Biology

Students interested in Biology programs are requested to seek counselling from an undergraduate academic Advisor.

BSc Biology Major

Bachelor of Science students pursuing a major in Biology must complete the following required and elective courses. A recommended sequence is outlined below:

First Year

  1. BIOL 1017, BIOL 1105, and BIOL 1205.
  2. CHEM 1041, CHEM 1046, CHEM 1072, and CHEM 1077.
  3. MATH 1001 or MATH 1003.
  4. STAT 1793.
  5. GEOL 1044 and 5 ch of Physics courses.
  6. And a minimum of 6 ch in approved electives*, for a total of 40 ch. 

Second Year

  1. BIOL 2585 and BIOL 2615, plus three of BIOL 2015, BIOL 2065, BIOL 2125, BIOL 2245, or BIOL 2485.
  2. CHEM 2411.
  3. STAT 2793 .
  4. A minimum of 9 ch in approved electives*.

It is expected that students will take a minimum of 36 ch during their second year.

Third and Fourth Years

  1. BIOL 3022 and 39 ch of advanced Biology courses. This can include BIOL 4090 and the two remaining second-year elective Biology courses (BIOL 2015, BIOL 2065, BIOL 2125, BIOL 2245, or BIOL 2485).
  2. A minimum of 18 ch of approved electives*.
  3. A total of at least 137 ch is required for graduation.

*the electives must bring the total credit hours counting towards the program to 137; a minimum of 12 ch of the electives must be from non-Biology subjects.

BSc Biology Honours

Students intending to apply to the Honours program are advised to consult with their intended faculty member supervisor at the beginning of their third year. An Honours student must complete the requirements for their major and complete BIOL 4090 (Honours Project) as one of their required upper level Biology courses.

An Honours student must achieve a minimum final CGPA of 3.7 to obtain First Class Honours standing upon graduation. A student completing all course requirements for the Honours program but having a CGPA below 3.0 will be given a Majors degree upon graduation.

Zoology Specialization

Students in the Biology major or Honours programs can specialize in Zoology. Courses for the Zoology specialization (28ch total) include the required courses BIOL 3625 (5ch) and BIOL 3715 (5ch) in addition to 18ch from the following courses that have designated Zoology content: 

BIOL 3055, BIOL 3635, BIOL 3714, BIOL 3755, BIOL 3776, BIOL 3922, BIOL 3953, BIOL 3973, BIOL 3983, BIOL 3993, BIOL 4325, BIOL 4445, BIOL 4645, or BIOL 4935.

Information on the specific courses required for this specialization is also available from the Department of Biological Sciences. 

Biology Minor Program

The minor in Biology is designed for students who are not majoring in a Biology field (e.g. Environmental Biology, General Biology, Marine Biology, Biology-Psychology), but are interested in a coherent package of Biology courses. The minor follows Section V in the “University Wide Academic Regulations” of the Undergraduate Academic Calendar and consists of departmentally approved BIOL courses totaling a minimum of 24 ch with a minimum grade of C in each course. Students requiring BIOL courses for their major are not eligible to also count these courses towards a Biology minor.  See Additional Notes below.

The Biology Minor program must consist of:

  1. A minimum of 24 ch of Biology courses.
  2. BIOL 1017, BIOL 1105, and BIOL 1205 (unless required for their major)
  3. At least one 2000 level BIOL course (e.g. BIOL 2015, BIOL 2065, BIOL 2125, BIOL 2245, BIOL 2485, BIOL 2585, or BIOL 2615). Cross-listed courses may be included (e.g. CHEM 2065).
  4. A minimum of 8 ch of 3000-4000 level Biology courses including at least 1 ch of lab credit.

 Additional Notes: