Jul 01, 2025  
2025-2026 Academic Catalog 
    
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2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Biology Major (BIOS), BS

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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

Math - 4-5 hours from:

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)

Organismal Diversity - 2 courses from:

Laboratory Experience - 2 hours from:

+ Remaining 13-14 hours from:

Molecular and Cellular Electives
Ecology and Environmental Science Electives
Chemistry Electives
Biology Topics Course Electives
Interdisciplinary Electives

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 .

Total Hours: 121

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