Nov 01, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Plant Sciences Major, BS in Plant Sciences – Plant Genetics and Biotechnology Concentration


The plant genetics and biotechnology concentration is designed for students wishing to pursue advanced degrees in plant molecular biology, bioenergy, 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 or outside internship. 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.

uTrack Requirements

Universal Tracking (uTrack) is an academic monitoring system designed to help students stay on track for timely graduation. In order to remain on track, students must complete the minimum requirements for each tracking semester, known as milestones. Milestones include successful completion of specified courses and/or attainment of a minimum GPA. uTrack requirements only affect full-time, degree-seeking students who first entered Fall 2013 or later. uTrack does not apply to transfer students who entered prior to Fall 2015.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences – Plant Sciences Major – Plant Genetics and Biotechnology Concentration


Term 1 Hours Milestone Notes
1AGNR 100 , AGNR 103 , or FYS 101   1 2.0 cumulative GPA
7BIOL 113 * or BIOL 114 *; and BIOL 115  5  
CHEM 120 * or CHEM 128  4  
ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118  3  
PLSC 180   2  
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3  
Term 2
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3 2.0 cumulative GPA
CHEM 130 * or CHEM 138  4 One Natural Sciences Elective*
ENGL 102  3  
6Directed Elective 3  
2Quantitative Reasoning Elective * 3  
Term 3
PLSC 320  or PLSC 321   3 2.0 cumulative GPA
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3 ENGL 101 
Communicating Orally Elective* 3  
2Quantitative Reasoning Elective * 3  
PLSC 210   3  
Term 4
3AREC 201 * or ECON 201 * or ECON 207  3-4 ENGL 102 
ESS 210   4 PLSC 210  
2,3Social Sciences Elective * 3  
4Unrestricted Electives 2-4  
Term 5
PLSC 330   3 Any HCA course with grade of C or better
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3 Any two Arts and Humanities*, Cultures and Civilizations*, Quantitative Reasoning*, or Social Sciences* Electives
EPP 313 , or EPP 410  or PLSC 457   3  
6Directed Electives 3  
Select untaken from Menu B: PLSC 438 , PLSC 443 , PLSC 456 , PLSC 457 ; EPP 313 , EPP 321 , EPP 410 , EPP 411   3  
Term 6
CHEM 260    3 No milestones
ESS 334  or ESS 454   3  
PLSC 453   3  
Select from Menu A: PLSC 410 *, PLSC 415 , PLSC 430 , PLSC 434 , PLSC 435   3  
6Directed Electives 3  
Term 7
PLSC 452 , PLSC 461 PLSC 470   7 Apply to graduate
PLSC 492  or PLSC 499   3  
PLSC 331   1  
6Directed Elective 3  
Term 8
PLSC 333   3 No milestones
6Directed Electives 7-8  
4Unrestricted Electives or WC course if needed 5  
TOTAL 120  
1 Required of freshmen only; requirement is waived for transfer students.
2 Chosen from the University General Education list  after consultation with an advisor. Students must meet the Communicating through Writing requirement by selecting a course with a WC designation. This course may be an Arts and Humanities, Cultures and Civilizations, or Social Sciences Elective; a course in the major; or a course from another discipline. PLSC 410 * satisfies the WC requirement.
3 AREC 201 (4) Economics of the Global Food and Fiber System * or ECON 201 (4) Introductory Economics: A Survey Course * or ECON 207 (4) Honors: Introductory 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 Any courses not already required for the major.
5 Chosen from any Plant Sciences courses not already required for the major.
6 Directed electives are courses that generally support and enhance a student’s academic goals. These multidisciplinary courses were chosen to provide students the opportunity to develop basic and advanced skills beyond Plant Science’s core requirements. The Plant Sciences Undergraduate Program Committee periodically reviews this list to identify appropriate courses for each concentration. If students believe that a course not on the list would meet this objective, they may propose this to their academic advisor to review before the start of the semester in which the student wishes to take the course. Additionally, components of an Entrepreneurship (ALEC 240 *, ALEC 340 ; AREC 212 , AREC 342 , AREC 442 ; ARTD 451 , ARTD 452 *; BUAD 103 ; DSGN 130 *, DSGN 430 ; ECON 331 ; EF 130 , EF 400 ; ENT 350 , ENT 410 , ENT 415 , ENT 420 , ENT 425 , ENT 451 , ENT 460 ; MARK 462 ; ME 457 ; MUSC 305 ; RCS 411 , RCS 412 ), Business Administration (ACCT 200 , ACCT 207 ; FINC 300 ; MARK 300 ; MGT 201 , MGT 300 ; STAT 201 *), or Entomology and Plant Pathology Minor(s) are acceptable.
    Chosen from any Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology; any Biosystems Engineering; any Biosystems Engineering Technology; any Business Analytics and Statistics; 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 and Resource Economics, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Forestry, Plant Sciences; AGNR 291 , AGNR 292 ; BULW 301 ; ENGL 295 *, ENGL 360 *; EPP 201 ; FINC 300 ; GEOL 201 *, GEOL 202 *; JREM 450 *, JREM 451 *, JREM 456 *; PLSC 320 , PLSC 321 , PLSC 250 *, PLSC 275 .
7 BIOL 113 * or BIOL 114 *; and BIOL 115 * satisfies the University General Education – Natural Sciences requirement and the major requirement for Botany. This requirement will be met if a transfer student transfers in any Biology class(es) with lab totaling at least 4 credit hours.

* Meets University General Education Requirement.