CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS REQUIREMENTS

In addition to Chem 111A-112A and the accompanying laboratory courses Chem 151-152, biology majors are required to take Chem 261 and either 262 or 401; Physics 117A-118A (or Physics 197-198); Math 131 (Calculus I), and Math 132 (Calculus II). For students entering the university Fall 2012 or later, the mathematics requirement is changed to Math 132 and one of the following: Math 201, Math 2200, Math 233, or Math 3200. Courses taken in University College, Washington University's evening school, do not meet these requirements. Students who plan to take physical chemistry must take Math 233 (Calculus III). Math 2200 or 3200 (Elementary Probability and Statistics; required for tracks in Ecology and Evolution track and in Genomics and Computational Biology, see pp. 4-5) and Math 322 (Biostatistics) are valuable, particularly for students interested in research.

ADVANCED BIOLOGY REQUIREMENT

At least eighteen units in advanced Biology courses (numbered 300 or above) are required. These eighteen units may not include Biology 303A, 307A, 340A, 387, 388, 390W, 393, 487, 488, cross-listed courses originating in other departments (except Biol 360, 4202, 4580, 4810 and 4820, which count as biology major credit despite external origins), or more than three units of history-of-science courses. At least one of the approved advanced laboratory courses in biology must be completed. Courses that fulfill the requirement for an advanced biology laboratory are listed on the next page. Up to 6 units of Bio 500 may be counted toward the 18 upper-level units required for the biology major.

* Optional biology courses of interest to prospective majors are offered in fall of freshman year: Biol 112 (Introduction to Problem-Based Learning in Biology), Biol 181 (Freshman Seminar in Biology), Biol 1910 (Freshman Seminar in Imaging Sciences), Bio 191 (Phage Hunters Laboratory), Bio 2950 (Introduction to Environmental Biology).

LABORATORY REQUIREMENT

Two units of formal upper-level laboratory course work are required for the biology major. Students planning to pursue research careers in the biomedical sciences are strongly urged to take additional lab courses. NOTE: Biology 500 does not satisfy the laboratory course requirement for the biology major.

Provides two units of lab credit:

• Biol 3110 Vertebrate Structure Laboratory (fall)
• Biol 3491 Microbiology Laboratory (spring)
• Biol 3492 Laboratory Experiments with Eukaryotic Microbes (spring)
• Biol 360 Biophysics Laboratory (fall)
• Biol 404 Laboratory of Neurophysiology (fall)
• Biol 4193 Experimental Ecology Laboratory (spring)
• Biol 4330 Electron Microscopy of Cellular Processes (spring)
• Biol 4342/434W Research Explorations in Genomics (spring)
• Biol 437 Lab of DNA Manipulation (fall/May)
• Biol 4520 Protein Function in Model Cellular Systems (fall)
• Biol 4522 Laboratory in Protein Biochemistry (spring)

Students can declare a major in Biology online through WebSTAC under Major Programs. Upon declaring a major in biology, typically during sophomore year, a student gets a major advisor from the Biology Department faculty. Students can request specific Biology major advisors when placing a major declaration request. Each student then consults both a four-year advisor and a Biology major advisor each semester. Major advisors typically discuss course schedules, academic progress, career objectives, pre-professional testing (e.g. MCAT, GRE), medical-school applications, research interests, and internships. An academic program and extracurricular endeavors are thereby personally tailored to each student. Pre-professional students also consult the Life Sciences Advising Program (205 South Brookings Hall, x5-6897), which guides students in applying to professional schools in life sciences (e. g. medical, dental, veterinary schools).

GRADES

All courses counted toward requirements of a biology major must be taken for a letter grade if a letter grade is offered.  A grade of C- or better must be earned in all of these courses.

RESEARCH EMPHASIS

An optional research emphasis pertains equally to students completing the biology major with or without one of the optional tracks. The research emphasis and an appropriate grade performance qualify a student for Latin honors. A student who fulfills the research emphasis but who does not meet the grade requirements for honors receives a research milestone on the transcript. See the description of honors requirements (p. 9) for details on qualifying for Latin honors. The research emphasis comprises the following work.

1. Six units of independent work (BIO 500). In most cases, research leading to a research emphasis starts no later than spring of the junior year. Most students spend full time devoted to this research the summer following their junior year and complete their work during the senior year.

2. A paper written by the student that is judged by mentor to be worthy of recognition. The paper should be written in the style of a scientific article for a professional journal, with abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. The research thesis should reflect substantial effort. The introduction should put the work into biological context and thoroughly review relevant literature. The methods section should be more extensive than a journal article's and should demonstrate that the student understands the methods used. Results and discussion may be combined or presented separately. Tables, figures, and bibliographies should be used to present results and should be in standard journal-style form. Extensive or complete results are not required for a thesis to be acceptable. Discussion of incomplete results and problems encountered may be appropriate when experiments have not yielded significant results. Because a student rarely completely solves a problem within the available time, an indication of what should be done next is often appropriate.

3. A mentor's letter certifying acceptability of the thesis MUST accompany the thesis. IMPORTANT: No candidate is approved for graduation with a research emphasis in biology unless all requirements are met. An oral examination may be held at the discretion of the Department.

4. Presentation of the honors thesis work in the form of a poster or short talk at the spring Undergraduate Research Symposium.

TIME TABLE -Research theses are due the Monday following spring break of the senior year. (Students graduating in December have a different deadline - consult Ms. Jessica Ochoa.) To have an acceptable thesis, students must begin writing and submit draft versions of each part of their honors thesis to their mentors to get feedback well before this deadline. Students should consult their mentors about an appropriate timetable by the end of the Fall semester of senior year. Generally, writing should begin no later than January (start of spring semester) and preliminary drafts of sections should be presented to mentors for feedback beginning early in February. There should be several rounds of revision and discussion among mentor, possibly others in the lab (bench mentor and others who are familiar with the project) and the student to generate the final version. The process is akin to writing a manuscript for publication, and students should seek advice as would any researcher presenting results for publication. Mentor approval is required on the final version. If a mentor has not seen and approved the final version prior to the deadline, the department will NOT recommend the student for a research emphasis. The spring Undergraduate Research Symposium is normally scheduled between the last day of spring-semester classes and the start of final examinations. If any delay or problem in submitting an acceptable thesis by the deadline is anticipated/suspected, a student and/or mentor must discuss the problem with the department (begin by notifying Ms. Jessica Ochoa) as soon as possible.

HONORS IN BIOLOGY

To qualify for Latin honors in biology a student must meet the following requirements. For requirements 1, 2, and 3, only courses taken at Washington University are considered.
1. B+ average (3.3) or better in biology courses.
2. Cumulative average of B+ (3.3) or better in the related science subjects required (math, chemistry, and physics)
3. Overall 3.65 average (for students entering Fall 2010 or earlier, overall 3.5 average).
4. Completion of the Research Emphasis (see above)

COURSES FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES

Some courses from other universities may substitute for Washington University courses. Such substitutions must be approved by the Biology Department prior to enrollment. Contact Allan Larson (larson@wustl.edu) for approval of biology courses. For approval of chemistry, mathematics and physics courses required by the biology major, contact the home department to ensure that transfer credit will appear on your record with the same course number that we require.

WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSES

The College of Arts and Sciences requires each student to take an upper-level writing-intensive (WI) course (at least 3 credits).  The WI course must be taken after achieving junior status (level 5 or above).  Any course formally approved as WI may be used to satisfy this requirement, and a grade of C+ or better must be earned.  The following courses in biology may be used to satisfy the WI requirement: Biol 3492 (Laboratory Experiments with Eukaryotic Microbes), Biol 404 (Laboratory of Neurophysiology), Biol 4193 (Experimental Ecology Laboratory), Biol 427 (Problem-Based Learning in the Biomedical Sciences), Biol 434W (Research Explorations in Genomics [Writing Intensive]).  Other writing-intensive courses of particular interest to Biology majors include EComp 309 (Writing the Natural World), EComp 311 (Exposition), EComp 3112 Exposition: Writing and Medicine, EComp 312 (Argumentation), and Psych 4046 (Developmental Neuropsychology).