Microbiology Major
Major Requirements
Degree Type: B.S. Minimum Credits Required: 120
University Degree Requirements
For complete details on these and other university degree requirements, refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section in the University Catalog.
- Minimum of 120 semester credits (some programs may exceed this minimum).
- Complete the University General Education requirements.
- Minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- Minimum of 30 credits in resident at NDSU.
- Minimum of 36 upper level credits (courses numbered 300 or higher).
- Students with transfer credit must meet the NDSU 30 credits in residence (#4). Of these 30 credits in residence, a minimum of 15 credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 credits must be in the student's declared major curricula.
University General Education Requirements
A list of university approved general education courses along with the administrative policies governing the requirement and the categories is available here.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category C: Communication | 12 | |
| Category R: Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | |
| Category S: Science and Technology | 10 | |
| Category A: Humanities and Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Category B: Social and Behavioral Sciences | 6 | |
| Category W: Wellness | 2 | |
| Category D: Cultural Diversity | ||
| Category G: Global Perspectives | ||
| Category L: Digital Literacy | ||
| Total Credits | 39 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MICR 189 | Skills for Academic Success 1,2 | 1 |
| MICR 350 & 350L | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab 2 | 5 |
| MICR 352 | The Science Toolkit: Skills for Scientific Success 2 | 3 |
| MICR 452 | Microbial Ecology 2,3 | 3 |
| MICR 470 | Basic Immunology 2,3 | 3 |
| MICR 475 | Virology 2,3 | 3 |
| MICR 480 | Microbial Physiology 2,3 | 3 |
| MICR 482 | Microbial Genetics 2,3 | 3 |
| MICR 485 | Capstone Experience I: Reflecting and Planning 2 | 1 |
| MICR 486 | Capstone Experience II: Reflection and Dissemination 2 | 1 |
| Required Capstone Experience - Select one course experience of the following: 2 | 2 | |
| Undergraduate Research | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| FE/Coop Ed/Internship | ||
| BIOC 460 | Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I | 3 |
| BIOC 461 | Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II | 3 |
| BIOL 150 & 150L | General Biology I and General Biology I Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 151 & 151L | General Biology II and General Biology II Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 121 & 121L | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 122 & 122L | General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 341 & 341L | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 342 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| ENGL 324 | Writing in the Sciences | 3 |
| or ENGL 325 | Writing in the Health Professions | |
| PHYS 211 & 211L | College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory | 4 |
| PHYS 212 & 212L | College Physics II and College Physics II Laboratory | 4 |
| PLSC 315 & 315L | Genetics and Genetics Laboratory | 4 |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| Select one philosophy course from the following: | 3 | |
| Professional Responsibility and Ethics | ||
| Ethics | ||
| Contemporary Moral Issues | ||
| Business Ethics | ||
| Environmental Ethics | ||
| Ethics, Engineering, and Technology | ||
| Select one math course from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Trigonometry | ||
| Precalculus | ||
| Applied Calculus I | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Subplan | ||
| Select either the Standard Microbiology subplan or the Biomedial Sciences subplan to complete the major requirements. | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 96-97 | |
Standard MICROBIOLOGY Subplan
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select a minimum of 12 credits from the following course list. | 12 | |
| Global Seminar (with prior approval) 2 | ||
or MICR 492 | Global Practicum: Study Abroad | |
| Individual Study (no more than 3 credits) 2 | ||
| Food Microbiology 2,3 | ||
| Biotechnology for Sustainability 2,3 | ||
| Microbial Biotechnology 2,3 | ||
| Human Microbiome 2,3 | ||
| Microbiomes: Agriculture and Environmental Resilience 2,3 | ||
| Animal Health and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 2,3 | ||
| Microbial Pathogenesis 2,3 | ||
| Microbial Genomics with Computational Laboratory 2,3 | ||
| Seminar ((1-3 credits)) 2 | ||
| One Health 2,3 | ||
| Cellular Signal Transduction Processes and Metabolic Regulations 2,3 | ||
| Molecular Biology of Gene Expression 2,3 | ||
| Science Communication 2,3 | ||
| History and Evolution of Wine in America 2 | ||
| Intermediate Genetics 2,3 | ||
| Fundamental Plant Pathology | ||
| Principles of Plant Disease Management | ||
| Practices of Plant Disease Management Research | ||
| Fundamentals of Molecular Techniques in Agriculture | ||
| Fungal Biology 2,3 | ||
| Soil Ecology 2 | ||
| Laboratory Courses - Select at least 3 credits from the following: 2 | 3 | |
| Animal Cell Culture Techniques 2,3 | ||
| Food Microbiology Laboratory 2,3 | ||
| Microbial Pathogenesis Laboratory 2,3 | ||
| Immunology and Serology Laboratory 2,3 | ||
| Methods of Recombinant DNA Technology 2,3 | ||
| Fundamental Plant Pathology Laboratory | ||
| Plant Disease Diagnostics and Quantification | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
Biomedical Sciences subplan
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MICR 460 | Microbial Pathogenesis 2,3 | 3 |
| MICR 460L | Microbial Pathogenesis Laboratory 2,3 | 2 |
| Select a minimum of 10 credits from the following: 2 | 10 | |
| Anatomy and Physiology of Domestic Animals | ||
| Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory | ||
| Domestic Animal Behavior and Management | ||
| Fundamentals/Animal Disease | ||
| Fundamentals of Animal Disease II | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology II | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| Science Communication 3 | ||
| Cellular Mechanisms of Diseases 3 | ||
| Hematology | ||
| Human Microbiome 3 | ||
| Animal Health and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 3 | ||
| Vaccinology 3 | ||
| Epidemiology | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
- 1
MICR189 is required for new students to our programs - This includes: first-time, first-year student and transfer students into the university. Students who change their major are not required to take MICR 189, but can elect to.
- 2
Requires a grade of C or better.
- 3
Courses offered at the 600 level can be used in the B.S./M.S. accelerated program. The 600 level courses have additional outcomes/requirements for graduate level students. When students complete and submit the Accelerated Declaration form, the courses must be identified and no more than 15 credits of graduate coursework can be counted toward the B.S. degree.
Accelerated Undergraduate to Master's Degree Programs
- Students may participate in an accelerated program in the following areas:
- B.S. Microbiology to Master of Science in Microbiology
- B.S. Microbiology to Master of Public Health
- A 3.0 GPA is required for the B.S./M.S. accelerated programs
- Instructions to apply are found here.
- A sample 5-year plan for interested students can be found on the department website.
- Students may complete a thesis-based or comprehensive study-based masters program. Outcomes of these master's programs can be found here.