B.S. in Biology - Ecology and Conservation Concentration

College of the Sciences and Mathematics
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Academic Foundations
First Year Experience requirement4
English Composition requirement6-7
Mathematics requirement3-4
Introduction to Statistics I
Introduction to Statistics and Probability
Interdisciplinary requirement3
Diverse Communities requirement3
Ethics requirement3
Distributed Disciplinary Foundations
Science requirement6-8
General Chemistry I
General Physics I
Behavioral & Social Science requirement6
Humanities requirement6
Arts requirement3
ADDITIONAL BACCALAUREATE REQUIREMENTS
University Requirements
Writing Emphasis requirement9
Speaking Emphasis requirement9
Degree Requirements
Capstone requirement1-15
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
Core Courses
BIO 110General Biology I 14
BIO 111General Biology II 14
BIO 210Genetics 13
BIO 210LGenetics Lab 11
BIO 211Cell Biology 14
CHE 103General Chemistry I3
CRL 103General Chemistry I Lab1
CHE 104General Chemistry II3
CRL 104General Chemistry II Lab1
CHE 231Organic Chemistry I4
CRL 231Organic Chemistry I Lab2
CHE 232Organic Chemistry II3
PHY 130General Physics I 34
or PHY 170 Physics I
PHY 140General Physics II 34
or PHY 180 Physics II
MAT 121Introduction to Statistics I3
or MAT 125 Introduction to Statistics and Probability
Select one semester of calculus3-4
Other Required Courses
BIO 270Ecology 13
BIO 310Biostatistical Applications3
Biology Electives
Under advisement, select 15 credits from the following:15
Vertebrate Ecology
Marine Botany
Marine Biology
Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
Invertebrate Zoology
Organic Evolution
Tropical Ecology and Conservation
Marine Mammals
Mycology
Plant Physiological Ecology
Population Biology
Wetlands
Conservation Biology
Microbial Ecology
Plant Communities
Freshwater Ecology
Entomology
Plant Evolution
Systematic Botany
Ecologically Relevant Courses
Select 6-7 credits under advisement from the following list or select 2 additional courses from the Biology Electives listed above.6-7
General Microbiology
Functional Animal Morphology
Microbial Physiology
Comparative Vertebrate Physiology
Analytical Chemistry I
Chemistry of the Environment
Advanced Analytical Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry I Lab
Analytical Chemistry II Lab
Environmental Regulations
Environmental Toxicology
Water Quality and Health
Environmental Geochemistry
Introduction to Oceanography
Advanced Oceanography
Environmental Geology
Geomorphology
Remote Sensing
Hydrogeology
Fundamentals of Soils
Introduction to Maps and Remote Sensing
Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Intro to Geographic Information Systems
Environmental Crises
Environmental Planning
Environmental Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Landscape Ecology
Internet Mapping
Topical Seminar
Geographic Information Systems Application
Introduction to Planning
Land Use Planning
Sustainability Politics and Policy
Introduction to Primatology
Animal Behavior
Animal Behavior Laboratory
Topical Seminar in Psychology
Capstone Requirement
Select one of the following: 23
Capstone: Seminar in Biology 1,4
Capstone: Independent Research in Biology 1,4
Capstone: Professional Development in Biology 1,4
Total Minimum Credits Required120
1

Courses must be passed with a grade of C- (70%) or better.

2

The requirement for BIO 490/BIO 491/BIO 492 is waived for students in the Accelerated (B.S. + M.S.) program.  It is replaced by an additional 3 credits of biology electives.  Students not completing a thesis (BIO 608-BIO 610) will be required to complete BIO 490/BIO 491/BIO 492.

3

The recommended Physics sequence is PHY 130 & PHY 140. Students may substitute the PHY 170 & PHY 180 sequence, but PHY 130 may not be used as a prerequisite for PHY 180 and PHY 170 may not be used as a prerequisite for PHY 140.

4

This course fulfills the Capstone requirement.

Accelerated B.S. in Biology - Ecology and Conservation Concentration to M.S. in Biology Program

To be considered for the accelerated program and enroll in BIO 608 (Thesis Research I), students must have attained (completed) 75 credits with a minimum of 18 biology credits.  Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 including a minimum GPA of 3.00 for biology courses.  BIO 608 requires departmental permission to enroll; students must arrange a committee meeting prior to enrolling in BIO 608 (e.g., during their third year).  The accelerated program in biology is only open to thesis students.  Any student wishing to switch out of the thesis option will be required to complete all requirements of the B.S. degree.  Once matriculated into the graduate program, graduate policies apply, including minimum GPA (3.00).  See the Graduate Catalog for further details.

Students in the M.S. Biology program are required to take 21 credits of electives from the following three categories, 12 credits of which will be used to satisfy the B.S. program. Students may not, under any circumstances, take any additional graduate courses beyond the 12 graduate credits until conferral of their undergraduate degree.

Core Requirements
BIO 510Graduate Seminar in Biology3
BIO 511Experimental Design and Analysis3
BIO 520Topics and Research Methods in Cellular, Microbial, and Molecular Biology3
BIO 521Topics and Research Methods in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology3
Electives
Select nine credits of electives from the following options:9
Any other 500-level biology course, with the exception of BIO 591.
Up to six credits of 400-level biology courses, where no 500-level course is available.
Up to six credits of graduate course work from another department or university, pending prior departmental approval.
Electives may not be repeats of courses unless the course topic changed significantly.
Research and Capstone 1
BIO 608Thesis Proposal 23
BIO 609Thesis Research 33
BIO 610Thesis and Defense 43
Total Minimum Credits Required30
1

Part-time students will be required to take the same group of courses as full-time students except they must complete BIO 608 by the end of their third year. As with the full-time students, part-time students cannot sign up for BIO 609 unless they have obtained a letter grade for BIO 608. In addition, they must sign up for BIO 610 by the start of their sixth year and complete it by the end of that year.

2

A thesis committee must have been formed, met with the student to discuss course work and research ideas, and the “Committee Composition” form needs to have been completed and submitted to the graduate coordinator in Biology at least 1 week prior to the start of the semester, before the student may be enrolled in BIO 608.

3

A letter grade must be assigned for BIO 608 before the student may be enrolled in BIO 609. All paperwork must be filed at least 1 week prior to the start of the semester the student wants to conduct BIO 609 work.

4

A letter grade must be assigned for BIO 609 before the student may be enrolled in BIO 610. All paperwork must be filed at least 1 week prior to the start of the semester the student wants to conduct BIO 610 work. To complete BIO 610 successfully, the student must present the thesis research in an open seminar and also pass a final thesis defense before the thesis committee. The degree will not be awarded until the student’s committee has accepted the thesis and signed by the dean of The Graduate School.

To track their individual degree progress, students are advised to access their Degree Progress Report (DPR) via myWCU regularly. For more information, visit wcupa.edu/DegreeProgressReport.

The following is a sample suggested course sequence for this program; course offerings and availability are not guaranteed. Students should consult their academic advisor with any questions.

B.S. in Biology - Ecology and Conservation Concentration

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
Semester OneCredits
BIO 110 General Biology I 4
CHE 103
CRL 103
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Lab
4
WRT 120 Effective Writing I 3
FYE 100XFirst Year Experience 4
 Credits15
Semester Two
BIO 111 General Biology II 4
CHE 104
CRL 104
General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry II Lab
4
MAT 121
Introduction to Statistics I 1
or Introduction to Statistics and Probability
3
WRT 2XX200-Level WRT Course 3
Behavioral & Social Science Gen Ed 3
 Credits17
Year Two
Semester Three
BIO 210
210L
Genetics
and Genetics Lab 2
4
CHE 231
CRL 231
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry I Lab
6
Humanities & Ethics Gen Ed 3
Arts Gen Ed 3
 Credits16
Semester Four
BIO 211 Cell Biology 2 4
BIO 270 Ecology 2 3
CHE 232 Organic Chemistry II 3
MAT 145
Calculus for the Life Sciences
or Brief Calculus
or Calculus I
3-4
Behavioral & Social Science Gen Ed 3
 Credits16-17
Year Three
Semester Five
PHY 130 General Physics I 4
BIO XXXBIO Ecology Elective 3
Diverse Communities Gen Ed 3
Directed Elective 3
 Credits13
Semester Six
BIO 310 Biostatistical Applications 3
PHY 140 General Physics II 4
BIO XXXBIO Ecology Elective 3
Interdisciplinary Gen Ed 3
Speaking Emphasis Gen Ed 3
 Credits16
Year Four
Semester Seven
BIO XXXBIO Ecology Elective 3
BIO XXXBIO Ecology Elective 3
Ecology-Related Elective 3
Humanities Gen Ed 3
Upper-Level Directed Elective 3
 Credits15
Semester Eight
BIO 490
Capstone: Seminar in Biology
or Capstone: Independent Research in Biology
or Capstone: Professional Development in Biology
3
BIO XXXBIO Ecology Elective 3
Ecology-Related Elective 3
Directed Elective 3
 Credits12
 Total Credits120-121
1

Students should take Statistics (MAT 121 or MAT 125) in the first year.

2

All required 200-level biology courses should be completed by the end of Semester #5.

B.S. in Biology - Ecology and Conservation Concentration to M.S. in Biology Accelerated Program

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
Semester OneCredits
BIO 110 General Biology I 4
CHE 103
CRL 103
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Lab
4
WRT 120 Effective Writing I 3
FYE 100XFirst Year Experience 4
 Credits15
Semester Two
BIO 111 General Biology II 4
CHE 104
CRL 104
General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry II Lab
4
MAT 121
Introduction to Statistics I 1
or Introduction to Statistics and Probability
3
WRT 2XX200-Level WRT Course 3
Behavioral & Social Science Gen Ed 3
 Credits17
Year Two
Semester Three
BIO 210
210L
Genetics
and Genetics Lab 2
4
CHE 231
CRL 231
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry I Lab
6
Humanities & Ethics Gen Ed 3
Arts Gen Ed 3
 Credits16
Semester Four
BIO 211 Cell Biology 2 4
BIO 270 Ecology 2 3
CHE 232 Organic Chemistry II 3
MAT 145
Calculus for the Life Sciences
or Brief Calculus
or Calculus I
3-4
Arts Gen Ed 3
 Credits16-17
Year Three
Semester Five
PHY 130 General Physics I 4
BIO XXXBIO Ecology Elective 3
Behavioral & Social Science Gen Ed 3
Humanities Gen Ed 3
Directed Elective 3
 Credits16
Semester Six
BIO 310 Biostatistical Applications 3
PHY 140 General Physics II 4
Ecology-Related Elective 3
Interdisciplinary Gen Ed 3
Speaking Emphasis Gen Ed 3
 Credits16
Year Four
Semester Seven
BIO 510 Graduate Seminar in Biology 3
BIO 520 Topics and Research Methods in Cellular, Microbial, and Molecular Biology 3
BIO 608 Thesis Proposal 3
Upper-Level Directed Elective 3
Directed Elective 2
 Credits14
Semester Eight
BIO 511 Experimental Design and Analysis 3
BIO 521 Topics and Research Methods in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology 3
Ecology-Related Elective 3
Directed Elective 3
Directed Elective 3
 Credits15
Year Five
Semester Nine
BIO 609 Thesis Research 3
BIO XXXGraduate Biology Elective 3
BIO XXXGraduate Biology Elective 3
 Credits9
Semester Ten
BIO 610 Thesis and Defense 3
BIO XXXGraduate Biology Elective 3
 Credits6
 Total Credits140-141
1

Students should take Statistics (MAT 121 or MAT 125) in the first year.

2

All required 200-level biology courses should be completed by the end of Semester #5.