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2008–2010 Undergraduate Catalog

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

The Department of Biology offers a Bachelor of Science degree and a Minor in Biology. The Bachelor of Science degree is structured around a comprehensive core curriculum and related offerings in chemistry, physics, computer science, and mathematics that lead to more highly specialized areas in the life sciences, such as computational biology, biochemistry, cellular biology, developmental biology, ecology, neurobiology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, and physiology.

Admission Policy

The goal of the Department of Biology is to provide its undergraduate students with a program of study with the highest possible standards. To achieve this goal, the admission policy of the Department of Biology is designed to identify those students most likely to succeed in their undergraduate biology education. A biology minor is, however, available to all UTSA students who seek to complement a different academic major with a strong foundation in biology. The admission policy will be implemented in Fall 2009 (students enrolled prior to Fall 2009 are exempt from the admission policy).

Direct Admission Criteria

  1. Applicants entering UTSA from high school and transfer students who have completed fewer than 30 hours of transferable college credit will be directly admitted to the Biology major if they:

    • meet all UTSA undergraduate admission requirements
    • are ranked in the top 25 percent of their high school graduation class
    • have successfully satisfied all three sections (mathematics, reading, and writing) of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI).
  2. Applicants who have completed 30 or more hours of transferable college credit will be directly admitted to the Biology major if they:

    • meet all UTSA undergraduate admission requirements
    • have a cumulative grade point average of 2.25 or better for all college-level courses completed
    • have successfully satisfied all three sections (mathematics, reading, and writing) of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI)
    • have successfully completed the following or equivalent courses with the grade of “C” or better:

      BIO 1404 Biosciences I
      BIO 1413 Biosciences II
      CHE 1103 General Chemistry I
      MAT 1194 Calculus for the Biosciences
      PHY 1943 Physics for Scientists I or PHY 1603 Algebra-based Physics I

Applicants Who Do Not Meet Direct Admission Criteria

Applicants for admission to the Department of Biology who do not meet the criteria for direct admission stated above will be admitted to the Department as prebiology (PBI) students. Academic performance for declaration of the Biology major will be evaluated after the five courses listed below have been completed. To declare a Biology major, a prebiology student must have:

BIO 1404 Biosciences I
BIO 1413 Biosciences II
CHE 1103 General Chemistry I
MAT 1194 Calculus for the Biosciences
PHY 1943 Physics for Scientists I or PHY 1603 Algebra-based Physics I

A prebiology student will not be able to register for more than 15 hours of Biology coursework at UTSA until they have completed the five courses listed above with the required grade point average. A student who does not meet all the above requirements will no longer be considered a prebiology student and will not be allowed to register for additional biology courses. The student must choose a major other than biology or become undeclared in order to remain enrolled at UTSA.

Course Descriptions

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Designed & maintained by Academic Publications, Office of the Registrar — Last update: September 9, 2009