Program of Study (CAS Bulletin)

Biology (2020 - 2022)

Major in Biology (Bachelor of Arts): General Information

Three options are available to students pursuing a major in biology. The standard biology track gives majors a broad background, with the laboratory, quantitative, and reasoning skills needed for today’s biology. The ecology track also provides students with a broad background in modern biology, but with a focus on ecological concepts, approaches, and analytical methods. It is primarily intended for students planning to pursue graduate study in ecology or a related field. Finally, the global public health/science major with a concentration in biology provides students with strong foundations in biological science and global public health, with a focus on one of three emphasis areas: genetics and genomics, infectious diseases, or environmental health.

Each biology major is assigned a faculty adviser from the department and meets with that professor to select courses in the context of the student’s academic and career goals. Faculty advisers also guide students in pursuing opportunities for curricular enhancement, such as research experiences and study away.

To permit the maximal choice of appropriate upper-level courses, we strongly recommend that students take Principles of Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 11, 12), General Chemistry I and II and Laboratories (CHEM-UA 125, 126), and calculus in the first year. Detailed additional information on course planning is available through the department web site and should be discussed with the faculty adviser. Programs of majors must be approved each term by a department adviser. All courses counted toward the major must be completed with a grade of C or better.

Standard Biology Track

The standard track of the biology major requires 16 courses (70 points), as follows.

Biology core courses (four courses/16 points):

  • Principles of Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 11, 12)
    NOTE: Biology majors are not required to register for the 1-credit Principles of Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 123). It is intended for prehealth students not majoring in biology.
  • Molecular and Cell Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 21, 22)
    NOTE: Students may also register for the optional 1-credit Molecular and Cell Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 223) concurrently with MCB I (BIOL-UA 21).

Five upper-level biology courses (five courses/20 points):

  • Biology majors must complete five additional 4-point upper-level biology courses. In consultation with their adviser or with the director of undergraduate studies, students select at least one course from each of the following three skill categories, plus two additional electives:
    1. Laboratory skill courses: "At the Bench" or research courses
    2. Quantitative skill courses: math, computational, and modeling courses
    3. Reasoning skill courses: reading-intensive courses

The two additional upper-level electives may be satisfied either by taking advanced biology courses (electives covering key areas of biology) or by taking additional reasoning, quantitative, or laboratory skills courses. A current list of advanced biology courses and of courses satisfying each category above is maintained on the official web site of the department of biology.

Additional courses required for biology standard track majors (seven courses/34 points):

  • Chemistry (four courses/20 points):
    • General Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 125, 126)
    • Organic Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 225, 226)
  • Physics (two courses/10 points):
    • General Physics I and II (PHYS-UA 11, 12)
  • Mathematics (one course/4 points):
    • Calculus I (MATH-UA 121)

Ecology Track

The ecology track of the biology major requires 16 courses (69 points), as follows.

Ecology core courses (four courses/16 points):

  • Principles of Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 11, 12)
    NOTE: Biology majors are not required to register for the 1-credit Principles of Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 123). It is intended for prehealth students not majoring in biology.
  • Molecular and Cell Biology I (BIOL-UA 21)
    NOTE: Students may also register for the optional 1-credit Molecular and Cell Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 223) concurrently with MCB I (BIOL-UA 21).
  • Fundamentals of Ecology (BIOL-UA 63)

Five upper-level biology courses (five courses/20 points):

  • Biology majors must complete five additional 4-point upper-level biology courses. In consultation with their adviser or with the director of undergraduate studies, students select at least one course from each of the following three skill categories, plus two additional electives:
    1. Laboratory skill courses: "At the Bench" or research courses
    2. Quantitative skill courses: math, computational, and modeling courses
    3. Reasoning skill courses: reading-intensive courses

The two additional upper-level electives may be satisfied either by taking advanced biology courses (electives covering key areas of biology) or by taking additional reasoning, quantitative, or laboratory skills courses. A current list of advanced biology courses and of courses satisfying each category above is maintained on the official web site of the Department of Biology. Note that the set of courses that may be used as electives for the ecology track is not identical to the set that may be used for the standard biology track.

Additional courses required for ecology track majors (seven courses/34 points):

  • Chemistry (four courses/20 points):
    • General Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 125, 126)
    • Organic Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 225, 226)
  • Physics (one course/5 points):
    • General Physics I (PHYS-UA 11)
  • Mathematics (two courses/8 points):
    • Calculus I (MATH-UA 121)
    • Calculus II (MATH-UA 122) or Linear Algebra (MATH-UA 140)

Global Public Health/Science Major with Concentration in Biology

The global public health/science major with concentration in biology requires 22 courses (94 points). Students in this combined major must consult with the DUS or departmental liaison with GPH in the Department of Biology to work out a course plan, especially as this major requires students to study away for one semester. Students must also plan and schedule carefully for their College Core Curriculum requirements.

Global public health requirements (six courses/24 points):

  • Health and Society in a Global Context (UGPH-GU 10)
  • Epidemiology for Global Health (UGPH-GU 30)
  • Health Policy in a Global World (UGPH-GU 40)
  • Environmental Health in a Global World (UGPH-GU 50)
  • GPH Internship (UGPH-GU 60)
  • Biostatistics (BIOL-UA 42)

One foreign language course past the intermediate two level (4 points):

  • This requirement is set by CAS, not by the College of Public Health (GPH). Students who present AP or other advanced standing credit that is equivalent to completion of at least one course above intermediate two have satisfied the requirement. Students who take an NYU language placement or exemption exam and demonstrate proficiency equivalent to completion of at least one course above the intermediate two level (i.e., they place into at least the second course above intermediate two) have also met this major requirement. (Note that placement exam results are not sufficient to satisfy the core graduation requirement in foreign language; students who earn a qualifying score on a placement exam are eligible to take the exemption exam in that language.) Note that students who satisfy this major requirement with the results of an NYU language placement or exemption exam must take an additional 4-point course (third major elective) in their CAS department or in GPH. Please note: this language requirement does not apply to students who matriculate in and after fall 2021; they instead must take an additional 4-point course (third major elective) in their CAS department or in GPH.

Biology core courses (four courses/16 points):

  • Principles of Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 11, 12)
    NOTE: Biology majors are not required to register for the 1-credit Principles of Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 123). It is intended for prehealth students not majoring in biology.
  • Molecular and Cell Biology I and II (BIOL-UA 21, 22)
    NOTE: It is strongly recommended that students in this combined major take the optional 1-credit Molecular and Cell Biology Lab (BIOL-UA 223) concurrently with MCB I (BIOL-UA 21).

Biology emphasis area (two courses/8 points):

  • Students select two upper-level biology courses from one of these three areas:
    1. Genetics and genomics
    2. Infectious diseases
    3. Environmental health

A current list of courses satisfying each area is maintained on the official web site of the Department of Biology.

Additional required courses in science and mathematics (seven courses/34 points):

  • Chemistry (four courses/20 points):
    • General Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 125, 126)
    • Organic Chemistry and Laboratory I and II (CHEM-UA 225, 226)
  • Physics (two courses/10 points):
    • General Physics I and II (PHYS-UA 11, 12)
  • Mathematics (one course/4 points):
    • Calculus I (MATH-UA 121)

Major electives (two courses/8 points):

  • One additional biology elective must be completed. A current list of courses approved as electives is maintained on the official web site of the Department of Biology.
  • A second elective must be completed that either is one of these approved Biology electives or an elective approved by the GPH program.
    • Students who matriculated before fall 2021 and are granted a waiver/exemption from the major's language requirement (above) must take a third major elective for 4 points.
    • Students who matriculate in and after fall 2021 are not required to take one language course above the intermediate level for this major; however, they must take a third major elective for 4 points.

All majors must also study away for one semester.

For descriptions of UGPH-GU courses and for all policies applying to the major (including those for transfer students), please see the Global Public Health section of this Bulletin.

Minors

The department offers four minors in biology designed to hone skills in one of four contemporary areas: molecular and cell biology, genetics, genomics and bioinformatics, or environmental biology.

The following courses (completed with grades of C or higher) are required for the specific minors. Students interested in one of the minors offered in biology should consult the director of undergraduate studies as early as possible to plan a course of study that meets their needs. Each minor consists of five 4-point courses plus one 1-point lab (21 points).

Minor in molecular and cell biology: BIOL-UA 11, 12, 21, and 22; either BIOL-UA 123 or BIOL-UA 223; At the Bench: Applied Cell Biology (BIOL-UA 37)

Minor in genetics: BIOL-UA 11, 12, and 21; either BIOL-UA 123 or BIOL-UA 223; either Genetics (BIOL-UA 30) or Biostatistics and Human Genetics (BIOL-UA 45); either At the Bench: Laboratory in Genetics (BIOL-UA 31) or At the Bench: Epigenetics (BIOL-UA 130)

Minor in genomics and bioinformatics: BIOL-UA 11, 12, and 21; either BIOL-UA 123 or BIOL-UA 223; either Genome Biology (BIOL-UA 38) or Bioinformatics in Medicine and Biology (BIOL-UA 103) or Fundamentals of Bioinformatics (BIOL-UA 124); one of the following: Microbiology and Microbial Genomics (BIOL-UA 44), Special Topics: Computing with Large Data Sets (BIOL-UA 120), Programming for Biologists (BIOL-GA 1007), Biological Databases and Data Mining (BIOL-GA 1009), Bioinformatics and Genomes (BIOL-GA 1127), Systems Biology (BIOL-GA 1128), or Applied Genomics: Introduction to Bioinformatics and Network Modeling (BIOL-GA 1130).

Minor in environmental biology: BIOL-UA 11, 12; BIOL-UA 123, or the equivalent; one of the following laboratory courses: Ecological Field Methods (BIOL-UA 16), Ecological Analysis with Geographic Information Systems (BIOL-UA 64), or Environmental and Molecular Analysis of Disease (BIOL-UA 500); two of the following: Biostatistics (BIOL-UA 42), Evolution (BIOL-UA 58), Fundamentals of Ecology (BIOL-UA 63), Biogeochemistry of Global Change (BIOL-UA 66), New York Underground (BIOL-UA 327), Current Topics in Earth System Sciences (BIOL-UA 332), or Urban Ecology (BIOL-UA 390).

Honors Program

Candidates for a degree with honors in biology must have an overall GPA of at least 3.65 and a minimum 3.65 GPA in all science and mathematics courses required for the major. It is the student's responsibility to secure a faculty member to sponsor the research and to provide laboratory space and equipment. All research credits should be completed by the end of the junior year.

In addition to all courses required for the biology major, students pursuing honors must also complete the following three courses (10 points):

  • One semester of either Independent Study (BIOL-UA 997, 998; 4 points per term) or Internship (BIOL-UA 980, 981; 4 points per term). Department approval of laboratory-based research is required. Application forms are available in the department. For biology majors on the standard track or on the ecology track, this research course may count as one of the five required upper-level elective courses. For GPH/science majors with concentration in biology, this research course may count as one of the two additional major electives (not as an emphasis area elective). Note that GPH/science majors with concentration in biology must also take Experiential Learning (UGPH-GU 60) as part of the core GPH requirements. It is recommended that honors track students enroll in section 002 (Individual Project) of UGPH-GU 60 while engaged in mentored research (but not in the same semester as BIOL-UA 980, 981, 997, or 998).
  • Becoming a Scientist (BIOL-UA 995, 4 points): must be taken in the fall semester before graduation.
  • Undergraduate Research Thesis (BIOL-UA 999, 2 points): must be taken in the final semester. Students prepare a written thesis based on the research results from their independent study or internship experience and defend the thesis at an oral examination before a faculty committee. Application forms, available at the biology departmental office, must be submitted by the beginning of the final semester.

General Information

Advanced Placement

Students who achieve a score of 4 or 5 on the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Examination in Biology (or have equivalent international exam credits) are exempted from taking the Principles of Biology I, II sequence. However, because of medical, dental, and other professional school requirements, students on the pre-health track cannot place out of Principles of Biology.

AP (or equivalent international exam credits) in chemistry cannot count toward any majors or minors offered by the Department of Biology, or substitute for General Chemistry I, II (CHEM-UA 125, 126) wherever this sequence is a corequisite or prerequisite for any BIOL-UA course.

Suggested Course Plans

For reference, suggested four-year course plans for biology majors, including those on the pre-health track and those in the global public health/science major with concentration in biology, are available on the official web site of the Department of Biology.

Study Away

Opportunities for study away that are appropriate for biology majors are available on the official web site of the Department of Biology.

Graduate Courses

A number of courses in specialized fields are offered at the graduate level. Courses at the BIOL-GA 1000 level are available to undergraduates who have the necessary prerequisites. To take any of the relevant BIOL-GA 1000-level graduate courses in biology, students must obtain the approval of the course instructor and the director of undergraduate studies and have their registration material approved in the department's graduate office.