Biology

Required Courses for a B.S. in Biology

The minimum number of total hours required for a bachelor's degree is 122.

Required Biology Core Courses

  • BIOL 1510/1511 Biological Principles (or Honors)
  • BIOL 1520/1521 Intro to Organismal Biology (or Honors)
  • BIOL 2335/2337 General Ecology (or Honors)
  • BIOL 2344/2354 Genetics (or Honors)
  • BIOL 3340 Cell Biology
  • BIOL 3600 Intro to Evolution
  • BIOL 4450 Senior Seminar
  • Two of these three labs, each of which must be taken concurrently with the corresponding lecture course: Ecology Lab (Biol 1226/2338), Genetics Lab (Biol 2345/2355), or Cell Biology Lab (Biol 3341).

Required Quantitative Biology Course (Any one of the following)

  • BIOL 2400 Mathematical Models in Biology
  • BIOL 4150 Genomics & Applied Bioinformatics
  • BIOL 4401 Experimental Design & Biostatistics
  • BIOL 4422 Theoretical Ecology
  • BIOL 4755 Mathematical Biology
  • MATH 3770 Statistics & Applications
  • MATH 3215 Probability & Statistics

Required Senior Research Experience (Any one of the following)

  • BIOL 4590 Research Project Lab
  • BIOL 4690 Independent Research Project
  • BIOL 4910 Honors Research Thesis

Required Non-Biology Science Courses

  • CHEM 1310 General Chemistry
  • CHEM 1311 Inorganic Chemistry I
  • CHEM 1312 Inorganic Chemistry Lab
  • CHEM 2311 Organic Chem I
  • CHEM 2312 Organic Chem II
  • CHEM 2380 Synthesis Lab
  • MATH 1501 Calculus I
  • MATH 1502 Calculus II
  • PHYS 2211/2501 Intro Physics I
  • PHYS 2212/2502 Intro Physics II


Biology Electives

21 credit hours must be earned in courses chosen from the electives list in the Handbook. The list includes all Biology courses numbered 3000 or higher other that are not required and LCC 4700 (Writing an Undergraduate Thesis). Up to six hours of biology electives can be BIOL 4699 Undergraduate Research. Also, up to six hours of courses may be outside of biology as specified below. All biology electives must be taken for a letter grade.

All APPH 3XXX and higher courses EXCEPT:

  • APPH 3300 Health Promotion
  • APPH 3901-3904 Special Problems
  • APPH 4698 Research Assistantship
  • APPH 4699 Undergraduate Research

All BMED 3XXX and higher courses EXCEPT:

  • BMED 4698 Research Assistantship
  • BMED 4699 Undergraduate Research
  • BMED 4900-4903 Special Problems

All CHEM 3XXX and higher courses EXCEPT:

  • CHEM 4601 Chemistry Seminar
  • CHEM 4698 Research Assistantship
  • CHEM 4699 Undergraduate Research
  • CHEM 4901- 4903 Special Problems in Chemistry

All EAS 3XXX and higher courses EXCEPT:

  • EAS 4651 Practical Internship
  • EAS 4698 Research Assistantship
  • EAS 4699 Undergraduate Research
  • EAS 4900 Special Problems

LCC:

  • LCC 4700 Writing an Undergraduate Thesis
  • LCC 4701 Undergraduate Research Proposal Writing
  • LCC 4702 Undergraduate Research Thesis Writing

All MATH 2XXX and higher courses EXCEPT:

  • MATH 2698 Research Assistantship
  • MATH 2699 Undergraduate Research
  • MATH 4080 Senior Project I
  • MATH 4090 Senior Project II
  • MATH 4698 Research Assistantship
  • MATH 4699 Undergraduate Research
  • MATH 4999 Special Problems

All PHYS 3XXX and higher courses EXCEPT:

  • PHYS 4601 Senior Seminar I
  • PHYS 4602 Senior Seminar II
  • PHYS 4698 Research Assistantship
  • PHYS 4699 Undergraduate Research

All PSYC 3XXX and higher EXCEPT:

  • PSYC 4600 Senior Thesis I
  • PSYC 4601 Senior Thesis II
  • PSYC 4698 Research Assistantship
  • PSYC 4699 Undergraduate Research
  • PSYC 4900-4910 Special Problems


Humanities and Social Sciences Electives

See “Core Curriculum,” Information for Undergraduate Students on the Registrar’s website (http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/core.php) for lists of approved courses. All students are required to take one course from HIST 2111, HIST 2112, POL 1101, PUBP 3000, or INTA 1200 to satisfy state requirements regarding the history and Constitutions of the United States and Georgia. An additional 9 hours of social sciences and 6 hours of humanities also are required.

Computing Requirement

Students must complete CS 13X1 (transfer course), CS 1301, CS 1315, CS 1371, or COE 1361 (restricted to certain engineering majors, but OK if they change major to Biology).

Wellness Requirement

Georgia Tech requires students to complete HPS 1040, 1062, 1063, or 1064 to earn an undergraduate degree. Currently, only HPS 1040 is available.

Free Electives

The remaining credits beyond those listed above are free electives, which can be taken for letter grade or pass/fail.