Biology BS

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Biology students must declare their major by the time they have taken 60 semester hours. A minimum of 36 hours of biology must be completed, of which 18 hours are at the upper-division level and taken in residence with CU Denver Downtown Campus biology faculty. All biology courses applied to the undergraduate biology major must be completed within 10 years of graduation. To ensure a proper background for the study of biology, majors are required to pass 31-33 hours of course work in ancillary disciplines. A GPA of 2.0 must be attained in BIOL coursework. The following biology and ancillary courses are required and must be completed with a letter grade of C- (1.7) or higher:

Requirements for the Major

Biology Core Courses (18 Credits)

Upper Division Biology Electives (18 Credits)

Biology elective courses (3000 or 4000 level). Note: Students double majoring in BIOL and other majors cannot double dip courses used for another major in their BIOL major electives requirement.

One upper division biology lab course. Choose one of the following:

11-13 credits to create a total of 36 BIOL credit hours for the Major.

Four hours in biochemistry (CHEM 3810-4 or both CHEM 4810-4 & 4820-3) may be counted as biology elective hours, if taken in addition to second semester organic chemistry (CHEM 3421) with a minimum grade of C-.

BIOL 3411 and 3412 cannot apply as electives.

A maximum of six hours of Independent Study (BIOL 3840 or 4840) and Internship (BIOL 3939), including a maximum of three credits of BIOL 3939, may be counted toward the upper-division biology electives.

3 credits of a 4000 level BIOL course taken from UCD Biology Faculty

BIOL 4840 and 4990 will not apply.

Ancillary Core Courses

Total Ancillary Core: 31-33 Hours

The following courses will not count toward the BS in biology:

Degree Total: 36 Hours Biology + 31-33 Hours Ancillary

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