Mar 28, 2024  
Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2017-2018 
    
Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG] See drop-down menu above to access other catalogs.

Biology, BA


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Department: Biological Sciences  

The BA degree is designed for the biology major who wishes to use biological knowledge in pursuit of a career outside of biology. Examples of such careers are teaching elementary education, science writing, scientific illustration, technical sales or publishing. By carefully selecting biology courses and adding particular courses in chemistry, physics and mathematics beyond the BA requirements, a BA degree holder may qualify for many of the career opportunities listed under the BS.

Grade Requirement


Students must receive a minimum grade of “C-” for the biology core courses BIOL 121  and BIOL 122 . Only one grade below “C-” earned in a course taught in the department and outside of the biology core shall be accepted to fulfill the requirements of the bachelor’s degree. Students receiving a grade below “C-” in additional courses may continue in the major but must repeat and successfully complete the course with the grade of “C-” or higher or complete another course that fulfills the same required “area” for the major.

To qualify for a degree in biology, the student must have a major grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher. The following courses may not be applied toward the Biology major and thus cannot be computed as part of the major GPA: BIOL 100, BIOL 110, BIOL 111, BIOL 112, BIOL 115, BIOL 117, BIOL 119 and BIOL 128.

Course Requirements


Required courses (16 credits)


Electives (18-24 credits)


Complete a minimum of an additional 18 credits of biology, according to the following:

  • two courses at or above the 200-level
  • two courses at the 300-level*
  • two courses at the 400-level*

Only three credits in total from a combination of the following courses may be applied to the BA program: BIOL 396 - Research Problems in Biology , BIOL 485 - Honors Thesis , BIOL 497 - Undergraduate Biological Research , BIOL 498 - Internship in Biology , BIOL 499 - Directed Study in Biology .

Please note: A course is defined as a minimum of three credits. Courses of variable credit must be bundled into units of three credits to count as one course. Courses taken outside of Bridgewater State University require departmental approval.

*As part of the 300- and 400-level required courses, complete the upper-level Writing Designated within the Major course requirement (CWRM), selecting one of the following:

Total minimum credits: 42


Core Curriculum Requirements


A minimum of 120 earned credit hours is required for graduation. These earned hours include the Core Curriculum Requirements as specified in the Undergraduate Academic Programs  section of this catalog and at the Core Curriculum website, www.bridgew.edu/corecurriculum. For additional graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures  section of this catalog.

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