Biological Sciences Major, BS – Microbiology Concentration

The biological sciences major offers concentrations in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology; ecology and evolutionary biology; and microbiology.

Continuing, returning, and transfer students must meet progression requirements before declaring a major in biological sciences.

To declare biological sciences as a major, students must have an overall GPA of 2.0, be in good academic standing and have completed CHEM 120 *-CHEM 130 * and BIOL 150 * or BIOL 113 * with a minimum grade of C. Although completion of either BIOL 113 *-BIOL 114 *-BIOL 115 * or BIOL 150 *-BIOL 160 *-BIOL 159 * are permissible as prerequisites to the major, the faculty encourage students to take BIOL 150 *-BIOL 160 *-BIOL 159 *, particularly if they anticipate a career in a health profession.

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Prerequisites

A minimum grade of C must be earned in all prerequisites.

Complete:

BIOL 113 - Introductory Plant Biology I *
BIOL 114 - Introductory Plant Biology II *
BIOL 115 - Introductory Plant Biology Laboratory *
or
BIOL 150 - Organismal and Ecological Biology * (or equivalent)
BIOL 160 - Cellular and Molecular Biology * (or equivalent)
BIOL 159 - Skills of Biological Investigation * (or equivalent)
and
BIOL 220 - General Microbiology
BIOL 229 - General Microbiology Laboratory
CHEM 120 - General Chemistry I *
CHEM 130 - General Chemistry II *
PHYS 221 - Elements of Physics I *
PHYS 222 - Elements of Physics II *

Select one course:

Select one sequence:

MATH 132 - Calculus 1B Infused with Precalculus *
MATH 142 - Calculus II *
or
MATH 141 - Calculus I *
MATH 142 - Calculus II *
or

Microbiology Concentration

The concentration consists of 32 hours.

I. Complete:

II. Upper-Division Courses

A. Select 9 hours:

B. Select 6 additional hours:

Note:

Three credit hours from the following courses, if not previously taken as a prerequisite course, may be substituted for a List B course:

Honors Option – Microbiology Concentration

An honors option is offered to selected students who have completed the required 300-level microbiology courses. In addition to the requirements for the biological sciences major – microbiology concentration, an honors option requires:

A minimum GPA of 3.3 in microbiology concentration courses.
A minimum GPA of 3.25 for all UTK courses (this is a University requirement for an honors degree).
Completion of two semesters of independent research taken as MICR 401 and MICR 402 .
An honors thesis based on the independent research project undertaken during MICR 401 and MICR 402 .
Twelve hours of honors coursework which must include at least 6 hours of 400-level microbiology courses via honors-by-contract. Neither MICR 401 nor MICR 402 can be taken as honors-by-contract.

* Meets University General Education Requirement .

Undergraduates

Graduate Students