Biotechnology Concentration, BS in Plant Sciences (Plant Sciences Major)

The biotechnology concentration is designed for students wishing to pursue advanced degrees in plant molecular biology and biotechnology and/or careers in the plant biotechnology industry. For example, the curriculum will prepare students to be competitive for entrance into MS and PhD degree programs, which in turn, prepare students for life as professional scientists. Alternatively, the plant biotechnology industry and biotechnology affiliated   industries have recurrent demand for competent BS-level scientists. One hallmark of the degree is requirement for students to participate in research directly in an affiliated faculty member’s lab. This hands-on experience is reported by students to be a highlight of their degree program. A minimum grade point average of 2.25 is required for all plant sciences courses taken in the major.

First Year

Hours Credit

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

Total 124

* Meets University General Education Requirement .

¹ Required of freshmen only; requirement is waived for transfer students.

² Choose from the University General Education list . Selection should be made in conference with academic advisor.

³ ECON 201  (4) Principles of Economics satisfies the University General Education-Social Science requirement and the major requirement for economics. If the student transfers ECON LD for 3 credits, it will satisfy the major requirement for economics but will not satisfy the General Education-Social Science requirement. In these cases, the student should take two courses from the approved General Education-Social Sciences list.

⁴ Select any Plant Sciences courses beyond those that are required.

⁵ Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biosystems Engineering, Biosystems Engineering Technology, Chemistry, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Management, Marketing, Microbiology, Physics, Spanish, Statistics; 200-level and above from Biology, Business Administration; 300-level and above from Agricultural Economics, Environmental and Soil Science, Forestry, Plant Sciences; ACCT 200 ; BULW 301 ; ENGL 295 , ENGL 360 ; FINC 300 ; GEOL 201 , GEOL 202 ; JREM 450 , JREM 451 , JREM 456 .

NOTE: Students must meet the University General Education Requirement for Communicating through Writing by selecting a course with a (WC) designation. This course may be in the major or from another discipline. PLSC 410  and PLSC 448  satisfy the Communicating through Writing requirement.