Apr 20, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Biology (B.S.)

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50-62 Major Hours, 120 Degree Hours

Students in this major must also complete requirements for a degree in the College of Arts & Sciences .

Required Coursework

All students must complete 40 credit hours of Biology coursework for the major, including the Biology core (10 crs) and a Specialization that includes 30 upper-level (300 or above) BIOL credit hours, as stipulated below. No more than 1 credit hour of BIOL 494 Internship and 3 credit hours of BIOL 498 Undergraduate Research may be counted towards the requirement for the major. In addition, students must complete the nondepartmental requirements that pertain to their chosen Specialization.

  • Biology core courses 10 crs
  • Specialization (required of all students) 30 crs
  • Nondepartmental requirements 10-22 crs

Biology Core Requirements (10 hours)

All students complete the General Biology sequence (BIOL 151, 151L, 153, 153L), usually during their initial two semesters. Students must achieve a grade of “C” or better in the General Biology sequence in order to enroll in upper-level Biology courses. Students who choose to pursue a major in Biology after completing the BIOL 101/103 sequence (non-science major’s courses) should see the Biology Chair for advising.

SPECIALIZATION: CONSERVATION & BIODIVERSITY (30 hours)

Note:

Botany Course: All students must complete one designated botany course.
Lab Courses: All students must complete three upper-level Biology Lab courses (in addition to BIOL 311L).
BIOL 473 is required for students in this specialization and, therefore, may not be counted as a Conservation & Biodiversity distribution requirement as well.

Nondepartmental Requirements for Conservation & Biodiversity Specialization (10-14 hours)

Non-Departmental requirements may also be applied toward a minor or second major.

SPECIALIZATION: PHYSIOLOGY, CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (30 hours)

Note:

If BIOL 473 is taken as a required Specialization course, it does not fulfill a Biodiversity Course distribution option.

All students in the Physiology, Cell & Molecular Biology Specialization must complete the following distribution requirements:

Botany Course: All students must complete one designated botany course.
Lab Courses: All students must complete at least three upper-level Biology Lab courses.
 

Nondepartmental Requirements for Physiology, Cell & Molecular Biology Specialization (18-22 hours)

Complete one of the following introductory course sequences (8 hours)

Sequence One

Sequence Two

Complete one Math course and its corresponding lab, if applicable, (3-5 credit hours total) from the list below:

Complete one of the following advanced course sequences (7-9 hours)

Sequence One

Sequence Two

Sequence Three

Sequence Four

Sequence Five

SPECIALIZATION: HUMAN DYNAMICS (30 hours)

Non-Departmental Requirements for Human Dynamics Specialization (17 hours)

Non-Departmental requirements may also be applied toward a minor or second major.

Conservation & Biodiversity Course Group

Physiology, Cell & Molecular Course Group

Course Designation Key

B= Botany Course
L =Lab Course

Capstone Course Group

Any 498 course used for a capstone must have a semi-independent research component, including experimental design, data analysis, and presentation and be approved by the Biology department chair or designee.

Some capstone courses may also be used for distribution credit for other course groups or to fulfill Lab course requirements.

Secondary Education - Biology Education specialization(B.S.Ed.)

See Secondary Education-Biology Education specialization (B.S.Ed.)  for requirements.

 

Four-Year Program Guides and Costs

USD encourages students to take 15 credits per semester or 30 credits within the year in order to graduate in 4 years. To help students complete their academic degree program in four years, we provide a sample academic plan. Please work with your academic advisor to confirm your plan.

Related programs:

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will design, evaluate, and implement a strategy to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.
  2. Students will recognize when there is a need for information and identify, locate, evaluate and effectively and responsibly use and convey that information to address the need or problem at hand.
  3. Students will interact with other students and evaluate the effort put into team tasks, interactions with others, and the quantity and quality made to team discussions.
  4. Students will comprehensively explore issues, ideas, artifacts and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion, and combine or synthesize existing ideas, images or expertise in original ways reflecting a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk taking.
  5. Students will be able to systematically explore issues, objects or works through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions or judgments, and break down complex topics or issues into parts to gain a better understanding of them.
  6. Students will demonstrate that they have developed understanding of core concepts appropriate to biology.  Students are expected to demonstrate basic understanding of five core concepts deemed relevant to all biology students: Evolution, Structure/Function Relationships, Information Flow, Energy Transformations, and Interactions of Systems.    Understanding as it relates to each specialization (either (a) Conservation & Biodiversity, or (b) Physiology, Cell & Molecular Biology) will be assessed in the courses particular to that specialization.
  7. Students will demonstrate their ability to apply the processes of science.  
  8. Students will demonstrate proficiency in a laboratory or field setting appropriate to their specialization.
  9. Students will demonstrate competency in quantitative reasoning, and analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of data.
  10. Students will demonstrate that they can write effectively in a manner appropriate to biology.

State Authorization - It Matters Where You Live

If your learning placement course (internship, externship, clinical, rotation, practicum, independent study, study away, etc.) or your online course will be taken outside South Dakota, please reference the State Authorization webpage.

State Authorization

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