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BSc Biology
course Name

Institute Name : University of Massachusetts Boston

Course Name : BSc Biology

Course Type : Undergraduate

Education Level : 4,5,6

Duration : 4 Years

Method of Delivery : On Campus

Pre Requirements : Diploma, IELTS 6.5

Language Level : B2

Visa Type :

Application Fee : $100

Academic Deposit : None

Fees : $33000 Annual

Intakes : September

Course Description :

  • General Biology 111 and 112 (lab required)
  • Genetics 252 (lab required)
  • Cell Biology 210 (lab required)
  • Population Biology 290
  • Introductory Chemistry 115 and 116 with labs 117 and 118
  • Physics 107 and 108 with Labs 171-172; or Physics 113 and 114 with Labs 181-182. (Note that Calculus II and Math 141 are prerequisites for Physics 113 and 114.)
  • Mathematics through one semester of calculus (usually Math 135 or 140 or 145).

2. 20 Credits at the 300 Level or Above in Biology

  • These must include at least 4 credits (or 12 class hours) in the laboratory. (Biochem. 383, 384, 385, and 386 are acceptable.)
  • The following biology courses DO NOT fulfill this requirement: 444, 478-479, 672-673.
  • Majors are advised to complete Biology 111-112, Chemistry 115-118, and math through algebra during their first year and Biology 252, Biology 210, and Introductory Physics during their second year.

Biology GPA Requirements

  • In order to graduate as a biology major, a final grade point average of 2.0 is required in biology courses above Biology 111-112 which are used to meet the biology major requirements.

Course Repeats

To repeat a course, a student must repeat the same course with the same course number for it to count in their Degree Audit. If one took a lecture only version, one cannot repeat the course by taking the lecture plus lab version or vice versa. Doing so will not replace the grade.

Pass/Fail Options

  • Students may take ONLY ONE course Pass/Fail that counts toward any of the biology major course requirement (including all required chemistry, math, and physics courses - see 1 and 2 above).

Biology Transfer Course Policy and Limitations

  • Fully matriculated students no longer are permitted to take courses elsewhere and transfer them to UMass Boston. Notwithstanding, students who have a particularly pressing reason to take courses at other institutions may appeal this regulation. That is done through the use of a prior approval form, obtained from the Registrar's Office and signed by the department chair or the departmental director of undergraduate advising, or the instructor of UMass Boston's equivalent course.

Biology Residency Requirements

  • All students, including transfer students, must take at least 12 credit hours, including a minimum of 2 credit hours (6 class hours) in laboratory work, within the Biology Department at UMass Boston. These courses will be at the 300 level or above unless the chair's approval is obtained for lower level courses. Biology 381, 444, 478-479, and 672-673 do not fulfill this requirement. Moreover, organic chemistry (251, 252, 255, and 256) does NOT count towards the residency requirement, notwithstanding the fact that 8 of those credits can count towards the fulfillment of the overall minimum of 20 credits upper level bio courses. The biology residency requirement, therefore can only be satisfied by upper level (300+ level) biology courses (including a minimum of 2 upper level lab credits).

Exemption from General Biology

  • CLEP: The Biology Department accepts the CLEP exam with a score of 50 or above. Students who meet this requirement will be exempt from General Biology 111 and 112 and will receive six (6) credits towards graduation.
  • Advanced Placement (AP): Students with a score of 3 on Advanced Placement Biology are exempt from Biology 111 and 112; those with an AP score of 4 or higher are exempt from Biology 111 and 112 and receive 4 elective credits.

Honors in Biology

To recognize achievement in research, the Biology Department confers honors to some of its graduating seniors. Honors in Biology differs from honors in other programs and from the Honors College. Students who are majoring in biology are eligible for honors in biology as described by the requirements and criteria below. Students majoring in other departments/programs, such as biochemistry, must meet the requirements of their program/department to earn honors in their department/program.  It is the major of the student candidate, not the department/program affiliation of the research mentor, which dictates the specific requirements for earning honors.

To receive honors in biology, a student must engage in supervised research while taking at least 3 credits of independent study (BIOL 478 or 479 or BIOL 444). The mentor supervising the undergraduate research may be either a UMass Boston faculty member in biology, chemistry, the School for the Environment, or another related discipline -- or an off-campus scientist with a UMass Boston biology faculty liaison. Shortly before graduation (spring or fall), the biology honors candidate presents the research in a poster session organized by the Biology Department. The honors candidate also presents the research in a written honors thesis that is submitted to the Biology Department one week after the poster session.

The honors student must also perform well in classes. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better in all courses, and a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better in the Biology major, as calculated in the degree audit, are required for honors in biology. The required GPAs must be achieved in the student’s penultimate semester since GPA eligibility for honors in biology is determined before the finish of the student’s final semester.

Two months before graduation, the Biology Honors Committee screens potential candidates for honors in biology to ensure that both the GPA and research requirements are met. The final vote approving honors in biology is made at a special end-of-semester meeting of the entire biology faculty immediately following the poster presentations.

Advisors

  • Every biology major must have a faculty advisor from the Biology Department. Students may check their advisor assignments through their WISER accounts. If declared biology majors have not been assigned advisors from the Biology Department, they should see the departmental assistants to be assigned one.

Course Clusters for Biology Majors: Recommended 300-Level Courses Focusing on Sub-disciplines within Biology

Cellular and Molecular Biology and Biotechnology:

  • BIOL 304 - Microbiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 313 - Developmental Biology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 314 - Developmental Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 316 - Neurobiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 317 - Endocrinology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 318 - Neurobiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 319 - Endocrinology (lecture)
  • BIOL 321 - Plant Physiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 323 - Plant Physiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 334 - Microbiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 335 - Genomics: Microbes, Human Biome and Other Metagenomes (lecture)
  • BIOL 360 - Bioinformatics (lecture)
  • BIOL 361 - Bioinformatics Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 360
  • BIOL 365 - Microbial Genomics Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 335
  • BIOL 366 - Stem Cells and Regeneration (lecture)
  • BIOL 370 - Molecular Biology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 372 - Molecular Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 377 - Cancer Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 378 - Introduction to Immunology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 380 - Introduction to Immunology (lecture)
  • BIOCHM 383 - Biochemistry I (lecture)
  • BIOCHM 384 - Biochemistry II (lecture)
  • BIOCHM 385 - Biochemistry I Lab *Co-req = BIOCHM 383
  • BIOCHM 386 - Biochemistry II Lab *Co-req = BIOCHM 384

Ecology and Evolution:

  • BIOL 306 - Marine & Coastal Ecological Research (lecture)
  • BIOL 336L - Ecosystems Ecology (lecture)
  • BIOL 342 - Ecology (lecture)
  • BIOL 343 - Ecology Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 342
  • BIOL 344 - Ornithology (lecture)
  • BIOL 345 - Ornithology Lab * Co-req = BIOL 344
  • BIOL 347 - Animal Behavior Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 348
  • BIOL 348 - Animal Behavior (lecture)
  • BIOL 352 - Evolution (lecture)
  • BIOL 353 - Evolution Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 352
  • BIOL 354 - The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (lecture)
  • BIOL 358 - Microbiome and Disease Ecology Research Lab
  • BIOL 359 - Caribbean Tropical Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 362 - Simulating Life (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 384L - Game Theory, Evolution and Ecology (lecture)

Organismic Biology:

  • BIOL 304 - Microbiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 321 - Plant Physiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 323 - Plant Physiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 328 - Plant Life (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 329 - Plant Life (lecture)
  • BIOL 330 - Biology of Fishes (lecture)
  • BIOL 332 - Biology of Marine Invertebrates Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 333
  • BIOL 333 - Biology of Marine Invertebrates (lecture)
  • BIOL 334 - Microbiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 337 - Comparative Animal Physiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 338 - Insect Life (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 339 - Comparative Animal Physiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 340 - Marine Mammal Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 347 - Animal Behavior Laboratory *Co-req = BIOL 348
  • BIOL 348 - Animal Behavior (lecture)

Human Biology:

  • BIOL 307 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Human Physiology I (lecture)
  • BIOL 308 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Human Physiology II (lecture)
  • BIOL 309 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab * Co-req = BIOL 307
  • BIOL 310 - Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab *Co-req = BIOL 308
  • BIOL 313 - Developmental Biology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 314 - Developmental Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 316 - Neurobiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 317 - Endocrinology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 318 - Neurobiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 319 - Endocrinology (lecture)
  • BIOL 337 - Comparative Animal Physiology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 339 - Comparative Animal Physiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 366 - Stem Cells and Regeneration (lecture)
  • BIOL 377 - Cancer Biology (lecture)
  • BIOL 378 - Introduction to Immunology (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 380 - Introduction to Immunology (lecture)
  • BIOL 390 - Survey of Human Physiology (lecture)
  • BIOL 391 - Survey of Human Physiology Lab * Co-req = BIOL 390

Computational Biology:

  • BIOL 335 - Genomics: Microbes, Human Biome and Other Metagenomes (lecture)
  • BIOL 355 - Data Science in Biology (lecture) * Co-req = Biol 356
  • BIOL 356 - Data Science for Biology Lab * Co-req = Biol 355
  • BIOL 360 - Bioinformatics (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 361 - Bioinformatics Laboratory * Co-req = BIOL 360
  • BIOL 362 - Simulating Life (lecture and lab)
  • BIOL 365 - Microbial Genomics Laboratory *Co-req = Biol 335
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