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Bachelor of Arts, Majors and Minors

Biology

VIU also offers a Bachelor of Science, Major and Minor in Biology.

General Description

The Minor in Biology is designed for students who have an interest in life sciences, but have additional academic and career aspirations in areas other than biology. The program is ideal for students wishing to fulfill their B.A. requirements by completing two Minors. There are many career opportunities for individuals who apply familiarity in a field of Biology (e.g., Ecology or Environmental Science, Evolution, Microbiology, or Genetics) within disciplines of Social Sciences or Humanities. Other Minor programs for the B.A. degree that integrate well with particular fields of Biology include Anthropology, Geography, Psychology, Business, Creative Writing, History, and Liberal Studies. The program will also be of particular interest to students proceeding towards a career in Primary and Secondary Education, with plans for teaching a science curriculum.

Requirements for a Minor

Students must fulfill all the Institutional B.A. degree requirements, including Degree English Requirements and courses listed below:

Years 1 & 2

Credits

Minimum “C-” required for each of the following courses:

BIOL 121 - (Introductory Zoology)

4

BIOL 123 - (Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology)

4

Select one of the following pairs:
CHEM 140* - (Chemistry Fundamentals I) and,
CHEM 141* - (Chemistry Fundamentals II) or
CHEM 142* - (Chemistry Fundamentals II)

8

MATH 211 - (Statistics I)

3

BIOL 201 - (Principles of Biochemistry)

3

Select two** courses from the following:
BIOL 200 - (Introduction to Cell Biology),
BIOL 202 - (Ecology),
BIOL 210 - (Microbiology I),
BIOL 212 - (Genetics),
BIOL 223 - (Botany),

6

CHEM 231 - (Organic Chemistry I)

3

* Effective September 2011: CHEM 140 will replace CHEM 122, CHEM 141 will replace CHEM 111, and CHEM 142 will replace CHEM 121. Students who have already completed the old Chemistry courses can still use those courses to meet the 1st-year chemistry requirements.

** Students should check upper-level course prerequisites to guide second year course choices.

Years 3 & 4

Credits

Minimum of eighteen credits of Biology courses numbered 300 or above.*

18

* Check individual course prerequisites.

Updated February 29, 2012