Professors: Allan Berlind, David Bodznick, Frederick M. Cohan (Chair), J. James Donady, Laura B. Grabel, Jason S. Wolfe

Associate Professors: John Kirn, Janice Naegele, Sonia Sultan, Michael Weir

Assistant Professors: Ann C. Burke, Stephen H. Devoto

Visiting Assistant Professor: Laurel Appel

Departmental Advising Experts (2000-2001): All Department Faculty

The Biology Department offers four programs: for nonmajors, for premajors, for majors, and for graduate students. In addition, a seminar series open to all students is offered.

The nonmajors program consists of a series of specially designated general education courses. No corequisites or prerequisites are needed to take the courses.

The premajors program is designed for students who are interested in biology but are not prepared to start their studies with a full year of intensive courses in both biology and chemistry. Their route of entry should be BIOL190. This course is one semester only, at a less intensive level than BIOL205; it is limited to first-year students; it does not have an accompanying laboratory and it emphasizes areas in biology of human concern. Students who take this course are advised to take chemistry in their first year and then continue with the BIOL205-207 series in their sophomore year. Credit for nonmajor and premajor courses may not be applied toward the biology major. In addition, the introductory core courses for the major, BIOL205, 206, and 207 (and their respective laboratory courses, BIOL215, 216, and 217) may be taken by nonmajors and can be used to satisfy NSM General Education Expectations.

The biology majors program consists of a minimum of eight courses in the 200, 300 and 500 series (500 level being graduate courses), of which at least seven must be taken in the Biology Department and the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department (as specified below). In addition, one year of physics (PHYS111, 112 or 113, 116), one year of organic chemistry (CHEM251, 252), and one semester of math (any course numbered 113 or higher) are required. It should be noted that two years of college-level chemistry are required by most medical and other health-related graduate schools. A strong chemistry background is especially recommended for students planning to enter graduate or medical school.

It is advisable to begin the major in the freshman year to take maximum advantage of the upper-level courses and research opportunities of the Biology Department in later years. A prospective biology major begins with a series of three core introductory courses. BIOL205 and its associated laboratory course (BIOL215) are offered in the fall semester. Students should begin the core series with BIOL205. This course does not have prerequisites or corequisites, but it is useful to have had some chemistry background or to take chemistry concurrently. In the second semester, the prospective major should take BIOL 206 and its laboratory course (BIOL216). BIOL207 and its lab (BIOL217) should usually be taken first semester sophomore year. In order to complete a Biology major, students must take five upper level credits in the 200, 300, and 500 series, in a manner that fulfills a distribution requirement. Courses in the 400 series contribute toward graduation but do not count toward the major. The upper-level courses have been divided into four groups: genetics and development; cell biology; physiology and anatomy and behavior, ecology, and evolution. Students must take at least one upper-level credit in each of three of the groups to complete the major. Please note that some courses fall into more than one category but may be used to fill only one category.

BIOL 221 Human Genetics

BIOL 231 Eukaryotic Genetics

BIOL 241 Developmental Biology

BIOL 294 Laboratory in Developmental Genetics

BIOL 315 Developmental Genetics

BIOL 321 The Cell in Development

BIOL 345 Developmental Neurobiology

BIOL 512 Cell Fate

BIOL 513 Topics in Development

BIOL 515 Genes in Development

BIOL 520 Mammalian Development

BIOL 537 Origins of Bacterial Species

BIOL 540 Issues in Development and Evolution

BIOL 575 Visual System Development

MB&B 231 Microbiology

MB&B 234 Molecular Biology of the Chromosome

MB&B 294 Advanced Laboratory in Molecular Biology and Genetics

BIOL 226 Cell Biology

BIOL 241 Developmental Biology

BIOL 245 Cellular Neurophysiology

BIOL 250 Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory

BIOL 321 The Cell in Development

BIOL 341 Signaling Across the Plasma Membrane in Growth and Differentiation

BIOL 344 Biological Structure

BIOL 345 Developmental Neurobiology

BIOL 352 Cellular Behavior

BIOL 514 Topics in Cell Biology

BIOL 521 Muscle and Nerve Development

BIOL 575 Sensory System Development

MB&B 232 Immunology

MB&B 375 The Cell-Division Cycle

BIOL 219 Comparative Animal Physiology

BIOL 224 Hormones, Brain and Behavior

BIOL 245 Cellular Neurophysiology

BIOL 247 Laboratory in Neurophysiology

BIOL 249 Neural Systems and Behavior

BIOL 290 Plant Form and Diversity

BIOL 310 Functional Vertebrate Morphology

BIOL 311 Comparative Vertebrate Morphology

BIOL 348 Animal Orientation and Migration

BIOL 351 Approaches to Understanding the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

BIOL 517 Topics in Neuroethology

NS&B 213 Behavioral Neurobiology

BIOL 224 Hormones, Brain and Behavior

BIOL 254 Comparative Animal Behavior

BIOL 261 Ecology

BIOL 262 Population Biology

BIOL 290 Plant Form and Diversity

BIOL 348 Animal Orientation and Migration

BIOL 349 Evolution

BIOL 375 Ecology and Evolution of HIV

BIOL 518 Topics in Evolutionary Biology

BIOL 525 Evolution of Infectious Disease

BIOL 537 Sex and Microbial Evolution

E&ES261 Aquatic Ecology

Several other courses offered by the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry may be directly credited to the biology major (i.e., without counting toward the one-course limit for courses taken outside the department) but do not fall into any of our departmental categories. Examples of these are MB&B 383 (Biochemistry), MB&B509 (Viruses and Plasmids), and MB&B514 (Macromolecules).

Depending on the student’s specific program, and with prior permission of the chair, one course outside the department may be counted toward the major, e.g., PSYC275 (Neuroanatomy); CHEM337 (Physical Chemistry I) or CHEM338 (Physical Chemistry II) or a preapproved course from another university.

Several faculty members in the biology and psychology departments also participate in the Neuroscience and Behavior Program, which at the undergraduate level constitutes a separate major. Information about that program can be found under the heading "Neuroscience and Behavior."

The graduate program is an integral part of the Biology Department’s offerings. Not only are graduate students active participants in the undergraduate courses, but upper-level undergraduates are encouraged to take graduate-level courses and seminars. Research opportunities are also available for undergraduates and, frequently, these involve close interaction with graduate students.

The seminar series introduces distinguished scientists from other institutions who present lectures on their current research work. These seminars are usually held on Thursdays at 3:45 p.m. in 107 Shanklin and are open to all members of the University community. One objective of these seminars is to relate material studied in courses, tutorials, and research to current scientific concerns. Coffee, tea, and refreshments are available just prior to the seminars.

Honors in biology. To be considered for departmental honors, a student must:

General Education. General education courses are specifically designed for nonmajors with an interest in biology (BIOL 101,102, 103,105, 106,107, 108). These courses have no prerequisites or corequisites. Students may elect to take any or all of these courses. The introductory core courses for the major, BIOL205, 206 and 207 (and their respective laboratory courses, BIOL215, 216 and 217) may be taken by nonmajors and can be used to satisfy NSM General Education Expectations. This group of courses now includes BIOL213 (Behavioral Neurobiology).