B.A. Biology
The B.A. degree with a major in biology is ideal for students pursuing a double major or minors, those with cross-disciplinary interests, or students who do not require the additional math, chemistry, and physics coursework requirements found in the B.S. degree with a major in biology. For instance, most allied health programs do not require a full year of organic chemistry, calculus, or even physics. For many students, the B.A. in Biology offers a more appropriate and flexible alternative to the B.S. degree.
Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track
Contingent upon acceptance into the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track, students wishing to pursue a Master of Science in Biology at Valdosta State University may take up to 9 semester hours of graduate-level coursework (courses numbered 5000 or above) that will count toward Biology electives or general electives for the undergraduate degree.
Acceptance into the Accelerated track requires:
| 1. | Written notification by a Biology faculty member to the Biology Graduate Program Coordinator of her/his willingness to serve as the student's thesis advisor; |
| 2. | Completion of 90 semester hours of undergraduate coursework, at least 18 hours of which is in Biology; and |
| 3. | An overall GPA in undergraduate coursework of at least 3.0. |
Graduate courses taken as an undergraduate will count toward the 120-hour graduation requirement but will not count toward the student's undergraduate GPA or the calculation of academic honors.
Upon acceptance into the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track in Biology, students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing. Students who do not maintain good standing or who do not wish to continue with the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track in Biology may revert to their original track to complete the remaining requirements for the B.A. in Biology.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Curriculum | 60 | |
| Core IMPACTS (See VSU Core Curriculum) | 42 | |
| See VSU Core Curriculum, to include: | ||
| Mathematics and Quantitative Skills: | ||
| MATH 1113 | Precalculus | 3 |
| Arts, Humanities, & Ethics: | ||
| Foreign Language | 3 | |
| Technology, Mathematics, and Sciences: | ||
| MATH 1401 | Elementary Statistics | 3 |
| BIOL 1107 & 1107L | Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology Laboratory I | 4 |
| CHEM 1211 & 1211L | Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory I | 4 |
| Core Field of Study | ||
| Foreign Language | 6 | |
| Science 1 | 12-13 | |
| Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology Laboratory I | ||
| Principles of Biology II and Principles of Biology Laboratory II | ||
| History of the Life Sciences | ||
| Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
| Principles of Chemistry II and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory II | ||
Choose 1-2 courses (4 hours) from the list below, Carry over hours will satisfy general electives: | ||
| MATH 2261 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | 4 |
| or MATH 1501 | Calculus I | |
| MATH 1401 | Elementary Statistics | 3 |
| PHYS 1111K | Introductory Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 2211K | Principles of Physics I | 4 |
| BIOL 1050 | Human Biology | 3 |
| BIOL 1080 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| BIOL 2950 | Directed Research | 1-4 |
| DATA 1501 | Introduction to Data Science | 3 |
| DATA 2600 | Foundations of Data Science | 3 |
| CS 1010 | Algorithmic Problem Solving | 3 |
| GEOG 1112K | Introduction to Weather and Climate | 4 |
| GEOG 1113 & 1113L | Introduction to Landforms and Introduction to Landforms Lab | 4 |
| GEOL 1121K | Principles of Physical Geology | 4 |
| Senior College Curriculum | 60 | |
| Choose one course from three of the four areas: | ||
| Molecular & Cellular Biology (Area A): | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| Virology | ||
| Molecular Genetics | ||
| Laboratory Techniques in Biotechnology | ||
| Protein Biochemistry | ||
| Anatomy, Physiology & Developmental Biology (Area B): | ||
| Plant Physiology and Biotechnology | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Human Physiology | ||
| Biology of Horticulture | ||
| Morphology of Land Plants | ||
| Plant Anatomy | ||
| Human Anatomy | ||
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Developmental Biology | ||
| Vertebrate Histology | ||
| Comparative Biomechanics | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Aquatic Toxicology | ||
| Ecology & Evolution (Area C): | ||
| Biostatistics | ||
| Spatial Analysis | ||
| Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Plant Systematics | ||
| Plant Pathology | ||
| Wildlife Biology | ||
| Animal Behavior | ||
| Stream Ecology | ||
| Organismal Biology & Diversity (Area D): | ||
| Microbiology | ||
| Mycology | ||
| Biodiversity of Macrofungi | ||
| Phycology | ||
| Biodiversity of Macrofungi | ||
| Local Flora | ||
| Dendrology | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Vertebrate Zoology | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Medical and Veterinary Entomology | ||
| Parasitology | ||
| Ichthyology | ||
| Herpetology | ||
| Ornithology | ||
| Mammalogy | ||
| BIOL 4900 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| Foreign Languages | 6 | |
| General Electives (15 hours of upper level required) | 30-33 | |
| Upper Level Biology Electives | 11 | |
| Total hours required for the degree | 120 | |
Note:
1 Nine (9) hours of a single foreign language are required, which may include American Sign Language (ASL). If ASL is chosen then student must choose another Arts, Humanities, & Ethics course to satisfy Core IMPACTS requirements.
2 A minimum grade of "C" is required for all STEM including BIOL, CHEM, and MATH, DATA, GEOG, GEOL, CS courses that are taken as part of Core IMPACTS, Field of Study, or Senior Curriculum.
3 3000-level and above (but excluding BIOL 4830, BIOL 4840, BIOL 4850): BIOL 4950 is limited to 3 hours.
4 Carry over credits from core IMPACTS and Field of Study count towards general elective credits.
Contingent upon acceptance into the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track, students wishing to pursue a Master of Science in Biology at Valdosta State University may take up to 9 semester hours of graduate-level coursework (courses numbered 5000 or above) that will count toward Biology electives or general electives for the undergraduate degree.
Acceptance into the Accelerated track requires:| 1. | Written notification by a Biology faculty member to the Biology Graduate Program Coordinator of her/his willingness to serve as the student's thesis advisor. |
| 2. | Completion of 90 semester hours of undergraduate coursework, at least 18 hours of which are in Biology. |
| 3. | An overall GPA in undergraduate coursework of at least 3.0. |
Graduate courses taken as an undergraduate will count toward the 120-hour graduation requirement but will not count toward the student’s undergraduate GPA or the calculation of academic honors. Upon acceptance into the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track in Biology, students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing. Students who do not maintain good standing or who do not wish to continue with the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track in Biology may revert to their original track to complete the remaining requirements for the B.A. in Biology.
