College of Sciences

BIOLOGY

(B.S.)

Biology Department,
BL 301, 407-823-2141
http://www.cos.ucf.edu/biology
E-mail: biology@ucf.edu
Contact: F. Logiudice, 407-823-2141

none

Admission Requirements

Degree Requirements

• Students who change degree programs and select this major must adopt the most current catalog.
• No credit by exam (TSD, Military credit) may be used for the major.
• Co-op or internship credit cannot be used in this major
• No more than 4 hours of BSC 4422L, BSC 4937, Independent Study, Directed Research, or similar types of credit may be applied toward major requirements.
• Departmental Residency Requirement consists of at least 22 semester hours of regularly scheduled 3000-4000 level courses taken from the UCF Biology Department.
• Students seeking a double major must satisfy the requirements for both majors and must take no fewer than 40 semester hours of upper division restricted elective course work appropriate to the combined areas of specialization in the two majors.
• Courses designated in 2 (Common Program Prerequisites) and 3 (Core Requirements) are usually completed in the first 60 hours.

(36+3 hrs)

1. UCF General Education Program

(Note: Certain courses must be selected in the GEP for this major, bringing the total GEP hours to more than 36.)

A. Communication Foundations

1. 6 hrs
   Select ENC 1101 and ENC 1102
2. 3 hrs
   Prefer SPC 1016

9 hrs

B. Cultural and Historical Foundations

C. Mathematical Foundations

1. 4 hrs
   Select MAC 2311 or MAC 2241
2. 3 hrs
   Select STA 2023

6 hrs

D. Social Foundations

E. Science Foundations

1. 4 hrs
   Select CHM 2045C or CHM 2040C & 2041C
2. 4 hrs
   Select BSC 2010C

(16 hrs)

2. Common Program Prerequisites

* See Transfer Notes for possible substitutes

+ CHM 2040C plus CHM 2041C can substitute for CHM 2045C

(21-23 hrs)

3. Core requirements

Select one Chemistry sequence

(Note: Students planning on entering professional or graduate school should take Biochemistry (BCH 4053, BCH 4054) as well as additional Calculus courses. Students are urged to consult their departmental advisor.)

(22 hrs)

4. Upper Division Restricted Electives

• Courses must be selected from the groupings listed below.
• Student must complete at least one course dealing exclusively with animals (marked ‘a’) and one course dealing exclusively with plants (marked ‘b’).
• At least three credit hours from each group must be completed.
• At least 10 hours of the Upper Division Restricted electives must be taken within the UCF Biology Department. Courses offered by the Department of Biology have been designated with an asterisk (*).
• Transferred courses must be at a 3000 level or higher, and be evaluated by a departmental advisor, in order to count as an Upper Division Restricted Elective.
• Courses at the 5000 level are only open to seniors and beginning graduate students.

(minimum of one lecture course)

4.1 Form/Function

(minimum of one lecture course)

4.2 Environmental

(minimum of one lecture course)

4.3 Systematic

* Designates courses offered by the Department of Biology.

Additional courses (e.g., BSC 4422L and BSC 5408L) may be used to meet a group requirement with approval of the Curriculum Committee via petition.

5. Departmental Exit Requirements

• A minimum GPA of 2.0 in all UCF courses taken in the Common Program Prerequisites, the Biology Core and the Upper Division Restricted Electives.
• To demonstrate Computer Competency students are expected to
  
  
  1. check and maintain their campus electronic mail account and
  2. be capable of locating, viewing, and retrieving class and research information on the World Wide Web.
• Students will be required to take a comprehensive exam in biology during their last semester. The exam will be given in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students who plan to graduate in the Summer must take the exam in the Spring.
• Biology majors should not take any courses required in the major as a transient student at a community college.
• Before applying to graduate, the CLAST must be completely satisfied.

(0-8 hrs)

6. Foreign Language Requirements

• Admission: Two years of one foreign language in high school, or one year of one foreign language in college (or equivalent proficiency exam) prior to graduation.
• none
  Graduation:

(variable)

7. Electives

Select primarily from upper level courses, with departmental advisor’s approval. May be outside of the department.

8. University Minimum Exit Requirements

• A 2.0 UCF GPA
• 60 semester hours earned after CLEP awarded
• 48 semester hours of upper division credit completed
• 30 of the last 36 hours of course work must be completed in residency at UCF
• A maximum of 45 hours of extension, correspondence, CLEP, Credit by Exam, and Armed Forces credits permitted
• Complete the General Education Program, the Gordon Rule, the CLAST and nine hours of Summer credit (if applicable)

120 hrs

Total Semester Hours Required

• Related Programs: Molecular and Microbiology, Science Education, Environmental Engineering
• Related Minors: Biology, Molecular and Microbiology, Environmental Studies.

Transfer Notes:

• Lower Division courses taken at community colleges do not substitute for Upper Division courses.
• Courses transferred from private and out-of-state schools must be evaluated for equivalency credit. The student must provide all supporting information.

Acceptable Substitutes:

The following substitutions are acceptable for common program prerequisites if taken as part of the AA course work:

• CHM 2045C*: may use CHM 1040 plus CHM 1041 or CHM 2040C plus CHM 2041C
• BSC 2010C & Lab: may use PCB 2010, PCB 2011, PCB 2021, PCB 2131, BSC 1040, or BSC 2012
• BSC 2011C & Lab: may use ZOO 2010, BOT 2010, BSC 2041, or BOT 1013. However, subsequent Biology courses require either BSC 2011C or both ZOO 2010 and BOT 2010.
• STA 2023: may use STA 2122, STA 2014C, STA 2023, STA 2024, STA 2321, MAC 2234, MAC 2254, or MAC 3282. However, statistics at or above the level of STA 2023 is required in the major and still must be taken.
• MAC 2311: may use MAC 2233 or MAC 2253
• Physics: Although Common Program Prerequisites permit substituting Organic Chemistry for Physics, both Physics and Organic Chemistry must be taken as part of the Biology degree requirements.

Suggested Plan of Study:

One of numerous possible plans of study. See program description for all requirements. Courses with an asterisk (*) may be replaced by alternates in the same requirement. Consult a departmental advisor for alternate, new or more appropriate selections.