Biological Sciences

This is an archived copy of the 2023-24 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.ndsu.edu.

Major Requirements

Major: Biological Sciences

Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120

University Degree Requirements

  1. Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
  2. Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework.  Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
  3. Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specified by the university.
  4. A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
  5. At least 30 credits must be NDSU resident credits.  Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
  6. At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses numbered 300 or higher.
  7. Students presenting transfer credit must meet the NDSU residence credits and the minimum upper level credit. Of the 30 credits earned in residence, a minimum of 15 semester credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 semester credits must be in the student’s curricula for their declared major.

For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.

University Degree Requirements

  1. Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
  2. Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework.  Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
  3. Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specified by the university.
  4. A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
  5. At least 30 credits must be NDSU resident credits.  Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
  6. At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses numbered 300 or higher.
  7. Students presenting transfer credit must meet the NDSU residence credits and the minimum upper level credit. Of the 30 credits earned in residence, a minimum of 15 semester credits must be in courses numbered 300 or above, and 15 semester credits must be in the student’s curricula for their declared major.

For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.

University General Education Requirements

Communication (C)12
College Composition I
College Composition II
Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Upper Division Writing
Quantitative Reasoning (R) 3
Science and Technology (S) 10
Humanities and Fine Arts (A) 6
Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) 6
Wellness (W) 2
Cultural Diversity (D) *†
Global Perspectives (G) *†
Total Credits39
*

 May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category.

 General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable.  Students should carefully review major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories.

  •  A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.

College Requirements

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. *12
Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree – An additional 6 credits in Humanities or Social Sciences *6
*

 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

Biological Sciences 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
CHEM 121
121L
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category s)
4
CHEM 122
122L
General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S)
4
MATH 146Applied Calculus I (May satisfy general education category R) 24
or MATH 165 Calculus I
STAT 330Introductory Statistics3
BIOL 189Skills for Academic Success 11
BIOL 270Undergraduate Research Experience: Antibiotic Discovery3
or BIOL 271 Undergraduate Research Experience: Field Biology and Experimental Ecology
or BIOL 272 Undergraduate Research Experience: Learning in Biology
or BIOL 273 Undergraduate Research Experience: Genomic Analysis
or BIOL 274 Undergraduate Research Experience: Biomedical Research Analysis
or BIOL 275 Undergraduate Research Experience: Insect Behavior
BIOL 315
315L
Genetics
and Genetics Laboratory
4
BIOL 359Evolution3
Emphasis Area
Select one of the emphasis areas listed below to complete the major requirements29-59
Total Credits63-93
1

 BIOL 189 is only required for first-time, first-year students--A first-time, first-year student is defined as a student who has not yet completed a college course as a college student.  Students that are not first-time, first-year students that either transfer into the university or change their major are not required to take BIOL 189.

2

Students interested in graduate programs that require 2 semesters of calculus should take MATH 165 and 166.

Standard emphasis

BIOL 364General Ecology3
or BIOL 370 Cell Biology
Select one from the following:3 or 8
Survey of Organic Chemistry ( or)
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
and Organic Chemistry II
and Organic Chemistry II Laboratory
Select one from the following:3 or 8
Fundamentals of Physics (or)
College Physics I
and College Physics I Laboratory
and College Physics II
and College Physics II Laboratory
Select 15 credits of any 300-400 level course offered in the department15
General Ecology (if not used to meet the above requirement)
Cell Biology (if not used to meet the above requirement)
Study Tour Abroad
Comparative Chordate Morphology
Plant Systematics
Vertebrate Histology
Invertebrate Zoology
Ichthyology
Herpetology
Ornithology
Mammalogy
Animal Physiology
Plant Ecology
Physiological Ecology
Animal Behavior
Endocrinology
Hormones and Behavior
Freshwater Ecology and Limnology
Structure and Diversity of Plants and Fungi
Conservation Biology
Wildlife Ecology and Management
Wildlife and Fisheries Management Techniques
Biomedical Genetics and Genomics
Ecotoxicology
Wetland Science
Developmental Biology
Cellular Mechanisms of Diseases
Total Credits24-34

 Biomedical sciences emphasis

BIOL 370Cell Biology3
CHEM 341Organic Chemistry I3
CHEM 341LOrganic Chemistry I Laboratory1
CHEM 342Organic Chemistry II3
CHEM 342LOrganic Chemistry II Laboratory1
PHYS 211College Physics I3
PHYS 211LCollege Physics I Laboratory1
PHYS 212College Physics II3
PHYS 212LCollege Physics II Laboratory1
BIOC 460Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I3
Select 12 credits from the following - at least 9 credits must have BIOL prefix12
Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II
Comparative Chordate Morphology
Vertebrate Histology
Animal Physiology
Endocrinology
Hormones and Behavior
Biomedical Genetics and Genomics
Developmental Biology
Cellular Mechanisms of Diseases
General Microbiology
Microbial Pathogenesis
Basic Immunology
BIOL CourseChoose one additional 3 credit 300-400 level BIOL course offered by the department3
Total Credits37

ecology and conservation Science emphasis

BIOL 364General Ecology3
BIOL 475Conservation Biology3
or BIOL 476 Wildlife Ecology and Management
Select one from the following:3 or 8
Survey of Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
and Organic Chemistry II
and Organic Chemistry II Laboratory
Select one from the following:3 or 8
Fundamentals of Physics
College Physics I
and College Physics I Laboratory
and College Physics II
and College Physics II Laboratory
Select 9 credits from the following - at least 6 credits must have a BIOL prefix9
Plant Systematics
Invertebrate Zoology
Ichthyology
Herpetology
Ornithology
Mammalogy
Animal Physiology
Plant Ecology
Physiological Ecology
Animal Behavior
Freshwater Ecology and Limnology
Structure and Diversity of Plants and Fungi
Conservation Biology (if not used to meet the above requirement)
Wildlife Ecology and Management (if not used to meet the above requirement)
Wildlife and Fisheries Management Techniques
Ecotoxicology
Wetland Science
Range Plants
General Entomology
Insect Ecology
General Microbiology
Microbial Ecology
Microbial Pathogenesis
Fungal Biology
Weed Biology and Ecology
Soil Ecology
BIOL CourseChoose one additional 3 credit 300-400 level BIOL course offered by the department3
Total Credits24-34

environmental science emphasis

BIOL 364General Ecology3
BIOL 480Ecotoxicology3
GEOL 105Physical Geology3
GEOL 105LPhysical Geology Lab1
GEOL 106LThe Earth Through Time Lab1
GEOL 106The Earth Through Time3
PHYS 211LCollege Physics I Laboratory1
PHYS 211College Physics I3
PHYS 212LCollege Physics II Laboratory1
PHYS 212College Physics II3
SOIL 210Introduction to Soil Science3
SOIL 410Soils and Land Use3
Select one from the following:3
Principles of Plant Physiology
Plant Systematics
Plant Ecology
Structure and Diversity of Plants and Fungi
Range Plants
Select one of the following sequences:3 or 8
Survey of Organic Chemistry
and Elements of Biochemistry (or)
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
and Organic Chemistry II
and Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I
Choose one of the following:3 or 8
Analytical Chemistry I
and Analytical Chemistry I Laboratory (or)
Geochemistry
BIOL CoursesChoose an additional 12 credits of 300 - 400 level BIOL courses offered by the department12
Total Credits49-59

 Degree and Program Note:

  • Botany and/or Zoology minors: Students completing a botany or zoology minor along with their biological sciences major must take a 300 or 400 level elective in the minor that is different from any 300 or 400 level electives taken for the major emphasis area. The only classes that students can take in common for the biological sciences major and the botany and/or zoology minor are the BIOL 150/150L, BIOL 151/151L, and BIOL 359 courses.
  • Except for courses offered only with pass/fail grading, no course may be requested to take as Pass/Fail grading for this major.

Minor Requirements

Minor: Biological Sciences

Required Credits: 17

Minor Requirements

Required Courses
BIOL 150General Biology I3
BIOL 150LGeneral Biology I Laboratory1
BIOL 151General Biology II3
BIOL 151LGeneral Biology II Laboratory1
BIOL 359Evolution3
Select one of the following:3
General Ecology
Cell Biology
Electives: Select one of the 300-400 level courses listed below3
General Ecology (if not used above)
Cell Biology (if not used above)
Comparative Chordate Morphology
Plant Systematics
Vertebrate Histology
Invertebrate Zoology
Ichthyology
Herpetology
Ornithology
Mammalogy
Animal Physiology
Plant Ecology
Physiological Ecology
Animal Behavior
Endocrinology
Hormones and Behavior
Freshwater Ecology and Limnology
Structure and Diversity of Plants and Fungi
Conservation Biology
Wildlife Ecology and Management
Wildlife and Fisheries Management Techniques
Biomedical Genetics and Genomics
Ecotoxicology
Wetland Science
Developmental Biology
Cellular Mechanisms of Diseases
Total Credits17

Minor Requirements and Notes

  • A minimum of 8 credits must be taken at NDSU.
  • Classes taken for the biological sciences minor cannot be double-counted with courses taken to fulfill botany and/or zoology minors.  The credits must be unique from courses used to fulfill the biological sciences minor. The only classes that can be double counted are BIOL 150/L, 151/L, and 359.