Undergraduate Degrees, page 3
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Honors Programs

The department offers honors programs to outstanding students already pursuing studies for the B.S. degree in Biological Sciences. These programs offer students specialization in one of three areas and emphasize participation in undergraduate research, experience in writing an honors thesis summarizing the completed research, and experience in an honors seminar. These programs lead to the designation on the transcript of Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with Honors in either Marine Biology and Ecology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, or Neurobiology and Physiology, depending upon the student's area of research concentration. The honors degree programs require intensive collateral science and mathematics courses.

Honors Admission Requirements

Students must apply to the department for admission to the honors programs after having been accepted to the university. Entering freshmen must have a minimum high school GPA of 3.5 and a minimum combined SAT score of 1200; students above the freshman level must have a minimum GPA of 3.5.

Honors Program Major Requirements

The general education requirements for the B.S. are applicable; however, students are encouraged to consider the Thematic Option Program.

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
BISC 490xDirected Research4
BISC 493xHonors Seminar1-1
BISC 494xHonors Thesis2
Collateral sciences core coursesUnits
CHEM 105aLbLGeneral Chemistry, or
CHEM 115abLAdvanced General Chemistry4-4
CHEM 322abLOrganic Chemistry, or
CHEM 325abLOrganic 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

Upper Division Major Elective Courses

A minimum of four, four-unit upper division BISC elective courses selected from listings in the areas of (1) Marine Biology and Ecology, (2) Molecular Biology and Biochemistry or (3) Neurobiology and Physiology, depending upon the area of emphasis elected by the student and in consultation with honors advisors, are required; two courses may be 300-level core courses not taken in satisfaction of the core requirement.

Students in the honors programs may enter the university with Advanced Placement credit in certain courses, including calculus, or may waive either composition or from one to three semesters of foreign language, thus providing greater flexibility in general elective courses.

Honors Scholarship Requirements

For continuation in the honors programs, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 and a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the sciences and mathematics with no grade in these courses lower than a C.

Requirements for the Minor in Biological Sciences

For the lower division, BISC 106L or 116L, 107L or 117L, 210, 216L; CHEM 105aLbL or 115abL; MATH 125; PHYS 135abL or 151L and 152L are required. For the upper division, two, four-unit upper division BISC elective courses; CHEM 322abL or 325abL are required.

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