Nov 21, 2024

2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Biology (B.S.)

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Program: B.S.
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science

Science Building 330 ~ 260-481-6305

Biology is one of the most interdisciplinary of all the sciences. In addition to biology, the discipline requires a broad background in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. This background enables the biologist to study the evolution of life; manifestations of life from the level of viruses, bacteria, and individual cells to the structure and function of organisms; and interactions of living organisms with each other and their environment.

Our Biology bachelor’s degree program also offers four concentrations. For details on pursuing the bachelor’s degree in Biology with one of these concentrations, click on the following links for specific program descriptions:

For details on pursuing a secondary education second degree (BSEd) to teach Biology in middle school/high school, click on the links to the Secondary Education - Second Degree Program and the School of Education page in this catalog. Note: The BSEd as a second degree in these programs cannot be earned without completion of the bachelor’s degree in the content area from the College of Science. See Program Requirements below for a link to the Secondary Education - Second Degree 4-Year Plan.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this degree, students will demonstrate:

a level of competency for understanding core principles of evolution, organismal diversity, ecology, biological structure, biological function, molecular biology, and genetics.

the ability to locate and critically evaluate scientific information to help develop relevant questions and hypotheses, interpret the results of investigation, and synthesize and apply new and existing knowledge.

the ability to design studies to test biological hypotheses using laboratory, field, or computational methods that meet professional ethical standards.

the ability to effectively communicate the results of scientific research verbally and in writing.

the ability to learn independently, analyze data, interpret results, synthesize information, and to critically evaluate the significance of research results and new knowledge.

an awareness of the relevance of biological knowledge to human health and welfare in local, national and international communities.

Program Delivery:

This program is available on-campus

Declaring this Major:

Declare this major within the Department of Biological Sciences

General Requirements:

To earn a B.S. with a major in Biology, you must fulfill the following requirements in addition to the General Requirements noted above.

College Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs. The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings. Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program. That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?151102-Purdue-University-Fort-Wayne&fos_code=2601&fos_credential=3

Program Requirements:

Biology BS 4-Year Plan:

A GPA of 2.00 or higher for all courses required for the major.
A GPA of 2.30 or higher in biology core and biology elective/concentration courses.
A maximum of 6 credits in BIOL 29500 or 59500.
Check with advisor to discuss courses that may double-count.
All biology courses applied toward graduation must be completed within 10 years from the time the first biology course was completed.
Students accepted into the 5 Year Combined Degree Program in Biology (BS/MS) will be able to apply up to 12 credit hours of 500-level graduate courses (with a grade B- or above) in the M.S. degree plan of study to reduce the total number of additional credits in the M.S. degree to 18 credit hours.
Successful applicants for the combined degree program will have a minimum overall and Biology GPA of 3.3
New BIOL, ENTM, and FNR courses approved and added to the curriculum in future Catalogs may satisfy the major requirements.
New BIOL, ENTM, and FNR courses approved and added to the curriculum in future Catalogs may satisfy the elective requirements.
Transfer students with 30+ credits are not required to take the Freshman Success seminar if they haven’t previously taken such a course

Biology BS with Secondary Education 4-Year Plan:

General Education Requirements: Credits 33

Cick on the Purdue Fort Wayne General Education Requirements link above for details.
Some majors may require particular General Education courses as specified in their program description. Up to six credits of approved General Education courses satisfying requirements in Areas A and B, and three credits satisfying requirements in Area C, may originate in the major. A grade of C- or higher in each course, and an overall GPA of 2.0 is required to satisfy the Purdue Fort Wayne General Education Requirements.

Core (Major) Courses: Credits 23

BIOL 11700 - Principles Of Ecology And Evolution Cr. 4.
BIOL 11900 - Principles Of Structure And Function Cr. 4.
BIOL 12000 - Biology Resource Seminar Cr. 1.
BIOL 21700 - Intermediate Ecology Cr. 3.
BIOL 21800 - Genetics And Molecular Biology Cr. 4.
BIOL 21900 - Principles Of Functional Biology Cr. 4.
BIOL 49100 - Senior Biology Seminar Cr. 1 or 3. Cr. 3.

Supporting Courses

English Writing and Speaking: Credits 6

ENGL 23301 (or a college-approved equivalent: ENGL 20201, HIST 21700, ILCS 30000, POL 20700, or WOST 23000). This course is in addition to the General Education writing course (ENGL 13100 or equivalent).
COM 11400 (or the college-approved equivalent: HIST 12500).

Both courses require a grade of C- or better

Ethics and Diversity

This requirement will be met by completing one of the two sets of options listed below:

OPTION 1 - Credits 6
PHIL 33300 - Ethics And Diversity In Science Cr. 3.
Choose a course from the list below Cr. 3.
OPTION 2: Credits 9
PHIL 31200 - Medical Ethics Cr. 3.
or
PHIL 32800 - Ethics And Animals Cr. 3.
and
- Choose two courses from the list below Cr. 6.
LIST OF APPROVED COURSES for Ethics and Diversity OPTIONS 1 & 2
Any course in Anthropology (ANTH)
Any course in French (FR)
Any course in German (GER)
Any course in Spanish (SPAN)
Any course in East Asian Language & Culture (EALC)
Any course in Near East Language & Culture (NELC)
Any course in International Language & Culture Studies (ILCS)
Any course in Women’s Studies (WOST)
CLCS 10000 - Elementary Latin I Cr. 4.
CLCS 15000 - Elementary Latin II Cr. 4.
CLCS 20000 - Second-Year Latin I Cr. 3.
CLCS 25000 - Second Year Latin II Cr. 3.
COM 30300 - Intercultural Communication Cr. 3.
COM 41000 - Gender Roles And Communication Cr. 3.
COM 42200 - Women, Men, And Media Cr. 3.
COM 52700 - Introduction To Cultural Studies Cr. 3.
CSD 18100 - First Course In American Sign Language Cr. 3.
CSD 18200 - Second Course In American Sign Language Cr. 3.
CSD 28300 - Intermediate American Sign Language III Cr. 3.
CSD 28400 - Intermediate American Sign Language IV Cr. 3.
ECON 43000 - Introduction To International Economics Cr. 3.
ECON 47700 - Korean Economy And Culture Cr. 3.
ENGL 10700 - Masterpieces Of Asia Cr. 3.
ENGL 30401 - Contemporary African American Poetry Forms Cr. 3.
ENGL 46401 - Native American Literature Cr. 3.
ENGL 47800 - Studies In Women And Literature Cr. 3.
ENGL 47901 - American Ethnic And Minority Literature Cr. 3.
ENGL 48801 - Studies In Irish Literature And Culture Cr. 3.
FOLK 11100 - World Music And Culture Cr. 3.
HIST 31101 - Survey Of American Indians II Cr. 3.
HIST 31102 - Holocaust And Modern Genocides Cr. 3.
HIST 32701 - Modern France And The French Empire Cr. 3.
HIST 34201 - Latin America: Evolution And Revolution Cr. 3.
HIST 34601 - Modern Mexico Cr. 3.
HIST 37802 - Germany, 1871 To The Present Cr. 3.
HIST 42601 - History Of Balkans: 1914-Present Cr. 3.
HIST 42800 - Eastern Europe: 1914 - Present Cr. 3.
HIST 44700 - United States - Latin American Relations Cr. 3.
INTL 15500 - Introduction To Language And Culture In Near Eastern Studies And East Asian Studies Cr. 3.
INTL 20000 - Introduction to International Studies Cr. 3.
INTL 20800 - International Cinema Cr. 3.
LGBT 20000 - Introduction To Scholarship On Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Issues Cr. 3.
MUSC 10500 - Soundscapes: Musical Traditions Of The World Cr. 3.
NUTR 20400 - Food, History & Culture Cr. 3.
OLS 45400 - Gender And Diversity In Management Cr. 3.
PHIL 30500 - Philosophical Theories Of Feminism Cr. 3.
POL 10900 - Introduction To International Relations Cr. 3.
POL 32800 - Women And The Law Cr. 3.
POL 35501 - Ethnic Conflict And Nationalism Cr. 3.
POL 37500 - War And International Conflict Cr. 3.
POL 37600 - International Political Economy Cr. 3.
REL 11200 - Religion And Culture Cr. 3.
REL 23000 - Religions Of The East Cr. 3.
REL 30100 - Islam Cr. 3.
REL 30600 - Hinduism Cr. 3.
REL 30700 - Buddhism Cr. 3.
REL 31100 - African Traditional Philosophy And Religion Cr. 3.
REL 31200 - The Black Religious Experience Cr. 3.
REL 37500 - Islamic Thought Cr. 3.
REL 37800 - The Qur’an In Muslim Life Cr. 3.
SOC 21001 - Modern Japanese Society Cr. 3.
SOC 21201 - Race, Religion, And Social Cohesion Cr. 3.
SOC 30000 - Race And Ethnic Relations Cr. 3.

Calculus and Statistics: Credits 9

The following calculus and statistics course pattern is typical. Course substitutions are possible with advisor approval. Please note that most graduate programs require a full year of calculus.

Biology Elective Courses: Credits 16

Take at least one course with a laboratory from each of the A and B elective course lists below.

The A elective courses focus on topics regarding the intact organism and its interaction with the environment, and so are organismal, population, community, and ecosystem in nature.
The B elective courses focus on processes acting within the organism, and thus detail molecular, cellular, and organ-system mechanisms.

A-Electives

(organismal, population, community, and ecosystem)

BIOL 33500 - Animal Behavior Cr. 3.
BIOL 34010 - Silvics Of North America Cr. 3.
includes laboratory
BIOL 34500 - Vertebrate Biology Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 43400 - Marine Community Ecology Cr. 3.
BIOL 50100 - Field Botany Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 50200 - Conservation Biology Cr. 3.
BIOL 50330 - Disturbance Ecology Cr. 3.
includes laboratory
BIOL 50401 - Mammalogy
includes laboratory
BIOL 50500 - Biology Of Invertebrate Animals Cr. 3.
includes laboratory
BIOL 51810 - Biomedicine Cr. 3.
BIOL 52000 - Contemporary Parasitology Cr. 3.
BIOL 54110 - Invasion Biology Cr. 3.
BIOL 54300 - Population Ecology Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 55600 - Physiology I Cr. 3.
BIOL 58301 - Environmental And Agricultural Microbiology Cr. 3.
separate laboratory available (BIOL 58302)
BIOL 58302 - Laboratory In Environmental And Agricultural Microbiology Cr. 1.
BIOL 58600 - Topics In Behavior And Ecology Cr. 3.
ENTM 33500 - Introduction To Insect Identification Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
FNR 50500 - Molecular Ecology and Evolution Cr. 3.

B-Electives

(molecular, cellular, and organ-system)

BIOL 32401 - Antibiotic Discovery Cr. 3.
includes laboratory
BIOL 35000 - Introduction To Plant Physiology Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 38100 - Cell Biology Cr. 3.
separate laboratory available (BIOL 38200)
BIOL 38200 - Lab In Cell Biology Cr. 1.
BIOL 40600 - Human Anatomy Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 40900 - Human Physiology Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 43700 - General Microbiology Cr. 4.
includes laboratory
BIOL 50600 - Human Molecular Genetics Cr. 3.
Separate laboratory available (BIOL 51602)
BIOL 50900 - Molecular Biology And Applications Cr. 3.
separate laboratory available (BIOL 58400)
BIOL 51501 - Non-Mendelian Genetics Cr. 3.
separate laboratory available (BIOL 51602)
BIOL 52601 - Eukaryotic Microbiology Cr. 3.
BIOL 53300 - Medical Microbiology Cr. 3.
BIOL 53700 - Immunobiology Cr. 3.
separate laboratory available (BIOL 56500)
BIOL 58400 - Molecular Biology And Applications Laboratory Cr. 1.
BIOL 54400 - Principles Of Virology Cr. 3.
BIOL 55900 - Endocrinology Cr. 3.
BIOL 56011 - Genomics: Concepts And Applications Cr. 3.
BIOL 56500 - Immunobiology Laboratory Cr. 1.
BIOL 56600 - Developmental Biology Cr. 3.
separate laboratory available (BIOL 56700)

General Electives

Sufficient additional credits to bring the total to 120.

Time Limit

All Biology courses applied toward graduation must be completed within ten (10) years from the time the first Biology course was completed.

Total Credits: 120

Student Responsibility

You are responsible for ensuring that you satisfy all graduation requirements specified for each selected program. Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career. If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study. Changing curricular records during the graduation term of application may affect state or federal financial aid awards. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean.

Additional Course Use

Courses listed below may also be considered in meeting specific degree requirements.

BIOL 12000 required; CHM 19400 and IDIS 11000 accepted

CHM 25400 and CHM 26100 required; CHM 26500 and CHM 26100 accepted

COM 11400 required; HIST 12500 accepted

PHYS 22000 and PHYS 22100 required; PHYS 21800 and PHYS 21900 accepted

STAT 24000 required; STAT 30100 accepted