirement are as follows:
PHYS 121, 122 (or PHYS 131, 132) - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
MATH 221, 222 (Calculus courses)
CS 140 (Good introduction to computer science especially good for students who think they might be interested in going in the direction of bioinformatics)
ENVI 201
GEOL 105 or 111 or 112 or 113 or 114 or 115 or 121 (ONLY ONE of these)
CHEM courses that require CHEM 108, CHEM 332, or CHEM 335
PSYCH courses that require PSYC 243 as prerequisite
Relevant Engineering courses may also count but not the courses that are cross-listed as BIOL.
*Students who come into Harpur College starting Fall 2009 will take Mathematics 148 (a statistics course for biologists). Students who arrived earlier and have not taken Mathematics 147 are strongly advised to take Mathematics 148. It will be the more relevant course.
