Botany
The science of botany is the study of plants including plant structure, function, systematics and ecology. Students study a wide variety of activities such as the relationship of plants to each other and their environment, plant growth and metabolism, classification and identification of plants, plant cell composition and plant heredity.
Departmental instruction is offered in the major area of Botany for students in all colleges of the university, but botany courses and instructional procedures are specially designed for undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources. Completion of an undergraduate major prepares the students for graduate work or for professional employment. Graduate work in Botany is offered at both the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. A minor in Botany also is available. Botany majors may not pursue a minor in Biology or Botany.
Major Requirements
Major: Botany
Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Required Degree Credits to Graduate: 122
General Education Requirements
| First Year Experience (F): | ||
| UNIV 189 | Skills For Academic Success (Students transferring in 24 or more credits do not need to take UNIV 189.) | 1 |
| Communication (C): | ||
| ENGL 110 | College Composition I | 3 |
| ENGL 120 | College Composition II | 3 |
| ENGL 324 | Writing in the Sciences | 3 |
| COMM 110 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| Quantitative Reasoning (R): | ||
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| Science & Technology (S): | 10 | |
| The 10 credits required in the Science and Technology category will be fulfilled with requirements of the major. | ||
| Humanities & Fine Arts (A): Select from current general education list | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (B): Select from current general education list | 6 | |
| Wellness (W): Select from current general education list | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D): Select from current general education list | ||
| Global Perspectives (G): Select from current general education list | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
College Requirements
Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree – An additional 6 credits in Humanities or Social Sciences*
Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree – An additional 12 credits Humanities and Social Sciences* and proficiency at the second year level in a modern foreign language.
| * | Humanities and Social Sciences may be fulfilled by any course having the following prefix: ADHM, ANTH, ARCH, ART, CJ, CLAS, COMM, ECON, ENGL, FREN, GEOG, GERM, HDFS, HIST, LA, LANG, MUSC, PHIL, POLS, PSYC, RELS, SOC, SPAN, THEA, WGS, or any course from the approved list of general education courses in humanities and social sciences (general education categories A and B). These credits must come from outside the department of the student’s major. |
Major Requirements
Except for courses offered only as pass/fail grading, no course may be taken Pass/Fail.
| General Education Requirements | 40 | |
| Science and Mathematics College Requirements | 6-12 | |
| Botany Core Requirements | ||
| BIOL 150 & 150L | General Biology I and General Biology I Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 151 & 151L | General Biology II and General Biology II Laboratory | 4 |
| BIOL 359 | Evolution | 3 |
| BOT 314 | Plant Systematics | 3 |
| BOT 315 & 315L | Genetics and Genetics Laboratory | 4 |
| BOT 460 | Plant Ecology | 3 |
| BOT 372 | Structure and Diversity of Plants and Fungi | 4 |
| BOT 491 | Seminar | 2 |
| Major Electives: Select 11 credits from the following: | 11 | |
| General Ecology | ||
| Ecotoxicology | ||
| Wetland Science | ||
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| Vertebrate Histology | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Endocrinology | ||
| Developmental Biology | ||
| Comparative Chordate Morphology | ||
| Animal Behavior | ||
| Ichthyology | ||
| Herpetology | ||
| Ornithology | ||
| Mammalogy | ||
| Physiological Ecology | ||
| Wildlife Ecology and Management | ||
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management Techniques | ||
| Related Required Courses | ||
| Chemistry: | ||
| CHEM 121 & 121L | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 122 & 122L | General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry: Select one group from the following: | 7-10 | |
Group 1: | ||
| Survey of Organic Chemistry | ||
| Elements of Biochemistry | ||
Group 2: | ||
| Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry II | ||
| Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I | ||
| Math: | ||
| MATH 146 | Applied Calculus I | 4 |
| Physics: | ||
| PHYS 211 & 211L | College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory | 4 |
| PHYS 212 & 212L | College Physics II and College Physics II Laboratory | 4 |
| Degree Requirements: Potential of 21 credits to reach 122 | 21 | |
| Total Credits | 122-131 | |
Department and College Requirements
- Students may not minor in biology or botany with this major
Minor Requirements
Botany Minor
Miinor Requirements
Required Credits: 19
| Required Courses | ||
| BIOL 150 | General Biology I | 3 |
| BIOL 150L | General Biology I Laboratory | 1 |
| BIOL 151 | General Biology II | 3 |
| BIOL 151L | General Biology II Laboratory | 1 |
| BOT/BIOL 315 | Genetics | 3 |
| BOT/BIOL 315L | Genetics Laboratory | 1 |
| BOT 372 | Structure and Diversity of Plants and Fungi | 4 |
| Botony Elective | 300-400 level | 3 |
| Total Credits | 19 | |
Minor Requirements and Notes
- A minimum of 8 credits must be taken at NDSU.
- Botany majors may not minor in Botany or Biology.
