Biology

You’ll need to successfully complete at least 120 credits, including General Education requirements and 40 credits in biology (for the B.S.) and 30 credits in biology (for the B.A.) plus courses in related areas (e.g., chemistry, math, physics).

To earn this degree, students must successfully complete at least 120 credits, including General Education requirements and the major requirements below.

Major Sequence

Course Requirements (except for Medical Laboratory Science Track):

A minimum of 40 biology credits, plus courses in related areas, including:

¹

Students preparing for professional careers that require calculus are strongly advised to also take MA115 Calculus I and MA116 Calculus II.

²

Students electing for PH121 University Physics I must take MA115 Calculus I.

For the Medical Laboratory Science Track, either BI203 Experimental Design & Statistics, MA103 Introduction to Statistical Thinking, or SO201 Social and Crime Statistics is also required. For the Pre-Med Track, either PS111 Introduction to Psychology or PS113 Foundations of Psychology, and SO101 Principles of Sociology are required.

Requirements for the Pre-Med Track Within the B.S. in Biology Degree

Requirements for Medical Laboratory Science Track

¹

Students preparing for professional careers that require calculus are strongly advised to also take MA115 Calculus I and MA116 Calculus II.

²

Students electing for PH121 University Physics I must take MA115 Calculus I.

For the B.S. degree in all tracks, a minimum of 12 credits of biology coursework must be taken at the 300 or 400 level.

For students seeking teacher certification, in addition to the core of required courses for the biology degree, the department recommends the following courses: BI213 Human Anatomy & Physiology I and BI214 Human Anatomy & Physiology II. For Teacher of Biology (K-12) certification, at least 12 credits must be taken at the 300 or 400 level. 

It is recommended that students who have completed General Biology I, II, at another institution, take BI320 Cell Biology in place of BI121 Cellular Organiz., Energetics & Function to satisfy their cell biology requirement.

All biology majors who have completed 16 credits of Georgian Court biology courses will have their status reviewed by the biology faculty members. Those with a Georgian Court biology GPA of less than 2.50 may be advised and required to change their major. A Georgian Court biology GPA of 2.50 is required for graduation.

All majors pursuing the B.S. or B.A. degree in Biology are required to take a department-administered Major Field Test before graduation.

To earn this degree, students must successfully complete at least 120 credits, including General Education requirements and the major requirements below.

Major Sequence

Course Requirements (except for Medical Laboratory Science Track)

A minimum of 30 biology credits, plus courses in related areas, including:

¹

Students electing for PH115 College Physics I must take MA110 Precalculus. Students electing for PH121 University Physics I must take MA115 Calculus I. Students preparing for professional careers or graduate school are strongly advised to take PH121 University Physics I and PH122 University Physics II.

Requirements for Medical Laboratory Science Track

A minimum of 40 credits including:

¹

Students electing for PH115 College Physics I must take MA110 Precalculus. Students electing for PH121 University Physics I must take MA115 Calculus I. Students preparing for professional careers or graduate school are strongly advised to take PH121 University Physics I and PH122 University Physics II.

For the B.A. degree, a minimum of 9 credits of biology coursework must be taken at the 300 or 400 level.

For students seeking teacher certification, in addition to the core of required courses for the biology degree, the department recommends the following courses: BI213 Human Anatomy & Physiology I and BI214 Human Anatomy & Physiology II. For Teacher of Biology (K-12) certification, at least 12 credits must be taken at the 300 or 400 level. 

It is recommended that students who have completed General Biology I, II, at another institution, take BI320 Cell Biology in place of BI121 Cellular Organiz., Energetics & Function to satisfy their cell biology requirement.

All biology majors who have completed 16 credits of Georgian Court biology courses will have their status reviewed by the biology faculty members. Those with a Georgian Court biology GPA of less than 2.50 may be advised and required to change their major. A Georgian Court biology GPA of 2.50 is required for graduation.

All majors pursuing the B.S. or B.A. degree in Biology are required to take a department-administered Major Field Test before graduation.

Complement your scientific expertise with a minor in biology from GCU. This focus pairs well with other health and science majors to offer the added advantage of a specialty that can be utilized in the medical and science fields.

Minor Sequence

A minimum of 23 biology credits is required with a maximum of 12 credits of 100-level biology courses counting toward the total. At least 11 of the 23 biology credits must be earned at Georgian Court. A minimum GPA of 2.0 in biology courses is required. Only biology courses with a grade of C- or higher will be included in the 23 biology credits needed for the minor. Also required are 4 credits of chemistry.

Students interested in the Medical Laboratory Science program at Jersey Shore University Medical Center or the Medical Laboratory Science program at Monmouth Medical Center can pursue the Medical Laboratory Science Track in either the B.A. or B.S. in Biology. Students follow the designated track at GCU for three years, following the recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Pathology. For the fourth year, students take courses in medical technology at an affiliated hospital for GCU biology credits. After passing a nationally administered examination, they become registered medical technologists (MT-ASCP).

If you’re interested in our biology programs in the School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, here are other programs at GCU you might be interested in exploring:

• B.S. in Clinical Laboratory Sciences
• B.S. in Medical Imaging Sciences
• Pre-professional Programs for Medical Careers