Requirements for the Biology Major

Courses within the Biology Dept:

    BIOL181/191 and 182/192 - Principles of Biology I and II and Labs

    Six Advanced Elective Courses: All majors must take one elective courses from
    each column below. [Note: No more than four of these courses may be counted towards the major]

Column 1 - Genetics, Genomics,
Cell, Development

Column 2 - Ecology, Evolution, Behavior

  BIOL 210 Genetics and Genomics

   BIOL 214 Evolution

  BIOL 212 Principles & Mechanisms of Cell Biology

   BIOL 216 Ecology

  BIOL 218 Developmental Biology

   BIOL/NS&B 213 Behavioral Neurobiology
  MB&B 208 Molecular Biology

No more than 4 of these courses may be counted towards the major. 

Courses outside the Biology Dept: 
2 semesters required from the following:
  General Chemistry ([141/142] or [143/144])
3 semesters required from any of the following:
  Physics (PHYS 111 or 112 or 113 or 116)
  Organic Chemistry (CHEM 251 or 252)
 

Math (117 or higher), Statistics (MATH 132 or BIOL 320/520 or PSYC 200 or QAC 201),
Computer Science (COMP 112, COMP 211 or higher)

Please note: Students planning to go on to medical, dental, or other health professions graduate school should note that a year each of introductory biology, physics, and math (such as calculus or statistics) and two years of chemistry (general and organic) are required for admission, including any laboratory components.

  • Four additional electives at the 200, 300 or 500 level may be chosen from among the following courses.  Courses that we do not expect to be offer in the next 2 years (2012-2013 and 2013-2014 are marked with and asterisk (*).  See Wesmaps for updates. [Note: the courses are grouped thematically for your convenience only.]

GENETICS, GENOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS

PHYSIOLOGY and BEHAVIOR

  BIOL 210 Genetics and Genomics
  BIOL/COMP 265 Bioinformatics Programming
  *BIOL 315/515 Genes in Development
  BIOL 327/527 Evolutionary & Ecological Bioinformatics
  *BIOL 337/537 Origins of Bacterial Diversity
  *BIOL 350/550 Bioinformatics &
     Functional Genomics
  MB&B 208 Molecular Biology
  MB&B 231 Microbiology
  MB&B 294 Lab in Molecular Biology & Genetics
  MB&B 333/533 Gene Regulation

+BIOL/NS&B 213 Behavioral Neurobiology
  BIOL 224 Hormones, Brain and Behavior
  BIOL 235 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
  *BIOL 239 Brain Anatomy
  NS&B/BIOL 243 Neurohistology
  BIOL 245 Cellular Neurophysiology
  BIOL 247 Lab in Neurophysiology
  BIOL/NS&B 249 Neuroethology
  BIOL/NS&B 250 Lab in Cell/Mol Neurobiology
  NS&B/BIOL 252 Cell Biology of the Neuron
  BIOL 254 Comparative Animal Behavior
  *BIOL 290 Plant Form and Diversity
  BIOL/NS&B 299 Waves, Brains and Music
  *BIOL 324/524 Neuropharmacology
  NS&B/BIOL 328 Chemical Senses
  BIOL/NS&B 345 Developmental Neurobiology
  *BIOL 347 Mammalian Cortical Circuits
  BIOL/NS&B 351 Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

CELL BIOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT

EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY and CONSERVATION  BIOLOGY

  BIOL 212 Prin & Mech of Cell Biology
  BIOL 218 Developmental Biology
  BIOL 226 Invasive Species: Biology, Policy, Management
  MBB/BIOL 237 Signal Transduction
  BIOL 245 Cellular Neurophysiology
  BIOL 246 Cell Biology of Major Health Challenges
  *BIOL 315/515 Genes in Development
  *BIOL 321 The Cell in Development
  BIOL 325 Stem Cells: Basic Biology to
      Clinical Applications
  *BIOL 335/535 Research Approaches to Disease
  BIOL 340/540 Issues in Development &
     Evolution
  BIOL 343/543 Muscle and Nerve Development
  BIOL/NS&B 345/545 Developmental Neurobiology
  MB&B 232 Immunology
  MB&B 375 Cell Division Cycle

  BIOL 214 Evolution
  BIOL 216 Ecology
  BIOL 220 Conservation Biology
  BIOL 235 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
  BIOL 254 Comparative Animal Behavior
  BIOL 286 Evolution in Human Altered Environments
  BIOL 290 Plant Form and Diversity
  *BIOL 306 Tropical  Ecology  and the Environment
  *BIOL 312 Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems
  BIOL 316/516 Plant-Animal Interactions
  BIOL 318/518 Nature and Nurture
  BIOL 327/527 Evolutionary and Ecological  Bioinformatics
  *BIOL 336 Landscape Ecology
  *BIOL 337/537 Origins of Bacterial Diversity
  BIOL 340/540 Issues in Development & Evolution
 *BIOL 346 The Forest Ecosystem

ADDITIONAL COURSES WHICH MAY BE CREDITED TO THE MAJOR:

BIOL 223 Integration of Clinical Experience and Life Science Learning
BIOL 320/520 Quantitative Methods
E&ES 233 Geobiology
MB&B 383 Biochemistry

Additional information:

  • IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR  DOUBLE MAJORS:  At least two elective courses (200-level and above) that are counted toward the Biology major cannot be simultaneously used to fulfill any other major. In addition, if a student is double majoring in Biology and NS&B, NS&B/BIOL 213 cannot count toward the 6 electives required for a Biology major; however, NS&B/BIOL 213 will fulfill the Column 2 breadth requirement.   

  • 400 level courses (research tutorials) are not creditable toward the major, but do receive university credit. 

  • With prior permission of the departmental undergraduate liaison (2012-2013: Prof. Jim Donady), up to two life science courses from outside the department or from another institution may be counted toward the major.  Two Wesleyan courses that fall into this category include: ANTH 349 (The Human Skeleton) and ANTH 202 (Paleoanthropology: The Study of Human Evolution). MB&B 218 (Introductory Medical Biochemistry) may be counted as long as either MB&B 208 or MB&B 383 is not counted toward the major.

  • Research done with non-Wesleyan faculty at other institutions does not receive Wesleyan credit.

  • Bio majors are allowed to apply at most one elective course taken Pass/Fail toward fulfilling the major requirements; however this is discouraged because good performance in major courses is an important aspect of a student's transcript.

See Wesmaps for more information regarding the courses .