Biological Sciences (BS)
There are five different avenues to earning a B.S. in Biological Sciences at NC State. Students studying for a degree in Biological Sciences can opt for a general curriculum (BLS) or can choose to focus in a particular area by selecting one of four areas of concentration: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCD), Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology (IPN), Human Biology (HB), or Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology (EEC). All new first-year students interested in the B.S. in Biological Sciences start their studies in the NC State Life Sciences First Year Program.
The MCD curriculum offers students in-depth studies of the molecular and cellular basis of life and the development of multicellular organisms.
The IPN curriculum provides a comprehensive grounding in basic principles of physiology and neuroscience, as well as in-depth exposure to the application of these principles in understanding whole-organism function and the ways in which animals (including humans) cope with challenges presented by their environments.
The HB curriculum allows some flexibility for students to study the biology of humans as well as relevant aspects of the humanities and social sciences, while also requiring those science courses most often required by medical schools. It is designed to provide students with a solid education in the scientific and humanistic concepts that underlie modern health sciences and related areas of scientific research.
The EEC curriculum offers students in-depth studies in areas of biology at the level of the organism, populations and ecosystems. It is designed for students who have an interest in whole organisms and their biodiversity — what maintains it, what environmental changes affect it, and how to protect it in the face of various challenges.
Plan Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exploring the Life Sciences | |||
| LSC 103 | Exploring Opportunities in the Life Sciences | 1 | |
| Writing | |||
| Advanced Writing Requirement Elective 1 | 3 | ||
| Biological Sciences | |||
| LSC 101 | Critical and Creative Thinking in the Life Sciences 1 | 2 | |
| BIO 181 | Introductory Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity 1 | 4 | |
| BIO 183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology 1 | 4 | |
| BIO 270 | Introduction to Evolution | 3 | |
| GN 311 | Principles of Genetics 1 | 4 | |
| MB 351 | General Microbiology 1 | 3 | |
| Physiology 1 | 3 | ||
| Physical & Mathematical Sciences | |||
| MA 131 | Calculus for Life and Management Sciences A 1 | 3 | |
| or MA 141 | Calculus I | ||
| MA 231 | Calculus for Life and Management Sciences B 1 | 3 | |
| or MA 241 | Calculus II | ||
| CH 101 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science 1 | 3 | |
| CH 102 | General Chemistry Laboratory 1 | 1 | |
| CH 201 | Chemistry - A Quantitative Science 1 | 3 | |
| CH 202 | Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory 1 | 1 | |
| CH 221 | Organic Chemistry I 1 | 3 | |
| CH 222 | Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 | 1 | |
| CH 223 | Organic Chemistry II 1 | 3 | |
| CH 224 | Organic Chemistry II Lab 1 | 1 | |
| Select one of the following: 1 | 4 | ||
| College Physics I | |||
| Physics for Engineers and Scientists I and Physics for Engineers and Scientists I Laboratory | |||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 4 | ||
| College Physics II | |||
| Physics for Engineers and Scientists II and Physics for Engineers and Scientists II Laboratory | |||
| Major Electives | |||
| Select one of the following Learning Experience Electives: | 3 | ||
| Research in the Life Sciences II: Guided Research | |||
| Professional Experience | |||
| Research Experience | |||
| Teaching Experience | |||
| Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 1 | |||
| Life Science Electives | 12 | ||
| Lab or Research Electives | 6 | ||
| Additional STEM Electives | 9 | ||
| GEP Courses | |||
| ENG 101 | Academic Writing and Research 1 | 4 | |
| GEP Humanities | 6 | ||
| GEP Social Sciences | 6 | ||
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 2 | ||
| GEP US Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | 3 | ||
| GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3 | ||
| GEP Global Knowledge (verify requirement) | |||
| World Language Proficiency (verify requirement) | |||
| Free Electives | |||
| Free Electives (12 Hr S/U Lmt) | 9 | ||
| These electives cannot be taken at an elementary level after you have taken comparable coursework at a more advanced level. Students interested in graduate school or professional school should check the courses required for admission to the programs to which they plan to apply. | |||
| Total Hours | 120 | ||
- 1
A grade of C- or higher is required.
Advanced Writing Requirement Elective
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIO 267 | Research in the Life Sciences I: Research Skills | 3 | |
| COM 211 | Argumentation and Advocacy | 3 | |
| ENG 214 | Introduction to Editing | 3 | |
| ENG 232 | Literature and Medicine | 3 | |
| ENG 287 | Explorations in Creative Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 288 | Fiction Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 289 | Poetry Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 292 | Writing About Film | 3 | |
| ENG 316 | Introduction to News and Article Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 323 | Writing in Rhetorical Traditions | 3 | |
| ENG 331 | Communication for Engineering and Technology | 3 | |
| ENG 332 | Communication for Business and Management | 3 | |
| ENG 333 | Communication for Science and Research | 3 | |
| ENG 381 | Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop | 3 | |
| ENG 388 | Intermediate Fiction Writing Workshop | 3 | |
| ENG 389 | Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop | 3 | |
| ENG 416 | Advanced News and Article Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 417 | Editorial and Opinion Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 422 | Writing Theory and the Writing Process | 3 | |
| ENG 425 | Analysis of Scientific and Technical Writing | 3 | |
| ENG 426 | Analyzing Style | 3 |
Physiology
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIO 240 | Principles of Human Anatomy & Physiology (A): Nervous, Skeletal, Muscular, & Digestive Systems | 4 | |
| BIO 245 | Principles of Human Anatomy & Physiology (B): Endocrine, Cardiovascular, Respiratory & Renal Systems | 4 | |
| PB 321 | Introduction to Whole Plant Physiology | 3 | |
| PB 421 | Plant Physiology | 3 | |
| ZO 250 | Animal Anatomy and Physiology | 4 |
Life Science Electives
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select one option from each of the following four Groups for a total of at least 12 credit hours. | |||
| Group I: Evolution and Biodiversity | 3 | ||
| BIO 315 | General Parasitology | 3 | |
| BIO 330 | Evolutionary Biology | 3 | |
| BIO 432 | Evolutionary Medicine | 3 | |
| BIO 440 | The Human Animal: An Evolutionary Perspective | 3 | |
| MB 451 | Microbial Diversity | 3 | |
| MEA 369 | Life on Earth: Principles of Paleontology | 3 | |
| PB 400 | Plant Diversity and Evolution | 4 | |
| PB 403 | Systematic Botany | 4 | |
| ZO 350 | Animal Phylogeny and Diversity | 4 | |
| ZO 402 | Invertebrate Biology | 4 | |
| ZO 410 | Introduction to Animal Behavior | 3 | |
| Group II: Cellular and Molecular Bio | 3 | ||
| BIO 361 | Developmental Biology | 3 | |
| BIO 416 | Cancer Cell Biology | 3 | |
| BIT 410 | Manipulation of Recombinant DNA | 4 | |
| GN 421 | Molecular Genetics | 3 | |
| GN 434 | Genes and Development | 3 | |
| GN 451 | Genome Science | 3 | |
| GN 453 | Personal Genomics | 3 | |
| GN 456 | Epigenetics, Development, and Disease | 3 | |
| MB 414 | Microbial Metabolic Regulation | 3 | |
| MB 455 | Microbial Biotechnology | 3 | |
| MB 461 | Molecular Virology | 3 | |
| Group III: Organismal Function | 3 | ||
| ANS 225 | Principles of Animal Nutrition | 3 | |
| ANS 230 | Animal Nutrition | 3 | |
| ANS 415/515 | Comparative Nutrition | 3 | |
| BIO 240 | Principles of Human Anatomy & Physiology (A): Nervous, Skeletal, Muscular, & Digestive Systems | 3 | |
| BIO 245 | Principles of Human Anatomy & Physiology (B): Endocrine, Cardiovascular, Respiratory & Renal Systems | 3 | |
| BIO 424 | Endocrinology | 3 | |
| BIO 434 | Hormones and Behavior | 3 | |
| BIO 444 | The Biology of Love and Sex | 3 | |
| BIO 483 | Capstone Course in Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology | 3 | |
| BIO 488/588 | Neurobiology | 3 | |
| BIT 410 | Manipulation of Recombinant DNA | 4 | |
| MB 411 | Medical Microbiology | 3 | |
| MB 441 | Immunology | 3 | |
| MEA 252 | Biology of Marine Mammals | 3 | |
| NTR 415/515 | Comparative Nutrition | 3 | |
| NTR 419 | Human Nutrition and Chronic Disease | 3 | |
| PB 321 | Introduction to Whole Plant Physiology | 3 | |
| PB 421 | Plant Physiology | 3 | |
| PO 404 | Avian Anatomy and Physiology | 4 | |
| PO 415/515 | Comparative Nutrition | 3 | |
| ZO 250 | Animal Anatomy and Physiology | 4 | |
| Group IV: Ecology | 3 | ||
| AEC 245 | Global Conservation Ecology | 3 | |
| AEC/PB 360 | Ecology | 4 | |
| AEC 419/519 | Freshwater Ecology | 4 | |
| AEC 460 | Field Ecology and Methods | 4 | |
| BIO 323 | Paleoecology | 3 | |
| CS 230 | Introduction to Agroecology | 3 | |
| FOR 260 | Forest Ecology | 4 | |
| MEA 250 & MEA 251 | Introduction to Coastal Environments and Introduction to Coastal Environments Laboratory | 4 | |
Additional STEM Electives
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take any courses at the 200 level and higher from the following prefixes: AEC, ANS, BCH, BEC, BIO, BIT, BSC, CH, DSC, ES, FW, GN, GPH, MA, MB, MEA, NTR, PB, PY, ST, TOX, ZO | |||
Lab or Research Electives
| Code | Title | Hours | Counts towards |
|---|---|---|---|
| A total of 6 credit hours required. In some cases, a 1 credit lab component in another course (e.g., from Life Science Electives) can be applied to this requirement -- talk to your advisor if this applies to you. | |||
| BIO 325 | Paleontological Field Methods | 4 | |
| BIO 418 | Cell Biology Research Lab | 2 | |
| BIT 463 | Fermentation of Recombinant Microorganisms | 2 | |
| BIT 465 | Real-time PCR Techniques | 2 | |
| BIT 466 | Animal Cell Culture Techniques | 2 | |
| BIT 467 | PCR and DNA Fingerprinting | 2 | |
| BIT 471 | RNA Interference and Model Organisms | 2 | |
| BIT 473 | Protein Interactions | 2 | |
| BIT 474 | Plant Genetic Engineering | 2 | |
| BIT 476 | Applied Bioinformatics | 2 | |
| BIT 477 | Metagenomics | 2 | |
| BIT 479 | High-Throughput Discovery | 2 | |
| BIT 480 | Yeast Metabolic Engineering | 2 | |
| BIT 481 | Plant Tissue Culture and Transformation | 2 | |
| BIT 482 | Virus Biotechnology: Pathogens to Therapeutics | 2 | |
| BSC 493 | Research Experience | 1-3 | |
| BSC 498 | Biological Sciences Honors Project Part 2 | 3 | |
| GN 312 | Elementary Genetics Laboratory | 1 | |
| GN 425 | Advanced Genetics Laboratory | 2 | |
| MB 352 | General Microbiology Laboratory | 1 | |
| or MB 354 | Inquiry-Guided Microbiology Lab | ||
| MB 360 | Scientific Inquiry in Microbiology: At the Bench | 3 | |
| MB 406 | Food Microbiology Lab | 1 | |
| MB 412 | Medical Microbiology Laboratory | 1 | |
| MB 420 | Fundamentals of Microbial Cell Biotransformations | 2 | |
| MB 452 | Microbial Diversity Lab | 2 | |
| ZO 334 | Captive Animal Biology Field Laboratory | 2 | |
Semester Sequence
This is a sample.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| LSC 101 | Critical and Creative Thinking in the Life Sciences 1 | 2 |
| BIO 181 | Introductory Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity | 4 |
| CH 101 & CH 102 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science and General Chemistry Laboratory | 4 |
| MA 131 | Calculus for Life and Management Sciences A 1 | 3 |
| LSC 103 | Exploring Opportunities in the Life Sciences | 1 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIO 183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology 1 | 4 |
| CH 221 & CH 222 | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Lab | 4 |
| ENG 101 | Academic Writing and Research 1 | 4 |
| MA 231 | Calculus for Life and Management Sciences B 1 | 3 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| BIO 270 | Introduction to Evolution | 3 |
| Physiology Requirement | 3 | |
| CH 223 & CH 224 | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Lab 1 | 4 |
| GEP Social Sciences | 3 | |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Lab or Research Electives | 2 | |
| Life Science Elective 1 | 3 | |
| CH 201 & CH 202 | Chemistry - A Quantitative Science and Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory 1 | 4 |
| GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3 | |
| GEP Humanities | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| PY 211 | College Physics I 1 | 4 |
| MB 351 | General Microbiology 1 | 3 |
| Lab or Research Electives | 2 | |
| Advanced Writing Requirement 1 | 3 | |
| Learning Experience Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| PY 212 | College Physics II 1 | 4 |
| GEP Social Sciences | 3 | |
| GN 311 | Principles of Genetics | 4 |
| Lab or Research Elective | 1 | |
| STEM Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| Life Science Elective 1 | 3 | |
| Life Science Elective 1 | 3 | |
| STEM Elective | 3 | |
| Lab or Research Elective | 1 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Life Science Elective 1 | 3 | |
| STEM Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| GEP US Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | 3 | |
| GEP Humanities | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
- 1
A grade of C- or higher is required.
Career Opportunities
Many students majoring in the Department of Biological Sciences take advantage of scholarship and honors programs available at NC State, including the University Honors Program and the University Scholars Program. In addition, we offer a discipline-based Undergraduate Honors Program in Biological Sciences (DBS Honors Program). The DBS Honors Program requires students to design a challenging program of advanced study, including eight credits of honors coursework in biology and at least two semesters of research or teaching scholarship. Participants write an honors thesis and are required to present their scholarly work at a local, regional, or national meeting. Invitations to join the DBS Honors Program are sent in the first three weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters. Students in any major in the Department of Biological Sciences who have earned an overall GPA of 3.60 after completing 30-65 credit hours at NC State will receive an invitation to join the DBS Honors Program; transfer students in any of our majors who have earned an overall GPA of 3.60 in 15 credit hours at NC State also will receive an invitation.
Students who graduate from the Department of Biological Sciences are well prepared for employment in various government agencies and private industries. Graduates may continue their education with studies leading to advanced degrees in many areas of the biological sciences, including cell biology, ecology, microbiology, genetics, zoology, neurobiology, and biomedical disciplines. Many choose to seek advanced degrees in medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, public health, and other health-related fields. Students who plan to seek certification for pre-college teaching may want to pursue a second major in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Education.
Career Titles
- Agricultural Sciences Professor
- Agronomist
- Allergists and Immunologists
- Anesthesiologist (MD)
- Anesthesiologist Assistants
- Animal Breeder
- Animal Scientist
- Aquaculture Specialist
- Aquarium Curator
- Biochemist
- Biological Technician
- Biologist
- Biology Professor
- Biomedical Engineer
- Biophysicist
- Biopsychologist
- Botanist
- Cardiologist (MD)
- Clinical Dietitian
- Dentist (DDS)
- Dietitian and Nutritionist
- Environmental Disease Analyst
- Environmental Engineer
- Environmental Research Analyst
- Epidemiologists
- Family Practitioner (MD)
- Fish and Game Warden
- Fish Hatchery Specialist
- Food & Drug Inspector
- Food Science Technicians
- Food Technologist
- Forensic Science Technicians
- General Internists (MD)
- Genetic Counselors
- Geneticist
- Gynecologist (MD)
- Hazardous Waste Management Analyst
- Horticulturist
- Hospitalists
- Industrial Hygienist
- Industrial Waste Inspector
- Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists
- Marine and Aquatic Biologist
- Medical and Scientific Illustrator
- Medical Equipment Technician
- Medical Technologist
- Microbiologist
- Obstetrician (MD)
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians
- Occupational Physician (MD)
- Oceanographer
- Optometrist
- Park Naturalist
- Pathologist (MD)
- Pediatrician (MD)
- Pharmacist
- Pharmacologist
- Phlebotomist
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians
- Physician Assistant (PA)
- Radiologist (MD)
- Sales Representative (Chemicals & Drugs)
- Soil Conservationist
- Soil Scientist
- Sports Physician (Orthopedist)
- Surgeons (MD)
- Toxicologist
- Urologists
- Veterinarian (VMD)
- Water Pollution Control Inspector
- Wildlife Biologist
- Wildlife Control Agent
- Winemaker / Vinter
- Zoologist
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