Biological Sciences Major, BS - Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Concentration

The Biological Sciences major offers concentrations in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Global Health, and Microbiology.

To declare Biological Sciences as a major, no requirements are needed.

To declare a concentration of Biological Sciences: students must have an overall GPA of 2.0, be in Good Academic Standing, and have completed CHEM 122* -CHEM 123* and one of: BIOL 150* , BIOL 160* , BIOL 113* , or BIOL 114* .

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Prerequisites

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

BCMB Concentration

The concentration consists of 32 hours.

I. Complete:

BCMB 311 - Advanced Cellular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 401 - Biochemistry I 4 Credit Hours
CHEM 260 - Foundations of Organic Chemistry 3 Credit Hours
CHEM 269 - Foundations of Organic Chemistry Laboratory 1 Credit Hours
CHEM 359 - In-depth Organic Chemistry Laboratory 1 Credit Hours
CHEM 360 - In-depth Organic Chemistry 3 Credit Hours

II. Select one course:

BCMB 402 - Biochemistry II 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 405 - Physical Models of Biomolecular Systems 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 412 - Molecular Biology and Genomics 4 Credit Hours

III. Select 13 total credit hours:

A. Select at least 2 credit hours from laboratory courses:

BCMB 322* - Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology Lab 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 403 - Neurogenetics Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 416 - Neurobiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 419* - Cellular and Comparative Biochemistry Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
MICR 479 - Advanced Techniques in Nucleic Acid Sequencing 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 452* - Independent Research in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 1-3 Credit Hours (Maximum of 3 hours may be applied toward the Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Major.)

B. Select one integrative biology course:

BCMB 321 - Introductory Plant Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 330 - Developmental Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 423 - Neural Basis of Behavior 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 415 - Foundations in Neurobiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 440 - Advanced Human Physiology and the Pathophysiology of Disease 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 461 - Cancer Biology 3 Credit Hours

C. Select remaining hours:

BCMB courses numbered 300 and above (Check the BCMB webpage to find courses offered by semester at https://bcmb.utk.edu/course-offering-by-semester/)
BCMB 321 - Introductory Plant Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 322* - Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology Lab 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 330 - Developmental Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 333 - Structural Biology and Human Health 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 402 - Biochemistry II 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 403 - Neurogenetics Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 405 - Physical Models of Biomolecular Systems 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 409* - Perspectives in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 412 - Molecular Biology and Genomics 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 415 - Foundations in Neurobiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 416 - Neurobiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 419* - Cellular and Comparative Biochemistry Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 420 - Variable Topics 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 422* - Computational Biology and Bioinformatics 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 423 - Neural Basis of Behavior 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 424 - Programming for Statistical and Graphical Analysis of Biological Data 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 433 - Analytical Techniques in Human Disease 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 440 - Advanced Human Physiology and the Pathophysiology of Disease 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 452* - Independent Research in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 1-3 Credit Hours
BCMB 452R* - Independent Research in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 1-3 Credit Hours
BCMB 455* - Scientific Communication 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 457 - Honors Thesis 1 Credit Hours
BCMB 461 - Cancer Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 492 - Off-Campus Study 1-6 Credit Hours
BCMB 493 - Independent Study 1-3 Credit Hours
SELECT REMAINING HOURS:
EEB 403 - The Evolution of Cancer: An Integrative Approach 3 Credit Hours
MICR 321 - Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phage 3 Credit Hours
MICR 330 - Immunology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 410 - Microbial Physiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 411 - Microbial Genetics 3 Credit Hours
MICR 420 - Microbial Pathogenesis 3 Credit Hours
MICR 429 - Medical Microbiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
MICR 440 - Virology 3 Credit Hours

Note:

At least 7 out of the 13 credit hours must be BCMB courses.

Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Concentration - Honors Option

An honors option is offered to students who have completed BIOL 150* , BIOL 159* , BIOL 160* , and BIOL 240 with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or above and an overall GPA of at least 3.25 at the time of electing to take the honors option.
Complete 12 hours of upper-division (300-level or above) honors BCMB courses with a grade of B or better in each course. These honors courses should include BCMB 457 and BCMB courses (except for BCMB 452* ) taken as honors-by-contract courses (BCMB 457 is automatically an honors course and cannot be taken as honors-by-contract.)
Participate in independent research (BCMB 452* ) with a minimum of 3 credit hours of BCMB 452* and 1 credit hour of BCMB 457 spread out over at least two semesters.
Note: No more than 4 total credit hours combined from BCMB 452* and BCMB 457 may be applied toward the BCMB concentration.
An overall GPA of 3.25 is required at graduation.

* Meets Volunteer Core Requirements .

Undergraduates

Graduate Students