Biology, B.S.

MAJOR Requirements

Students must fulfill the University, General Education, and Biology Major requirements. Additionally, they are expected to declare a track, either the Biology General or the Biomedical and Pre-Professional track, and meet all the track requirements. Students must also complete six (6) credits in the Complementary Studies, a requirement that applies to all majors within the School of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (SCMNS). Options for satisfying this requirement are outlined in the Requirements for Graduation section under SCMNS. Also, students must complete five (5) or six (6) credits in free electives.

In addition, to qualify for graduation, students must pass the Senior Comprehensive Examination; complete all junior- and senior-level major requirements at Morgan State University; maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0; and earn a minimum GPA of 2.0 in each of the following categories: Major in Biology (including Supporting Courses and Biology Common Core Requirements), the Biology General or Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track requirements, Complementary Studies, and Free Electives. Students must also have no grades below “C” in any course required for the Major in Biology, the Track requirements, Complementary Studies, or Free Electives, including all associated prerequisite and co-requisite courses.

Required Credits for the B.S. Degree in Biology
A minimum of 120 credit hours is required to graduate with a B.S. in Biology. These credit hours are distributed as follows:

Biology General Track
● University Requirements: 2 credits
● General Education: 42 credits
● Major in Biology Courses: 49 credits
● Track-specific Courses: 15 or 16 credits
● Complementary Studies: 6 credits
● Free electives: 5 or 6 credits

Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track
● University Requirements: 2 credits
● General Education: 42 credits
● Major in Biology Courses: 49 credits
● Track-specific Courses: 15 credits
● Complementary Studies: 7 credits
● Free electives: 5 credits

General Education and University Requirements 44 credits

ENGL 101 - Composition I 3 credits EC
ENGL 102 - Composition II 3 credits EC
MATH 113 - Introduction to Mathematical Analysis I 4 credits or Higher MQ*¹
XXXX - HH General Education Req. 3 credits HH
COSC 150 - Computational Science and Data Analysis 3 credits IM*
BIOL 109 - Foundations in Biology I - Biodiversity and Organismal Systems 4 credits BP*
OR
BIOL 111 - Foundations in Biology I - Biodiversity and Organismal Systems: Honors Biology I (BP) 4 credits BP*
CHEM 105 - Principles of General Chemistry I 3 credits BP*
And
CHEM 105L - Principles of General Chemistry I 1 credits BP*
OR
CHEM 111 - General Chemistry (Honors) 3 credits BP*
And
CHEM 111L - General Chemistry (Honors) 1 credits BP*
XXXX - SB General Education Req. 3 credits SB
XXXX - SB General Education Req. 3 credits SB
XXXX - AH General Education Req. 3 credits AH
XXXX - AH General Education Req. 3 credits AH
PHIL 109 - Critical Thinking 3 credits CT
XXXX - CI General Education Req. 3 credits CI
UNIV 101 - University First-Year Seminar 1 credits
XXXX - Phys. Activity or FIN 101 or MIND 101 or DSVG 101 or FACS 102 1 credit

Note

Notes: The section includes the university requirements courses for Freshman Orientation and for Activity, Adulting, Financial Literacy, Mindfulness, or Discovering Student Identity. The total is 44 credits.

*Denotes a department-required supporting/major course which may fulfill a general education requirement and must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher

Please see General Education Requirements Distribution Areas for courses that satisfy General Education Requirements where not specified by the department

Supporting Courses

Description: All biology majors are required to take 4 semesters of chemistry and 2 semesters of physics, including Principles of General Chemistry I and II, Organic Chemistry I and II, and General or University Physics I and II.

BIOL 109 - Foundations in Biology I - Biodiversity and Organismal Systems 4 credits *
OR
BIOL 111 - Foundations in Biology I - Biodiversity and Organismal Systems: Honors Biology I (BP) 4 credits *
MATH 113 - Introduction to Mathematical Analysis I 4 credits or Higher*¹
COSC 150 - Computational Science and Data Analysis 3 credits *
PHIL 109 - Critical Thinking 3 credits *
CHEM 105 - Principles of General Chemistry I 3 credits *
CHEM 105L - Principles of General Chemistry I 1 credits *
OR
CHEM 111 - General Chemistry (Honors) 3 credits *
CHEM 111L - General Chemistry (Honors) 1 credits *
CHEM 106 - Principles of General Chemistry II 3 credits
CHEM 106L - Principles of General Chemistry II 1 credits
CHEM 203 - Organic Chemistry I 3 credits
CHEM 203L - Organic Chemistry I 2 credits
CHEM 204 - Organic Chemistry II 3 credits
CHEM 204L - Organic Chemistry II 2 credits
PHYS 203 - General Physics: Fundamental of Physics I 3 credits
And
PHYS 203L - General Physics: Fundamentals of Physics I Laboratory 1 credits
OR
PHYS 205 - University Physics I 4 credits
And
PHYS 205L - University Physics I Laboratory 1 credits
PHYS 204 - General Physics: Fundamental of Physics II 3 credits
And
PHYS 204L - General Physics Fundamentals of Physics II Laboratory 1 credits
OR
PHYS 206 - University Physics II 4 credits
And
PHYS 206L - University Physics II Laboratory 1 credits

Note

* denotes a department required supporting/major course which may fulfill a general education requirement and must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher

1 MATH 241 is a department supporting course which fulfills the MQ requirement for the Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track

Biology Common Core Courses 27 credits

BIOL 110 - Foundations in Biology II - Cellular Structure and Function 4 credits
OR
BIOL 112 - Foundations in Biology II - Cellular Structure and Function Honors Introductory Biology II (BP) 4 credits
BIOL 204 - Developmental Biology 4 credits
BIOL 303 - Genetics 4 credits
BIOL 310 - Cell and Molecular Biology 4 credits
XXXX - 300 - 400 level Biology Courses 4 credits
XXXX - 400 level Biology Course 4 credits
BIOL 450 - Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature 3 credits
OR
BIOL 451 - Senior Research Seminar 3 credits
OR
BIOL 453 - Scientific Communication 3 credits
CHEM 106 - Principles of General Chemistry II 3 credits
And
CHEM 204L - Organic Chemistry II 2 credits
PHYS 203L - General Physics: Fundamentals of Physics I Laboratory 1 credits
OR

General Track 24 credits

The students in the Biology General Track are required to take one course for each of the following categories: Math Analysis II or Higher (MATH 114 or higher), one course of BIOL 2XX in addition to BIOL 204, one additional BIOL 4XX or Chemistry Elective (CHEM 304), and one course of Quantitative Analysis Elective (ACCT 201 or ECON 212 or PSYC 316 or 317 or MATH 120 or 241 or 242 or 331).

MATH 114 - Introduction to Mathematical Analysis II 4 credits Or Higher
XXXX - 200 level BIOL Course 4 credits
CHEM 304 - Biochemistry 4 credits
OR
XXXX - 400 level Biology Course 4 credits
XXXX - Quantitative Analysis Course 3 credits¹
XXXX - Free Elective 3 credits²

Note

The MATH course that fulfills the General Education requirement cannot be counted again in this section. Additionally, the MATH course used to satisfy the Math Analysis II or Higher category cannot be counted again for the Quantitative Analysis Elective category, and vice versa.

1 One course chosen from ACCT 201, ECON 212, PSYC 316, PSYC 317, MATH 120, MATH 241, MATH 242 or MATH 331

2 Any three (3) credit course in the university; All biology majors are required to take any courses aligning with their interests to fulfill the Free Elective requirements. Depending on the Track and course selected for other sections, a student may need to take 5 or 6 credits to satisfy the program graduation requirement of a minimum of 120 credits.

Complementary Studies

For the Biology General Track, any 3-credit course can be used to fulfill these requirements. Total credits for this section are 6 credits for the Biology General Track.

tudents must complete six credits in the Complementary Studies Program which are required of all majors in the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (SCMNS). Options for satisfying this requirement are outlined under the section on the SCMNS.

Biology Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track 24 credits

Specific courses are assigned to each category for the Biology Biomedical/Pre-professional Track. MATH 241 or 242 or higher is required for Math Analysis II or Higher. BIOL 201, CHEM 304, and PSYC 316 are necessary to satisfy the other three categories listed above, as in the General Track section. In addition, BIOL 202 and PSYC 108 are required for the Complementary Studies.

MATH 241 - Calculus I 4 credits Or Higher
BIOL 201 - Anatomy and Physiology I 4 credits
CHEM 304 - Biochemistry 4 credits
PSYC 316 - Psychological Statistics I 3 credits
XXXX - Free Elective 5 credits¹

Note

1 Five (5) credits anywhere in the University; All biology majors are required to take any courses aligning with their interests to fulfill the Free Elective requirements. Depending on the Track and course selected for other sections, a student may need to take 5 or 6 credits to satisfy the program graduation requirement of a minimum of 120 credits.

Complementary Studies

For the Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track, PSYC 108 (3 Credits) and BIOL 202 (4 credits) are required to fulfill these requirements, because PSYC 108 is the prerequisite for PYCS 316, and BIOL 202 is the second course in the series with BIOL201. Total credits for this section are 7 credits for the Biology Biomedical/Pre-professional Track.

BIOL 202 - Anatomy and Physiology II 4 credits
PSYC 108 - Scientific Method in Psychology 3 credits

INFORMATION FOR:

Biology, B.S.

MAJOR Requirements

General Education and University Requirements 44 credits

Note

Supporting Courses

Note

Biology Common Core Courses 27 credits

General Track 24 credits

Note

Complementary Studies

Biology Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track 24 credits

Note

Complementary Studies

Total Credits 120

Suggested Curriculum Sequence for Biology and Biomedical/Pre-Professional Track