Biological Sciences Major, BS - Microbiology 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 113* , BIOL 114* , BIOL 150* , or BIOL 160* .

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Prerequisites

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

Microbiology Concentration

The concentration consists of 32 hours.

I. Complete:

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
MICR 321 - Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phage 3 Credit Hours
MICR 329* - Advanced Microbiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours

II. Upper-Division Courses

A. Select 9 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 431 - Advanced Immunology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 440 - Virology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 470 - Microbial Ecology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 480 - Genomics and Bioinformatics 3 Credit Hours

B. Select 6 additional hours:

BCMB 311 - Advanced Cellular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 321 - Introductory Plant Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 330 - Developmental Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 402 - Biochemistry II 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 412 - Molecular Biology and Genomics 4 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 440 - Advanced Human Physiology and the Pathophysiology of Disease 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 461 - Cancer Biology 3 Credit Hours or
MICR 461 - Cancer Biology 3 Credit Hours
CBE 475 - Applied Microbiology and Bioengineering 3 Credit Hours
EEB 403 - The Evolution of Cancer: An Integrative Approach 3 Credit Hours
EEB 404 - Ecosystem Ecology 3 Credit Hours
EEB 426 - Plant-Animal Interactions 3 Credit Hours
EPP 313* - Introductory Plant Pathology 3 Credit Hours
EPP 410 - Diseases and Insects of Ornamental Plants 3 Credit Hours
EPP 411 - Forest Insects and Diseases 3 Credit Hours
ESS 454 - Environmental Soil Biology 3 Credit Hours
FDSC 429 - Food Microbiology Lab 2 Credit Hours
EEPS 461 - Organic Geochemistry 3 Credit Hours
MICR 305 - Global Emerging Infectious Diseases and One Health 3 Credit Hours
MICR 330 - Immunology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 333* - Astrobiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 401* - Undergraduate Research in Microbiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 402 - Advanced Undergraduate Research in Microbiology 4 Credit Hours
MICR 410 - Microbial Physiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 411 - Microbial Genetics 3 Credit Hours
MICR 420 - Microbial Pathogenesis 3 Credit Hours
MICR 421 - Food Microbiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 429 - Medical Microbiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
MICR 440 - Virology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 459 - Introduction to Oceanography 3 Credit Hours
MICR 465 - Geomicrobiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 470 - Microbial Ecology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 475 - Reproducible Data Analysis 3 Credit Hours
MICR 480 - Genomics and Bioinformatics 3 Credit Hours
MICR 493 - Independent Study 1-9 Credit Hours
MICR 495* - Microbiology in Practice: Science Communication and Professional Skills 3 Credit Hours
PLSC 331 - Calling BS: Interpretation and Reasoning Using Data in the Modern World 1 Credit Hours
PSYC 325* - Community-Engaged STEM Mentoring and Outreach 3 Credit Hours

C. Proficiencies (0 credit hours):

To support the department’s assessment efforts, students are required to complete a 0-credit course at the end of the student’s degree program.

MICR 499 - Microbiology Proficiency 0 Credit 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:

BCMB 230 - Human Physiology 5 Credit Hours
BIOL 240 - General Genetics 4 Credit Hours
BIOL 260 - Ecology 2 Credit Hours
BIOL 280 - Evolution 3 Credit Hours
EEB 250 - Human Anatomy 3 Credit Hours and
EEB 251 - Human Anatomy Laboratory 1 Credit Hours

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 Volunteer Core Requirements .

Undergraduates

Graduate Students

Biological Sciences Major, BS - Microbiology Concentration

College Requirements

Prerequisites

Complete:

Select one course:

Select one sequence:

or (a)

or (b)