Biology, Biology Honors (BSBio)
The Bachelor of Science in Biology degree program offers 10 concentrations. The concentrations have certain prescribed work in common, and each concentration has additional requirements. Many fields in the study of biological systems require broadly based training that transcends the classical boundaries of biology. In planning a program of work to meet his or her degree requirements, a student interested in specializing in these interdisciplinary areas should choose courses both in biology and in sciences that complement biology.
Students who plan to follow the Biology Honors concentration must be admitted to the Dean’s Scholars, Health Science Scholars, or Polymathic Scholars Honors Programs.
Total Hours Required: 120
Plan of Study
The Plan of Study is a suggested four-year course sequence to support academic planning and serves as a helpful guide. Currently enrolled students should meet with their academic advisor to tailor their course selections and timelines to their individual goals and circumstances.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
| M 408D | Sequences, Series, and Multivariable Calculus | 4 |
| BIO 315H | Advanced Introduction to Genetics: Honors | 3 |
| CH 301C | Foundations of Chemistry I | 3 |
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing | 3 |
| First-Year Signature Course (090) | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| BIO 325H | Genetics: Honors | 3 |
| CH 302C | Foundations of Chemistry II | 3 |
| CH 204 | Introduction to Chemical Practice | 2 |
| Visual and Performing Arts (050) | 3 | |
| SDS 322E | Elements of Data Science | 3 |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| INB 370 | Evolution | 3 |
| BIO 206L | Introductory Laboratory Experiments in Biology | 2 |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (080) | 3 | |
| Additional Mathematics honors course | 3 | |
| MNS 320 | Marine Ecology | 3 |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| MBS 326R | General Microbiology | 3 |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: upper-division BIO Lab | 3 | |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: additional coursework approved by the departmental honors advisor | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| PHY 317K | General Physics I | 3 |
| PHY 117M | Laboratory for Physics 317K | 1 |
| BCH 339N | Systems Biology and Bioinformatics | 3 |
| INB 321G | Principles of Computational Biology | 3 |
| RHE 309S | Critical Reading and Persuasive Writing | 3 |
| MNS 356 | Ecosystem Oceanography | 3 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| PHY 317L | General Physics II | 3 |
| PHY 117N | Laboratory for Physics 317L | 1 |
| MBS 328 | Introductory Plant Physiology | 3 |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Humanities (040) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: additional coursework approved by the departmental honors advisor | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| BIO 379H | Honors Tutorial Course | 3 |
| INB 322 | Structure, Physiology, and Reproduction of Seed Plants | 3 |
| INB 351 | Economic Botany | 3 |
| Liberal Arts/Fine Arts course | 3 | |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| BIO 379H | Honors Tutorial Course | 3 |
| MBS 366 | Microbial Genetics | 3 |
| INB 373 | Ecology | 3 |
| Liberal Arts/Fine Arts course | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 1 | |
| NSC 109.2 | Health Science Scholars Capstone Experience Preparation | 1 |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Requirements
All requirements are listed below, starting with the most specialized moving to the most general. Additional requirements may follow the table, so be sure to read the entire page. Some required courses listed below may also satisfy General Education requirements, including Core Curriculum.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration | ||
| Breadth Requirement (Credit earned by examination may not be counted toward this requirement) | ||
| Honors Mathematics or Statistics and Data Science course | 3 | |
| BIO 315H | Advanced Introduction to Genetics: Honors | 3 |
| BIO 325H | Genetics: Honors | 3 |
| CH 301C | Foundations of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CH 302C | Foundations of Chemistry II | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Coursework from the College of Liberal Arts and/or the College of Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Additional Coursework approved by the departmental honors advisor | 18 | |
| Hours chosen from: | 21 | |
| Cellular, developmental, and molecular biology: | ||
| Fundamentals of Biochemistry | ||
or BCH 339F | Foundations of Biochemistry | |
| Chemical and Synthetic Biology | ||
| Structure and Function of Molecular Machines | ||
| Astrobiology | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| General Microbiology | ||
| Molecular Biology of Animal Viruses | ||
| Tumor Biology | ||
| Microbial Biochemistry | ||
| Bacterial Behavior and Signaling Mechanisms | ||
| Molecular Biology | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Developmental, Stem Cell, and Regenerative Biology | ||
| Plant Molecular Biology | ||
| Human Infectious Diseases | ||
| Genetics and genomics: | ||
| Systems Biology and Bioinformatics | ||
| Principles of Computational Biology | ||
| Microbial Genetics | ||
| Molecular Genetics and Medicine | ||
| Introduction to Systematics | ||
| Elements of Data Science | ||
| Physiology, neuroscience, and behavior: | ||
| Introductory Plant Physiology | ||
| Animal Communication | ||
| Principles of Animal Behavior | ||
| Comparative Animal Physiology | ||
| Cellular and Molecular Bases of Neural Development | ||
| Human Systems Physiology | ||
| Plant Anatomy with Histological Techniques | ||
| Physiology of Fishes | ||
| Ecology, evolution, and biodiversity: | ||
| Structure, Physiology, and Reproduction of Seed Plants | ||
| Mathematical Modeling for Biology | ||
| Survey of the Plant Kingdom | ||
| Human Biology | ||
| Economic Botany | ||
| Microbial Ecology | ||
| Natural History Museum Science | ||
| Ecology | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Marine Ecology | ||
| Estuarine Ecology | ||
| Marine Botany | ||
| Marine Conservation Biology | ||
| Topics in Marine Science | ||
| Marine Invertebrates | ||
| Biology of Fishes | ||
| Aquatic Microbiology | ||
| Marine Environmental Science | ||
| Ecosystem Oceanography | ||
| Marine Phytoplankton Diversity | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division Laboratory Courses in Biology (BIO 377 or 379H may be used as only one of the three required upper-division laboratory courses) | 3 | |
| UGS 303 | First-Year Signature Course (approved by the departmental honors advisor) | 3 |
| or UGS 302 | First-Year Signature Course | |
| Hours chosen from: | 1 | |
| Planning Your Capstone Experience (for Health Science Scholars) | ||
| Health Science Scholars Capstone Experience Preparation (for Dean's Scholars) | ||
| Polymathic Capstone Field Invention (for Polymathic Scholars) | ||
| Choose a sequence below: | 6 | |
| Sequence 1: | ||
| Honors Tutorial Course (taken twice) | ||
| Sequence 2: | ||
| Natural Sciences Topics | ||
| Capstone Thesis Seminar | ||
| Subtotal | 73 | |
| Degree (see details below) (Note: some requirements above count in place of below degree requirements) | 22 | |
| Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | 1 | |
| Subtotal | 23 | |
| General Education | ||
| Remaining Core Curriculum (42 hours total) | 24 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Beginning Proficiency | ||
| Subtotal | 24 | |
| College Requirements - Natural Sciences | ||
| General University Requirements | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Degree-Bachelor of Science Biology (BSBio)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Hours chosen from: | 4 | |
| Differential and Integral Calculus | ||
| Differential and Integral Calculus for the Sciences | ||
| Integral Calculus for Science and Differential Calculus for Science | ||
| SDS 320E | Elements of Statistics | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Principles of Chemistry I | ||
| Foundations of Chemistry I | ||
| Principles of Chemistry I | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Principles of Chemistry II | ||
| Foundations of Chemistry II | ||
| Principles of Chemistry II | ||
| CH 204 | Introduction to Chemical Practice | 2 |
| Hours chosen from a single sequence below: | 8 | |
| Sequence 1 | ||
| General Physics I | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 317K | ||
| General Physics II | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 317L | ||
| Sequence 2 | ||
| Mechanics | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 301 | ||
| Electricity and Magnetism | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 316 | ||
| Sequence 3 | ||
| Engineering Physics I | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 303K | ||
| Engineering Physics II | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 303L | ||
| Sequence 4 | ||
| General Physics Technical Course: Mechanics, Heat, and Sound | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 302K | ||
| General Physics Technical Course: Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Atomic and Nuclear Physics | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 302L | ||
| Hours chosen from a single sequence below: | 6 | |
| Sequence 1 | ||
| Introductory Biology I | ||
| Introductory Biology II | ||
| Genetics | ||
| Sequence 2 | ||
| Advanced Introduction to Genetics: Honors | ||
| Genetics: Honors | ||
| BIO 206L | Introductory Laboratory Experiments in Biology | 2 |
| or INB 208L | Field Biology | |
| or MBS 226L | General Microbiology Laboratory | |
| INB 370 | Evolution | 3 |
| All students must complete at least 36 semester hours of upper-division coursework; at least 21 semester hours of upper-division coursework in biology must be completed in residence at the University. | ||
| Total Hours | 34 | |
Additional Requirements and Policy
Students in all Options must fulfill both the University's General Requirements for graduation and the college requirements. They must also earn a grade of at least C- in each mathematics and science course required for the degree, and a grade point average in these courses of at least 2.00. More information about grades and the grade point average is given in the General Information Catalog.
To graduate under Biology Honors, students must remain in good standing in the Dean’s Scholars, Health Science Scholars, or Polymathic Scholars Honors Program, must submit an honors thesis, and present their research in an approved public forum, such as the college’s annual Undergraduate Research Forum. More information about the Undergraduate Research Forum is available at https://cns.utexas.edu/.
Order and Choice of Work
Students begin the Bachelor of Science in Biology degree program with six hours of introductory biology for science majors (BIO 311C and BIO 311D), as well as CH 301 or CH 301C and CH 302 or CH 302C and M 408C, M 408N, or M 408R. Students should consult with academic advisors about specific concentrations within biology, about appropriate courses in mathematics and physical sciences, and about course load and the balance between laboratory and nonlaboratory work. Most students select a concentration by the end of the second year and take at least 21 hours of upper-division coursework in the major in the third and fourth years.