Biology, B.A.

Learn more about the Bachelor of Arts in Biology.

The Bachelor of Arts in Biology, which also provides the essential background for professional schools, is appropriate for those who are planning for careers in fields where a science background with additional breadth is advantageous. 

Undergraduate Contact Information:

Dr. Robert Sanders, Chair
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 255
215-204-8851

Dr. Erik Cordes, Vice Chair
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 447
erik.cordes@temple.edu
215-204-4067

Dr. Angela Bricker, Faculty Advisor
Biology Majors - junior and senior
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 248C
215-204-8578
abricker@temple.edu

Dr. Jay Lunden, Faculty Advisor
Biology Majors - first and second year
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 248M
215-204-8524
jlunden@temple.edu

Evelyn Vleck, Faculty Advisor
Biology Majors - transfer students
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 248
evleck@temple.edu

Bachelor of Arts 

Summary of Requirements for the Degree

1. University Requirements
   • Students must complete all University requirements including those listed below.
   • All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses at Temple as part of their major. The specific writing-intensive course options for this major are:

     Course List

     Code	Title	Credit Hours
     BIOL 2296	Genetics (S)	4
     BIOL 3096	Cell Structure and Function (F)	4
     BIOL 3396	Scientific Writing for Biology: The Art of Communicating	3

   • Students must complete the General Education (GenEd) requirements.
     • See the General Education section of the Undergraduate Bulletin for the GenEd curriculum.
     • Students who complete CST majors receive a waiver for 2 Science & Technology (GS) and 1 Quantitative Literacy (GQ) GenEd courses.
   • Students must satisfy general Temple University residency requirements.
2. College Requirements
   • 45 Upper Level (2000+) credits within the College of Science & Technology (CST), the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), or the College of Engineering (ENG).
   • 90 credits within the College of Science & Technology (CST), the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), or the College of Engineering (ENG).
   • Two (2) Upper Level (2000+) Liberal Art courses.
   • Second (2nd) Level of a Foreign Language (1002).
   • All students in the College of Science and Technology are required to take a one credit first year seminar. SCTC 1001 CST First Year Seminar is the appropriate course option for every entering first year CST major. Transfer students should use SCTC 2001 CST Transfer Seminar to fulfill this requirement. Other courses that fulfill this requirement may be found on the CST College Requirements page.
3. Major Requirements for Bachelor of Arts (62-66 s.h.)
   At least 7 courses required for the major must be completed at Temple. At least 4 Biology courses must be completed at Temple.

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   Biology
   BIOL 1111	Introduction to Organismal Biology	4
   or BIOL 1911	Honors Introduction to Organismal Biology
   BIOL 1112	Introduction to Biomolecules, Cells and Genomes	4
   or BIOL 1912	Honors Introduction to Biomolecules, Cells and Genomes
   Select one of the following:		3
   BIOL 2227	Principles of Ecology
   BIOL 3101	Evolution (F)
   BIOL 2296	Genetics (S)	4
   Select one of the following: 1		3-4
   BIOL 3096	Cell Structure and Function (F)
   BIOL 3324	Molecular Biology
   BIOL 4375	General Biochemistry I
   Select 3 Biology electives 2200 or above 2		9-12
   Chemistry
   Select one of the following:		4
   CHEM 1031 & CHEM 1033	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I
   CHEM 1951 & CHEM 1953	Honors General Chemical Science I and Honors Chemical Science Laboratory I (F)
   Select one of the following:		4
   CHEM 1032 & CHEM 1034	General Chemistry II and General Chemistry Laboratory II
   CHEM 1952 & CHEM 1954	Honors General Chemical Science II and Honors Chemical Science Laboratory II (S)
   Select one of the following:		4
   CHEM 2201 & CHEM 2203	Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
   CHEM 2921 & CHEM 2923	Organic Chemistry for Honors I and Organic Honors Laboratory I (F)
   Select one of the following:		4
   CHEM 2202 & CHEM 2204	Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
   CHEM 2922 & CHEM 2924	Organic Chemistry for Honors II and Organic Honors Laboratory II (S)
   College of Science and Technology
   SCTC 1013	Elements of Data Science for the Physical and Life Sciences	3
   Mathematics
   MATH 1041	Calculus I	4
   or MATH 1941	Honors Calculus I
   Select one of the following:		4
   MATH 1042	Calculus II
   or MATH 1942	Honors Calculus II
   MATH 1044	Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences
   Physics
   Select one of the following:		4
   PHYS 1021	Introduction to General Physics I
   PHYS 1061	Elementary Classical Physics I
   or PHYS 1961	Honors Elementary Classical Physics I
   PHYS 2021	General Physics I
   or PHYS 2921	Honors General Physics I
   Select one of the following:		4
   PHYS 1022	Introduction to General Physics II
   PHYS 1062	Elementary Classical Physics II
   or PHYS 1962	Honors Elementary Classical Physics II
   PHYS 2022	General Physics II
   or PHYS 2922	Honors General Physics II
   Total Credit Hours		62-66

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   (F) - Fall only course
   (S) - Spring only course

   1	Students need to take another WI course if BIOL 3096 is not selected.
   2	See course descriptions for exceptions.

   Note: Grades of C- or higher are required unless otherwise specified in all courses for the major, including course prerequisites. Most research and independent study courses do not count as Biology electives, such as:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   BIOL 2082	Independent Research I	1 to 4
   BIOL 3082	Independent Research II	1 to 4
   BIOL 3091	Research Methods	3
   BIOL 3681	Cooperative Studies	2 to 4
   BIOL 3685	Externship Studies	3
   BIOL 4291	Extradepartmental Research	1 to 4
   BIOL 4483	Accelerated Research in Biochemistry	3
   BIOL 4491	Research in Biochemistry	3
   BIOL 4591	Research in Neuroscience	1 to 4

A GPA of 2.0 or better is required in Biology courses in order to graduate.

Distinction in the Major

To be eligible for distinction in the major, a student must retain a grade point average of 3.2 or better (overall and in the major); should register for BIOL 4391 Accelerated Research in Biology or BIOL 4291 Extradepartmental Research for a total of 6 s.h. over two semesters; and must write a final research paper and present his/her research at a departmental research poster session before graduation. A student, however, does not have to enroll in the distinction program in order to participate in departmental research. Other courses (BIOL 2082 Independent Research I and BIOL 3082 Independent Research II), provide credit toward graduation and research experience, and are available to undergraduate students from their sophomore through their senior year. A student may register for BIOL 3082 more than one semester, however only one semester may be completed for a grade. The additional semester may be taken for credit/no credit. In all cases, permission of the faculty and application to the department Honors Committee is required before registering for research credits.

Calculation of Major GPA

Courses listed under the major requirements for the degree will be included in the calculation of the major GPA. Courses that could not apply toward the major as an elective or required course would not be counted in the calculation of the major GPA. This would include BIOL 1011, for example.

A total of up to 3 s.h. of Biology research courses numbered lower than 4000 (to include:  BIOL 2082, BIOL 3082, BIOL 3181, BIOL 3281, and BIOL 3681) may be taken for a letter grade. Any additional credits in research courses in this category can be taken only on a CR/NC basis. No research courses numbered lower than 4000 may be used for Biology elective credit.

Suggested Academic Plan

Bachelor of Arts in Biology

Requirements for New Students starting in the 2022-2023 Academic Year

Year 1
Fall		Credit Hours
BIOL 1111 or 1911	Introduction to Organismal Biology	4
MATH 1041 or 1941	Calculus I	4
SCTC 1013	Elements of Data Science for the Physical and Life Sciences	3
SCTC 1001	CST First Year Seminar	1
GenEd Breadth Course		3
	Term Credit Hours	15
Spring
BIOL 1112 or 1912	Introduction to Biomolecules, Cells and Genomes	4
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 1031 & CHEM 1033	General Chemistry I
CHEM 1951 & CHEM 1953	Honors General Chemical Science I
Select one of the following:		4
MATH 1042 or 1942	Calculus II
MATH 1044	Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences
ENG 0802, 0812, or 0902	Analytical Reading and Writing [GW]	4
	Term Credit Hours	16
Year 2
Fall
Select one of the following:		3
BIOL 2227	Principles of Ecology
BIOL 3101	Evolution (F)
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 1032 & CHEM 1034	General Chemistry II
CHEM 1952 & CHEM 1954	Honors General Chemical Science II
IH 0851 or 0951	Intellectual Heritage I: The Good Life [GY]	3
Elective		3-4
Elective		2-1
	Term Credit Hours	15
Spring
BIOL 2296	Genetics [WI] (S)	4
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 2201 & CHEM 2203	Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 2921 & CHEM 2923	Organic Chemistry for Honors I
IH 0852 or 0952	Intellectual Heritage II: The Common Good [GZ]	3
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		1
	Term Credit Hours	15
Year 3
Fall
Select one of the following:1,2		3-4
BIOL 3096	Cell Structure and Function [WI] (F)
Elective
Select one of the following:		4
CHEM 2202 & CHEM 2204	Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 2922 & CHEM 2924	Organic Chemistry for Honors II
Select one of the following:		4
PHYS 1021	Introduction to General Physics I
PHYS 1061 or 1961	Elementary Classical Physics I
PHYS 2021 or 2921	General Physics I
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		2-1
	Term Credit Hours	16
Spring
Select one of the following:2		3-4
BIOL 3324	Molecular Biology
BIOL 4375	General Biochemistry I
Elective
Select one of the following:		4
PHYS 1022	Introduction to General Physics II
PHYS 1062 or 1962	Elementary Classical Physics II
PHYS 2022 or 2922	General Physics II
Upper-Level 2200+ Biology Elective3		3-4
GenEd Breadth Course		3
Elective		3-1
	Term Credit Hours	16
Year 4
Fall
Upper-Level 2200+ Biology Elective3		3-4
GenEd Breadth Course		3-4
Elective		3
Elective		3
Elective		3-1
	Term Credit Hours	15
Spring
Upper-Level 2200+ Biology Elective3		3-4
Elective		3
Elective		3
Elective		3
Elective		3-2
	Term Credit Hours	15
	Total Credit Hours:	123

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
(F) - Fall only course
(S) - Spring only course

1	Students need to take another WI course if BIOL 3096 is not selected.
2	This program requires only one of the following courses: BIOL 3096, BIOL 3324 or BIOL 4375. If BIOL 3096 has already been completed it is not necessary to take BIOL 3324 or BIOL 4375 as the program only requires one of these three courses. If taken in addition to BIOL 3096 these courses can be used to fulfill the upper-level 2200+ Biology electives required by the program.
3	See course descriptions for exceptions. If the student has taken the necessary prerequisite courses, some of the Biology elective courses may be taken before the Spring semester of Year 3.