Undergraduate Degrees

Admission Requirements

High school chemistry is required for admission to BISC 106L/116L. Completion of calculus is strongly recommended prior to entry into the program; advanced placement in accordance with the practice of the Department of Mathematics may satisfy this recommendation.

Advisement

Prior to the first semester as departmental majors, students are to consult with a departmental freshman advisor or a transfer faculty advisor. Prospective majors are expected to become acquainted with the areas of interest and specialization of faculty members and obtain an appropriate faculty member's counsel in planning their undergraduate programs. Students may not register in any biological sciences courses above the 100 level unless the advisor signs an advisory permit prior to pre-registration or registration; non-majors must obtain departmental permission to enroll in these courses. Information concerning freshman and transfer student advisement and the areas of faculty interest may be obtained from the departmental office.

Pre-Medical and Other Pre-Professional Preparation

The department offers specially planned programs within the biological sciences to prepare students for admission to professional schools (medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, public health), paramedical sciences (medical technology, physician's assistant, clinical and public health microbiology, clinical biochemistry), naturalist and environmental positions in the public and private sectors and graduate study (basic biological fields and biomedical fields). With the proper selection of courses under the guidance of the Departments of Biological Sciences and Teacher Education, the B.S. degree satisfies the California requirements for secondary school teaching in the life sciences.

Departmental Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Science

The general education requirements for the B.S. degree are applicable.

Major core courses, Lower divisionUnits
BISC 106LPrinciples of Biology I, or
BISC 116LAdvanced Principles of Biology I4
BISC 107LPrinciples of Biology II, or
BISC 117LAdvanced Principles of Biology II4
BISC 210Molecular Biology4
BISC 216LIntroduction to Biochemistry4
Major core courses, Upper divisionUnits
BISC 300LIntroduction to Microbiology, or
BISC 307LGeneral Physiology4
BISC 313Population Genetics and Evolution, or
BISC 315LIntroduction to Ecology4

Collateral sciences core courses, Lower divisionUnits
CHEM 105aLbLGeneral Chemistry, or
CHEM 115abLAdvanced General Chemistry4-4
MATH 125Calculus I4
MATH 126Calculus II, or
MATH 208xElementary Probability and Statistics4
PHYS 135abLPhysics for the Life Sciences, or
PHYS 151LFundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics, Waves,
and Sound4
PHYS 152LFundamentals of Physics II: Thermodynamics,
Electricity, and Magnetism 4
Collateral sciences core courses, Upper divisionUnits
CHEM 322abLOrganic Chemistry, or
CHEM 325abLOrganic Chemistry4-4

Upper Division Major Courses

A minimum of five, four-unit upper division BISC elective courses are required, of which at least two must be laboratory courses; the electives may include 300 level courses not taken in completion of the upper division major core course requirements. Not more than four units of BISC 490x may be included in fulfillment of this requirement.

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Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu