Biological Sciences, BS

Biological Sciences Requirements

Students in all five majors within the Department of Biological Sciences must follow general rules and fulfill certain general requirements in addition to those in their specific major:

• A total of 32 credits in biology must be taken (see specific course requirements for each major below). All biology courses taken for the major must be completed with a C or better. If a C- or lower is earned in a biology elective course that is not repeated, the course will be used in calculating the overall GPA in the major but will not be counted as part of the 32 credits required for the major.
• Co-requisite courses must be taken in chemistry, physics, and mathematics and/or statistics, as follows.
  • CHEM 0110 - GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1  and CHEM 0120 - GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2 , including the labs;
  • CHEM 0310 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 1  , CHEM 0320 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 2  , and CHEM 0345 - ORGANIC LABORATORY  lectures and labs;
  • MATH 0220 - ANALYTIC GEOMETRY AND CALCULUS 1 ;
  • Either MATH 0230 - ANALYTIC GEOMETRY AND CALCULUS 2  or STAT 1000 - APPLIED STATISTICAL METHODS ; and
  • Either the algebra-based physics courses PHYS 0110 - INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICS 1  and PHYS 0111 - INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICS 2 , or the calculus-based physics courses PHYS 0174 - BASIC PHYSICS, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 1 (INTEGRATED)  and PHYS 0175 - BASIC PHYSICS, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2 (INTEGRATED) .
• A minimum GPA of 2.00 must be maintained in all biology courses and in the combined co-requisite courses. The Satisfactory/No Credit (S/NC) option may be used for only one biology course and for any of the co-requisite courses.
• Departmental writing (W) courses may be selected once the major is declared and count towards the 32 biology credits for the major.
• Opportunities for faculty-sponsored directed research and internship experiences are available and strongly encouraged. Academic credit awarded from the departmental W, directed research, and internship courses count as credit toward graduation, but not in determining the 32 biology credits required for the major. Students interested in departmental honors should contact department advisors for information.
• University Honors College equivalents for any of the above courses are accepted. Credit by examination is available only through appropriate AP scores for equivalents to BIOSC 0150 - FOUNDATIONS OF BIOLOGY 1 , BIOSC 0057 - FOUNDATIONS OF BIOLOGY RESEARCH LABORATORY 1 , BIOSC 0160 - FOUNDATIONS OF BIOLOGY 2 , and BIOSC 0067 - FOUNDATIONS OF BIOLOGY RESEARCH LABORATORY 2  lectures and labs.

Updated information about the department, major requirements, and course offerings is available on the department’s Web site, www.biology.pitt.edu.

Biology Course Requirements

Completion of the biological sciences major requires a total of 32 credits in biology, including