Biology Major (BIOS), BS

A B.S. in Biology offers students a diverse study of biology from the molecular level to the organism and ecological levels. Students can customize electives in this degree to prepare for a wide array of career interests. This degree is ideal for students searching to further their education through graduate or professional school, including medicine, research, dentistry, pharmacy, wildlife biology, veterinary medicine, and conservation.

Requirements

Liberal Arts: 38 Hours

All majors are required at Harding to complete the 47-hour Liberal Arts program. The following Liberal Arts requirements are met within the content of the major:

9 hours of Inquiry, Investigation, and Reasoning are satisfied in the major.

Major: 77 Hours

BIOL 1500 - Principles of Biology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 1500L - LAB: Principles of Biology Credit Hours: 1
BIOL 2500 - Biostatistics Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 3000 - Cell Biology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 3500/3500L - Genetics Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3600 - Ecology Credit Hours: 3
BIOL 4900-4902 - Seminar Credit Hours: 1, 1, 1 (3 semesters required)
CHEM 1040/1040L - College Chemistry I Credit Hours: 4
CHEM 1050/1050L - College Chemistry II Credit Hours: 4 (with a grade of C or higher)
CHEM 2110 - Organic and Biological Chemistry Credit Hours: 3
or CHEM 3740/3740L - Organic Chemistry I Credit Hours: 4
PHS 4100 - Christian View of Science and Scripture Credit Hours: 2, 3
(2 hours will meet program requirements.)
PHYS 2010 - College Physics I Credit Hours: 3
PHYS 2010L - LAB: College Physics I Credit Hours: 1
PHYS 2020 - College Physics II Credit Hours: 3
PHYS 2020L - LAB: College Physics II Credit Hours: 1

Math - 4-5 hours from:

MATH 1330 - College Algebra Credit Hours: 3
MATH 1340 - Plane Trigonometry Credit Hours: 2
MATH 2300 - Precalculus Credit Hours: 5
MATH 2350 - Analytics and Calculus I Credit Hours: 4

Organismal Structure and Function - 2 courses from:

Students are required to take the full sequence of either human-focused courses (BIOL 3200/3200L and BIOL 3210/3210L) or animal-focused courses (BIOL 3220/3220L and BIOL 3230/3230L)

BIOL 3200/3200L - Anatomy and Physiology I Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3210/3210L - Anatomy and Physiology II Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3220/3220L - Vertebrate Morphology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3230/3230L - Animal Physiology Credit Hours: 4

Organismal Diversity - 2 courses from:

BIOL 3100/3100L - General Zoology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3101/3101L - Invertebrate Zoology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3110/3110L - General Botany Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3111/3111L - Plant Taxonomy Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 3400/3400L - Microbiology Credit Hours: 4
BIOL 4110/4110L - Herpetology Credit Hours: 4

Laboratory Experience - 2 hours from:

BIOL 3670 - Biology Research Internship Credit Hours: 2
BIOL 3690L - LAB: Ecology Credit Hours: 2
* BIOL 3700 - Research Credit Hours: 1-4
BIOL 3710L - LAB: Molecular Genetics Credit Hours: 2
BIOL 3720L - LAB: Cellular Analysis and Bioinformatics Credit Hours: 2
BIOL 3730L - LAB: Developmental Physiology Credit Hours: 2
BIOL 3740L - Neuroscience Research Credit Hours: 2

+ Remaining 13-14 hours from:

Notes:

* BIOL 3700 may be used to meet the Laboratory Experience requirement with a minimum of two hours of credit. Students may earn one hour of BIOL 3700 credit for two semesters to fulfill this requirement.

+ Students who complete CHEM 2110 and PHS 4100 for 2 hours will need 14 elective hours to reach major requirements. If students choose CHEM 3740/3740L and/or PHS 4100 for 3 hours, then total elective hours are decreased.

Additional courses from the course clusters Organismal Structure and Function, Organismal Diversity, and Laboratory Experience also may be applied toward the major elective hours if not taken to meet cluster requirements.

Upper-level math and computer science courses may be used to fulfill the science elective hours subject to department chair approval.

Remaining Bible/Electives: 6 Hours

PHS 4100 , counted above in the major, satisfies the Bible requirement in the semester it is taken. It should be taken during the spring semester of the senior year.

See Bible Class Enrollment policy here .

Locations