Nov 21, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Biological Sciences, B.A.


Offered by Biological Sciences .

The curriculum leading to the Biological Sciences, B.A. is designed for students who want to pursue a career in a health-related profession (dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, or veterinary medicine) or those interested in training in an allied health field (dental hygiene, medical and research technology, nursing, pharmacy, or physical therapy). The B.A. is also appropriate for students wanting to combine another area of study - such as business, environmental studies, law, or science writing - with a solid background in biology.

University Requirements


Completion of Minimum University Requirements for an Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree .

  • Minimum 120 credits and minimum GPA of 2.0
  • Completion of 45 upper-level credits, residence requirement, Writing Intensive requirement, and General Education requirement

Major Requirements


  • Minimum 55 credits or 16 courses. Biological Sciences  evaluates completion of major requirements based on courses completed to account for variation in equivalent transfer course credits
  • Minimum grade of ‘C’ in courses applied to all major requirements and prerequisites
  • Residency Requirement: Minimum of 4 required BIOL courses completed in residence at UMBC
  • Students pursuing a double major or double degree in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S.  and Biological Sciences, B.A. complete unique electives for each degree

Course Requirements


Biology Electives (9-12 credits)


Complete one course or course sequence from each of the following categories. Some elective courses for the major are thematically similar and only one course may fulfill major requirements. These courses include BIOL 430  and BTEC 430 BIOL 444  and BTEC 444 , and BIOL 495  and BTEC 395 .

Elective 2


Complete any 400-level BIOL course, excluding BIOL 442 , BIOL 497H , BIOL 499 , or lab courses, in residence at UMBC.

Physics (8 credits)


Complete the following. PHYS 121  and PHYS 122  may not satisfy some professional school admission requirements.

Mathematics (4 credits)


Complete one of the following:

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs


Qualified students may apply to an accelerated program, which allows them to share courses between a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Students take graduate courses as undergraduate students and later apply those courses to master’s degrees. An undergraduate may apply to participate in an accelerated program even if the desired graduate program is in a department other than the one in which the student is majoring. More information is available from the Accelerated Program page of the Graduate School website.