Biology Education, B.A.

The B.A. in Biology Education (BIOE) major couples the coursework required for the regular Biology B.A. degree with additional courses necessary and recommended for certification to teach biology at the secondary level. Students completing this degree will have a strong foundation in the biological sciences and will be capable of working in a range of technical positions in addition to secondary education. The Bachelor of Arts in Biology Education consists of at least 102 credits distributed as follows:

The existing lecture courses in the Biology Core are now to be considered an academic sequence in the following manner:

BIOL 141/BIOL 142 → BIOL 302/BIOL 303

Specifically this means that once a student has received a passing grade in either BIOL 302 or BIOL 303, that student may not reregister for BIOL 141 or BIOL 142.

This change would affect all majors and minors that require the courses BIOL 141 and BIOL 142.

Biology Core (18 credits)

Additional Biology Courses (10 credits)

Biology 4XX elective

(choose one from BIOL 411 , BIOL 414 or BIOL 434 )

Supporting STEM courses (29 credits)

CHEM 101 - Principles of Chemistry I (4.00)
CHEM 102 - Principles of Chemistry II (4.00)
CHEM 102L - Introductory Chemistry Lab I (2.00)
CHEM 351 - Organic Chemistry I (3.00)
MATH 155 - Applied Calculus (4.00)
PHYS 111 - Basic Physics I (4.00)
PHYS 112 - Basic Physics II (4.00)
STAT 350 - Statistics with Applications in the Biological Sciences (4.00)

Education (32 credits)

EDUC 310 - Inquiry into Education (3.00)
EDUC 311 - Psychological Foundations of Education (3.00)
EDUC 388 - Inclusion and Instruction (3.00)
EDUC 410 - Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: Part I (3.00)
EDUC 411 - Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: Part II (3.00)
EDUC 412 - Analysis of Teaching and Learning (3.00)
EDUC 427 - Science in the Secondary School (3.00)
EDUC 456 - Student Teaching in the Secondary Schools (10.00)
EDUC 457 - Secondary Internship Seminar (2.00)

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Recommended (13 credits)

GES 110 - Physical Geography (3.00)
GES 311 - Weather and Climate (3.00)
PSYC 100 - Introduction to Psychology (4.00)
PSYC 210 - Psychology of Learning (3.00)

BIOE additional notes

1) Students must earn a “C” or better in all major courses and course prerequisites.

2) At least half of the required BIOL courses for the BIOE degree (five of nine), including the 4XX elective, must be completed in residence at UMBC.

3) A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or above is required to register for EDUC 412 and beyond.

4) Students in the BIOE major will be assigned an academic adviser from the Biological Sciences department, but will also be advised by the Education department in regard to EDUC courses, internships, and teaching certification.

5) The Biological Sciences Department evaluates completion of major requirements based on COURSES completed, not CREDITS completed, because equivalent courses taken elsewhere may not be the same number of credits as the UMBC course they replace.

6) Under exceptional circumstances, the Department may waive or alter a BIOL major requirement. Students seeking to petition for a waiver must consult with their academic adviser, then may submit a ‘Petition for Waiver/Substitution of Program Requirements’ form, found here: http://www.umbc.edu/biosci/undergrad/forms.php.

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