Department of Biology Curriculum

The B.S. in biology, B.A. in biology, and B.S. in marine science–biology majors offered through the Department of Biology share as their foundation the biology core curriculum and three categories of upper division biology courses. Some individual courses within the biology core require a minimum grade of “C” to progress as noted in the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog.

Biology Core Curriculum

The biology core curriculum consists of the following nine courses:

BIO 198General Biology I

3

BIO 198LGeneral Biology I Laboratory

1

BIO 199General Biology II

3

BIO 199LGeneral Biology II Laboratory

1

BIO 200Genetics

4

BIO 410Senior Seminar

1

or

BIO 420Recent Discoveries in Biology

1

BIO 411Biology Outcomes Capstone

0

CHE 152General Chemistry I

3

CHE 153LGeneral Chemistry I Laboratory

1

CHE 154General Chemistry II

3

CHE 155LGeneral Chemistry II Laboratory

1

MAT 260Calculus I

4

Total Credit Hours:25

Student must take BIO 200 as part of the Biology Core Curriculum. 

BIO 440, BIO 445, BIO 450 or BIO 495 may be substituted for BIO 410 or BIO 420 if an oral presentation is made with approval of department chair.

Biology Lower Core Curriculum

A subset of the biology core curriculum is referred to as the biology lower-core. All students regardless of major or minor must complete these core courses with a 2.0 (“C” level work) combined minimum GPA calculated based on biology lower-core courses completed at The University of Tampa before they will be eligible to register for any of the upper-division BIO (numbered above 199) , MAR (numbered above 200) or select ENS 235, ENS 242, ENS 307, ENS 346, ENS 349 courses. Additionally, some individual courses within the lower-core require a minimum grade of “C” to progress as noted in the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog.

The biology lower-core curriculum consists of the following seven courses:
BIO 198General Biology I

3

BIO 198LGeneral Biology I Laboratory

1

BIO 199General Biology II

3

BIO 199LGeneral Biology II Laboratory

1

CHE 152General Chemistry I

3

CHE 153LGeneral Chemistry I Laboratory

1

CHE 154General Chemistry II

3

CHE 155LGeneral Chemistry II Laboratory

1

MAT 170Precalculus

4

Total Credit Hours:16-20

MAT 170: May be waived if student is placed directly into MAT 260 Calculus I. Students should investigate graduate admission requirements early in their UT program of study, because mathematics requirements vary widely (e.g., MAT 260 Calculus II and/or BIO 230/MAT 201 Statistics). WRI 281 is strongly recommended for those students planning to attend graduate or professional school.

Upper-Division Biology Courses

Most majors offered through the biology department share the following upper-division classes offered in three distinct categories: cellular biology/physiology (Category I), organismal biology (Category II) , and ecology / evolution / environmental biology (Category III). These categories are used within majors and concentrations to achieve the learning outcomes within those specific programs. Specifically, upper-division biology courses are BIO courses numbered above 199, MAR courses numbered above 200 or ENS 235, ENS 242, ENS 307, ENS 346, ENS 349, not including BIO 410, BIO 420. BIO 440, BIO 445, BIO 450, BIO 480, BIO 490 and BIO 495.

Category I Cellular Biology/Physiology Courses

BIO 227Ecological Physiology

4

BIO 301Stem Cell Biology

4

BIO 307Microbiology

4

BIO 310Developmental Biology

4

BIO 315Virology

4

BIO 330Comparative Animal Physiology

4

BIO 350Cell Biology

4

BIO 355Biodiversity Genetics

4

BIO 360Immunology

4

BIO 370Molecular Biology

4

BIO 390Essentials of Electron Microscopy

4

BIO 408Bioinformatics and Genomics

4

BIO 409Programming for Biology

4

CHE 317Foundations of Biochemistry

4

or

CHE 320Biochemistry

3

ENS 307Environmental Microbiology

4

Category II Organismal Biology Courses

BIO 224Invertebrate Zoology

4

BIO 225Vertebrate Zoology

4

BIO 228Biology of Plants

4

BIO 250Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy

4

BIO 302Clinical Anatomy

4

BIO 317Parasitology

4

BIO 340Ichthyology

4

BIO 345Field Ornithology

4

BIO 405Human Evolution

4

BIO 407Fermentation Microbiology

3

BIO 407AFermented Foods: From Art to Science

1

MAR 226Marine Invertebrate Zoology

4

MAR 327Marine Botany

4

MAR 344Coral Reefs

2-4

MAR 344LCoral Reefs Laboratory

0-4

Category III Ecology/Evolution/Environmental Biology Courses

BIO 205Tropical Biology and Conservation

4

BIO 212Ecology

4

BIO 230Experimental Design and Biostatistics

4

ENS 235Geographic Information Systems

4

ENS 242Environmental Science and Policy

4

ENS 346Conservation Biology

4

ENS 349Water, Wetlands and Wildlife

4

BIO 380Behavioral Biology

4

BIO 395Disease Ecology

4

BIO 400Evolution

4

BIO 401On the Origin of Species

2-4

BIO 401ADarwin’s London

2-4

MAR 201Marine Geology

4

MAR 222Marine Ecology

4

MAR 310Biological Oceanography

4

Students may not count credits for both BIO 212 and MAR 222, BIO 224 and MAR 226, BIO 307 and ENS 307, CHE 317 and CHE 320 toward the degree requirements in any major or minor in biology or, marine science–biology. However, credits for both may count toward the 124 credit hour graduation requirement. Additionally, BIO 230 is strongly recommended for those students planning to attend graduate or professional school.

Collateral and Prerequisite Courses

Students who major in biology, marine science–biology, may use any of the prerequisite and/or collateral science courses required (see specific degrees) in the major to satisfy the natural science distribution component of Spartan Studies. Students also may use the course required in mathematics to satisfy the mathematics requirement of Spartan Studies. For more details on the collateral and prerequisite course requirements of specific degree programs refer to the corresponding section.