Biology Minor

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Students in other fields of study receive a minor in Biology when they demonstrate they have taken a rigorous and comprehensive set of courses within the discipline.

Program Requirements

Minimum number of credits required for the minor: 18. A grade of C- or higher is required for all courses in the minor.

There are two different paths to the minor in biology (Options 1 and 2, shown below). For both pathways, at least 6 credit hours of upper-level courses must be taken at the University of Southern Maine. They must be either BIO prefix courses from the Department of Biological Sciences or BIO prefix (or equivalent SCI prefix) from the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences. Nursing majors may count 1 credit hour of NUR 424 - Clinically-Applied Genetics toward the Biology minor.

Option 1

Students can begin with the general biology sequence of:

BIO 105 - Biological Principles I: Cellular Biology Credits: 3
BIO 106 - Laboratory Biology Credits: 1.5
BIO 107 - Biological Principles II: Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ecology Credits: 4.5
BIO 109 - Biological Principles III: Functional Biology Credits: 3
and then take additional credit hours of upper-level electives (200 or above) to equal a total of 18 credit hours.

Option 2

Students can begin with the human biology sequence of:

BIO 111 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Credits: 3
BIO 112 - Practical Human Anatomy and Physiology I Credits: 1.5
BIO 113 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Credits: 3
BIO 114 - Practical Human Anatomy and Physiology II Credits: 1.5
and then take additional credit hours of upper-level electives (200 or above) to equal a total of 18 credit hours.