The Bachelor of Arts is recommended only for those students who plan careers in business or secondary education careers related to the Biological Sciences. A minimum of 32 S.H. in Biological Sciences is required for the BA degree.
All biological sciences majors must take the courses as listed for the BA degree in the curriculum sheet.
The BA degree in biological sciences requires a minimum of 32 semester hours from within the Department of Biological Sciences. (Courses at the 1000 level are not applicable to a Bachelor of Arts degree.)
All biological sciences majors must take the following courses for the BA degree:
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| FIRST YEAR STUDENT EXPERIENCE | ||
| YSU 1500 | Success Seminar | 1-2 |
| or YSU 1500S | Youngstown State University Success Seminar | |
| or HONR 1500 | Intro to Honors | |
| General Education Requirements | ||
| ENGL 1550 | Writing 1 | 3-4 |
| or ENGL 1549 | Writing 1 with Support | |
| ENGL 1551 | Writing 2 | 3 |
| Mathematics Requirement (met through MATH in major) | ||
| Arts and Humanities (6 s.h.) | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences (2 courses, 1 with lab) (6-7 s.h.) Met through science courses in the major | ||
| Social Science (6 s.h.) | 6 | |
| General Education Electives (9 s.h.) | ||
| CMST 1545 | Communication Foundations | 3 |
| Any 2 Gen Ed Courses (6 s.h.) Met with CHEM courses in major | ||
| Foreign Language Requirement | 8 | |
| FNLG 1501 | Conversational Foreign Language 1 | 3 |
| FNLG 1502 | Conversational Foreign Language 2 | 3 |
| Major Requirements | ||
| BIOL 2601 & 2601L | General Biology 1: Molecules and Cells and General Biology I: Molecules and Cells Laboratory 1 | 4 |
| BIOL 2602 & 2602L | General Biology 2: Organisms and Ecology and General Biology: Organisms and Ecology Laboratory 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 1515 & 1515L | General Chemistry 1 and General Chemistry 1 Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 1516 & 1516L | General Chemistry 2 and General Chemistry 2 Laboratory | 4 |
| Select one course from two of the following groups: | 7-8 | |
| Group A | ||
| Microbiology | ||
| Microbiology Laboratory | ||
| Cell Biology: Fine Structure | ||
| Group B | ||
| Mammalogy | ||
| Human Physiology | ||
| Group C | ||
| Plant Diversity | ||
| Animal Diversity | ||
| Select 16 semester hours of courses in the Department of Biological Sciences at the 3000-5000 level. At least two of these courses must have a laboratory component. | 16 | |
| Capstone Course | ||
| BIOL 4861 | Senior Biology Capstone Experience | 2 |
| Electives | ||
| Strongly recommended: | ||
| Organic Chemistry 1 and Organic Chemistry 1 Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry 2 and Organic Chemistry 2 Laboratory | ||
| Fundamentals of Physics 1 and Fundamentals of Physics Laboratory 1 | ||
| Fundamentals of Physics 2 and Fundamentals of Physics Laboratory 2 | ||
| Minor Requirement | ||
| Select courses counting toward minor | 12-18 | |
| Additional electives to meet 120 | 39 | |
| Total Semester Hours | 128-137 | |
- 1
The general biology courses are prerequisites for genetics and all core and upper-division courses.
Students seeking admission to medically related professional schools should complete the BS program.
The mathematics, physics and chemistry courses may not be taken under the credit/no credit option.
Recommended core curriculum meeting science requirements of medically related and other professional schools.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | S.H. | |
| YSU 1500 | Success Seminar or Youngstown State University Success Seminar or Intro to Honors | 1-2 |
| ENGL 1550 or ENGL 1549 | Writing 1 (electives may be substituted if excused based on results of Placement Test) or Writing 1 with Support | 3-4 |
| BIOL 2601 | General Biology 1: Molecules and Cells | 3 |
| CHEM 1515R | Recitation for General Chemistry 1 (opt) | 1 |
| CHEM 1515 & 1515L | General Chemistry 1 and General Chemistry 1 Laboratory | 4 |
| GER AL/SS/Elective | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 15-17 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENGL 1551 | Writing 2 (electives may be substituted if excused based on results of Placement Test) | 3 |
| BIOL 2602 & 2602L | General Biology 2: Organisms and Ecology and General Biology: Organisms and Ecology Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 1516R | Recitation for General Chemistry 2 (opt) | 1 |
| CHEM 1516 & 1516L | General Chemistry 2 and General Chemistry 2 Laboratory | 4 |
| GER elective (COMM 1545 recommended) | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 15 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| Biology Core Course | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Human Physiology | ||
| Cell Biology: Fine Structure | ||
| Plant Diversity | ||
| MATH 1570 or MATH 1571 | Applied Calculus 1 or Calculus 1 | 4 |
| GER Elective (AL) | 3 | |
| General Electives | 3 | |
| Select an additional 3 s.h. | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| Biology Core Course | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Human Physiology | ||
| Genetics | ||
| Animal Diversity | ||
| GER Elective (SI) | 3 | |
| FNLG 1501 | Conversational Foreign Language 1 | 3 |
| General Electives | 6 | |
| Semester Hours | 15-16 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 3700-5800 course w/ lab | 4 | |
| GER electives (PS), (SI) | 6 | |
| FNLG 1502 | Conversational Foreign Language 2 | 3 |
| General Elective | 5 | |
| Semester Hours | 18 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 3700-5800 course w/ lab | 4 | |
| BIOL 3700-5800 course | 3 | |
| GER electives (AL), (PS) | 6 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 16 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 3700 course | 3 | |
| General Electives | 9-12 | |
| Semester Hours | 12-15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 3700-5800 course | 4 | |
| BIOL 4861 | Senior Biology Capstone Experience | 2 |
| General Electives | 7-10 | |
| Semester Hours | 13-16 | |
| Total Semester Hours | 120-129 | |
Learning Outcomes
The department's learning outcomes for the BA in biology are as follows:
- Students will be fluent in the terminology of the biological sciences.
- Students will be competitive for entry into the workplace.
- Students will be familiar with the scientific process and the process of hypothesis testing.
- Students should be able to reason critically, both individually and in collaboration with other students.