Biological Sciences
Major Requirements
Major: Biological Sciences
Degree Type: B.A. or B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120
University Degree Requirements
- Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework. Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
- Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specified by the university.
- A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- At least 30 credits must be NDSU resident credits. Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
- At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses numbered 300 or higher.
- 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
A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Category C: Communication | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| 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 *† | ||
| Total Credits | 39 | |
- *
Courses for category D & G are satisfied by completing D & G designated 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.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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 146 | Applied Calculus I (May satisfy general education category R) 2 | 4 |
| or MATH 165 | Calculus I | |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| BIOL 189 | Skills for Academic Success 1 | 1 |
| BIOL 270 | Undergraduate Research Experience: Antibiotic Discovery | 3 |
| or BIOL 271 | Undergraduate Research Experience: Diet and Exercise Physiology | |
| or BIOL 272 | Undergraduate Research Experience: Health and Wellness Decisions | |
| 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 359 | Evolution | 3 |
| Emphasis Area | ||
| Select one of the emphasis areas listed below to complete the major requirements | 29-59 | |
| Total Credits | 63-93 | |
- 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
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 364 | General Ecology | 3 |
| 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 department | 15 | |
| General Ecology (if not used to meet the above requirement) | ||
| Cell Biology (if not used to meet the above requirement) | ||
| Global Seminar | ||
| 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 Credits | 24-34 | |
Biomedical sciences emphasis
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 370 | Cell Biology | 3 |
| CHEM 341 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 341L | Organic Chemistry I Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 342 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 342L | Organic Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 211 | College Physics I | 3 |
| PHYS 211L | College Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 212 | College Physics II | 3 |
| PHYS 212L | College Physics II Laboratory | 1 |
| BIOC 460 | Foundations of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I | 3 |
| Select 12 credits from the following - at least 9 credits must have BIOL prefix | 12 | |
| 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 Course | Choose one additional 3 credit 300-400 level BIOL course offered by the department | 3 |
| Total Credits | 37 | |
ecology and conservation Science emphasis
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 364 | General Ecology | 3 |
| BIOL 475 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| 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 prefix | 9 | |
| 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 Course | Choose one additional 3 credit 300-400 level BIOL course offered by the department | 3 |
| Total Credits | 24-34 | |
environmental science emphasis
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 364 | General Ecology | 3 |
| BIOL 480 | Ecotoxicology | 3 |
| GEOL 105 | Physical Geology | 3 |
| GEOL 105L | Physical Geology Lab | 1 |
| GEOL 106L | The Earth Through Time Lab | 1 |
| GEOL 106 | The Earth Through Time | 3 |
| PHYS 211L | College Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 211 | College Physics I | 3 |
| PHYS 212L | College Physics II Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 212 | College Physics II | 3 |
| SOIL 210 | Introduction to Soil Science | 3 |
| SOIL 410 | Soils and Land Use | 3 |
| 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 Courses | Choose an additional 12 credits of 300 - 400 level BIOL courses offered by the department | 12 |
| Total Credits | 49-59 | |
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
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| BIOL 359 | Evolution | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| General Ecology | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| Electives: Select one of the 300-400 level courses listed below | 3 | |
| 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 Credits | 17 | |
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.