uvm biological science requirements

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The Biological Science B.S. major requirements are listed in the UVM Catalog under both the College of Arts and Sciences: B.S. in Biological Science, CAS, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: B.S in Biological Science, CALS.  This “cross-college” major spans departments as well, offering you the opportunity to tailor your academic experience at two levels:

COLLEGE-LEVEL REQUIREMENTS

The major requirements for the Biological Science B.S. are the same regardless of college.  However, in addition to courses required for completion of a major program, (and University-wide required courses in writing, diversity, sustainability, and quantitative reasoning), each college has its own requirements to ensure graduates have received a well-rounded education.  Outlined below are the descriptions for the ~11 courses required by each college that hosts the Biological Science major.  Note: courses taken for the major (e.g. biology, mathematics, etc.) can doubly count toward these college-level requirements.

DEPARTMENT-LEVEL ADVANCED LIFE SCIENCE ELECTIVES

The Biological Science major requires 26 credits of Advanced Life Science Electives – meaning 7-8 courses you choose from a list of 150+, from 18 different departments.  You could take a variety of different topics, or all of your credits from one field; it’s up to you.  The full list is below.

In year two, meet with an advisor to map a plan of study for completing your Advanced Life Science Electives – 100- and 200-level courses including undergraduate research.  The following rules apply to the Advanced Life Science Elective requirement:

• No more than 8 credits at the 100-level may be applied to the requirement (not including BCOR courses) except with written permission from an advisor and not exceeding three 100-level courses.
• With an advisor’s permission, biologically relevant 300-level courses may be applied to the requirement.
• Up to 6 credits of undergraduate research in any biological discipline may be applied toward the requirement. Only three of these can be taken for credit at the 100-level, and these will be counted in the 8 credits allowed at the 100-level.

Advanced Life Science Elective List – 100+ courses that can count for your major!

The courses listed below are pre-approved to count toward the elective requirement for the B.S. degree in Biological Science.  If you are interested in a life science course not on this list, consult with one of the Biological Science program directors to determine whether it can be used as an Advanced Elective.

The B.S. degree in Biological Science has an additional recommendation as to the types of skills one should obtain in taking their Advanced Life Science Electives. The minimum is that students should gain 12 credits in elective courses that include a quantitative (“Q”) component, 3 credits that stress oral (“O”) communication, and 3 credits that stress written (“W”) communication.  The Skillset column below indicates which of these skills a course includes.  A blank in the skillset column indicates that it is unknown whether this course fulfills any of the skillset requirements; consult the course’s instructor.  A * indicates an assignment is optional; a student would need to complete the assignment to earn the skillset credit.