The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree is intended to provide maximum flexibility for students pursuing study in interdisciplinary areas such as environmental science or secondary school teaching. In addition to the University and College degree requirements, students seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences must complete the following core requirements. All degree programs require a total of 120 credits, 45 of which must be upper-division credits.
Prerequisite Coursework for Transfer Students
Students transferring to Florida Atlantic University must complete both lower-division requirements (including the requirements of the Intellectual Foundations Program) and requirements for the college and major. Lower-division requirements may be completed through the A.A. degree from any Florida public college, university or community college or through equivalent coursework at another regionally accredited institution. Before transferring and to ensure timely progress toward the baccalaureate degree, students must also complete the prerequisite courses for their major as outlined in the Transition Guides .
All courses not approved by the Florida Statewide Course Numbering System that will be used to satisfy requirements will be evaluated individually on the basis of content and will require a catalog course description and a copy of the syllabus for assessment.
B.A. Biology Core Requirements
| Core Requirements (40-41 credits) | ||
| Biological Principles and Lab | BSC 1010, 1010L | 4 |
| Biodiversity and Lab | BSC 1011, 1011L | 4 |
| General Chemistry 1 | CHM 2045 | 3 |
| General Chemistry 1 Lab | CHM 2045L | 1 |
| General Chemistry 2 | CHM 2046 | 3 |
| General Chemistry 2 Lab | CHM 2046L | 1 |
| Organic Chemistry 1 | CHM 2210 | 3 |
| Organic Chemistry 2 | CHM 2211 | 3 |
| Methods of Calculus | MAC 2233 | 3 |
| Experimental Design and Statistical Inference | PSY 3234 | 3 |
| Physical Science | PSC 2121 | 3 |
| Select four of the courses below: (Additional courses selected from this category beyond the four courses may be applied toward the elective requirement.) | ||
| One course in Physiology*** | 4-5 | |
| Genetics | PCB 3063 | 4 |
| Cell Biology | PCB 3023 | 3 |
| Principles of Ecology | PCB 4043 | 3 |
| Evolution | PCB 3674 | 3 |
| ***Students who select the "One course in Physiology" option above may fulfill this option by choosing one of the below course/lab combinations | ||
| Principles of Plant Physiology and Lab | BOT 4503, 4503L | 4 |
| Comparative Animal Physiology and Lab | PCB 4723, 4723L | 4 |
| Vertebrate Structure Development and Evolution and Lab | ZOO 4690, 4690L | 5 |
| Human Morphology and Function 1 and Lab | PCB 3703, 3703L | 4 |
| Human Morphology and Function 2 and Lab | PCB 3704, 3704L | 4 |
B.A. Biology Electives
|
Biology Electives Select a minimum of 12 upper-division credits from the list below |
||
| Vascular Plant Anatomy and Lab | BOT 3223, 3223L | 4 |
| Marine Botany and Lab | BOT 4404, 4404L | 4 |
| Plant Cell Biology | BOT 4542 | 3 |
| Plant Biotechnology | BOT 4734C | 3 |
| Life of a Biologist* | BSC 2844 | 1 |
| Conservation Biology | BSC 3052 | 3 |
| Introduction to Biological Research | BSC 3453 | 1 |
| Biological Research Writing | BSC 3481 | 2 |
| Molecular Genetics of Aging | BSC 4022 | 3 |
| Climate Change Biology: Ecosystems to Human Health | BSC 4307 | 3 |
| Laboratory Methods in Biotechnology | BSC 4403L | 3 |
| Concepts in Bioinformatics | BSC 4434C | 3 |
| Biology of Cancer | BSC 4806 | 3 |
| Directed Independent Study** | BSC 4905 | 1-3 |
| Directed Independent Research in Biological Sciences** | BSC 4910 | 0-3 |
| Honors Research | BSC 4917 | 3 |
| Honors Thesis | BSC 4918 | 3 |
| Special Topics | BSC 4930 | 1-3 |
| Comparative Animal Behavior | CBH 4024 | 3 |
| Critical Thinking in Environmental Science | EVS 4021 | 3 |
| General Microbiology and Lab | MCB 3020, 3020L | 4 |
| Medical Bacteriology | MCB 4203 | 3 |
| Virology | MCB 4503 | 3 |
| Microbial Ecology | MCB 4603 | 3 |
| Marine Biodiversity and Lab | OCB 4032, 4032L | 4 |
| Marine Biology and Lab | OCB 4043, 4043L | 4 |
| Marine Microbiology and Molecular Biology and Lab | OCB 4525, 4525L | 4 |
| Marine Ecology and Lab | OCB 4633, 4633L | 4 |
| Marine Science | OCE 4006 | 4 |
| Issues in Human Ecology | PCB 3352 | 3 |
| Genetics Lab | PCB 4067L | 3 |
| Immunology | PCB 4233 | 3 |
| Freshwater Ecology and Lab | PCB 4301, 4301L | 4 |
| Molecular Genetics | PCB 4522 | 3 |
| Genes and Development | PCB 4594 | 3 |
| Reproductive Endocrinology | PCB 4803 | 3 |
| Cellular Neuroscience and Disease | PCB 4842 | 3 |
| Practical Cell Neuroscience | PCB 4843C | 3 |
| Invertebrate Zoology and Lab | ZOO 3205,3205L | 5 |
| Introduction to Animal Locomotion | ZOO 4373 | 3 |
| Functional Biology of Marine Animals and Lab | ZOO 4402. 4402L | 4 |
| Ornithology and Lab | ZOO 4472, 4472L | 4 |
| Principles of Human Neuroanatomy | ZOO 4742 | 3 |
Note: PHY 2053 may be substituted for PSC 2121.
* Although it is a biology elective, Life of a Biologist (BSC 2844) is not an upper-division courses and, as such, does not fulfill the minimum biology upper-division elective requirement of 12 credits.
** Students may enroll in a maximum of 3 research credits within a single semester.
Note: No more than a total of 5 non-graded (S/U) credits may be used to fulfill biology degree program requirements. Approved non-graded biology electives include:
| Directed Independent Study | BSC 4905 | 1-3 |
| Directed Independent Research in Biological Sciences | BSC 4910 | 0-3 |
| Seminar | BSC 4932 | 1 |
| Science Internship | IDS 3941 | 1-3 |
Note: No More than 2 credits of a seminar coures (BSC 4932) may be used to fulfill biology degree requirements.
Note: Biology department approval is required for students wishing to complete the Science Internship for credit. After a student's Science Internship registration request has been processed by the FAU Career Center, the Career Center will communicate directly with the department to request approval on the student's behalf.
Note: Students wishing to participate in Medical Shadowing Internship should not enroll in Science Internship. They should instead enroll in Medical Shadowing Internship (IDS 3940). The Medical Shadowing Internship course cannot be used to fulfill biology degree program requirements.
Students can find detailed flight plan information and Intellectual Foundations Program checklists for biology majors through University Advising Services.
Environmental Sciences Focus
Complete all of the above and the following electives.
| Biology Elective | ||
| Issues in Human Ecology | PCB 3352 | 3 |
| Environment and Society | EVR 2017 | 3 |
| General Electives | ||
| Macroeconomics Principles | ECO 2013 | 3 |
| Microeconomics Principles | ECO 2023 | 3 |
| Environmental Economics | ECP 4302 | 3 |
| Environmental Ethics | PHI 3640 | 3 |
