Biology (Bachelor of Science, B.S.)

A Bachelor of Science in Biology provides a strong foundation in science while allowing you to tailor a focus to match your interests. It is ideal for students seeking a career as a professional biologist or researcher or planning to apply to graduate school, medical, dental or veterinary medicine school.

General Biology students study life and living organisms, including their physical and chemical structure, function, development and evolution. A degree in Biology opens opportunities in hundreds of areas. Our students go on to be teachers, researchers, doctors, dentists, conservationists, ecologists, environmentalists, paleontologists and so much more. Being a biology major leads to numerous opportunities for lab and field research, teaching assistant positions, and presenting and publishing original research.

The concentration in Health Science is designed to prepare students for entry into graduate and professional schools in many medical fields, including medicine, veterinary, dental and more. We also have program agreements for early entry or pre-admission into select chiropractic, osteopathic and allopathic medical schools.

Students who choose this bachelor degree program will have no more than 6 years from admission or subsequent declaration to meet the requirements listed below. If certification, accreditation or statutory requirements change and additional requirements become effective during this time, the new requirements take precedence.

General Studies42
Students must complete General Studies courses
Core Requirements45-46
BIO 105Principles of Organismal Biology4
BIO 106Principles of Cell Biology4
BIO 205Genetics4
BIO 225Ecology4
CHE 111General Chemistry I5
CHE 120General Chemistry II with Qualitative Analysis5
CHE 310Organic Chemistry I3
CHE 311Organic Chemistry Laboratory I2
CHE 370Biochemistry I4
MAT 111Introductory Statistics3-4
or MAT 111E Introductory Statistics
MAT 116College Algebra3
PHY 110College Physics I4
Select one of the following:
Major in Biology (No Concentration)24
Major in Biology (Health Science Concentration)24-25

Concentration:
Health Science

 Major in Biology (No Concentration)

Select 24 additional credit hours from biology courses numbered 300 or higher from the following:24
Plant Morphology
History and Philosophy of the Natural Sciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Animal Physiology
Ornithology
Introduction to Paleontology
Plant Systematics and Applications
Ichthyology
Development of Federal Wildlife Law
Pathophysiology
Herpetology
Microbiology
Developmental Biology
Invertebrate Biology
Vertebrate Biology
Medical Parasitology
Mammalogy
Animal Behavior
Biology Teaching Practicum 1
Immunology
Biology Internship 1
Molecular Basis of Disease
Plant Physiology
Virology
Independent Research/Project 1
Entomology
Aquatic Ecology
Total Credit Hours24
1

No more than four credit hours combined of BIO 420 Biology Teaching Practicum, BIO 425 Biology Internship, and BIO 450 Independent Research/Project.

Health Science Concentration

The courses required for this concentration should prepare the student interested in a health and preprofessional program to apply and, if admitted, to succeed in the health professional program of their choice. Students selecting the Health Science concentration must be aware that additional courses may be needed to complete the admission requirements for the health professional program that they are interested in. 

Health Science Electives
Select five courses from the following:20-21
Anatomy and Physiology
Molecular Cell Biology
Animal Physiology
Microbiology
Developmental Biology
Vertebrate Biology
Medical Parasitology
Immunology
Molecular Basis of Disease
Virology
Science Electives:
Select three to four credit hours of biology or chemistry courses numbered 300 or higher 13-4
Total Concentration Hours24-25
1

 No more than four credit hours combined of BIO 420 Biology Teaching Practicum, BIO 425 Biology Internship, and BIO 450 Independent Research/Project.

Program Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.

University Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
  2. Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses.  Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
  3. Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
  4. Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments. 
  5. Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
  6. Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.