Bachelor of Science Biological Sciences Subject Area

General Information

The subject area requirements listed on this page are part of the Bachelor of Science (Major and Honors) program offered by the Faculty of Science. Students must ensure they are familiar with and follow all program requirements in addition to the subject area requirements outlined below.

To find a description about this area of study, please visit Our Degrees of the Faculty of Science webpage.

Subject Area Courses

Biological Sciences subject area courses include all courses at the 200-level or higher that satisfy specific requirements or options in the respective Honors or Major requirements, as listed below, and all courses at the 200-level or above with course designators BIOCH, BIOIN, BIOL, BOT, CELL, ENT, GENET, IMIN, MA SC, MICRB, MMI, NEURO, PALEO, PHYSL, PMCOL, and ZOOL.

There are minimum subject area GPA requirements for graduation (see Academic Standing and Graduation ).

Note: Students registered in the Bachelor of Science (Major and Honors) program also need to satisfy Common Course Requirements , Major/Honors/Minor Requirements , and Science and Senior Course Level Requirements .

Honors in Biological Sciences Requirements

Foundation Courses

Senior Courses

24 units from:

Any 300- and 400-level course with the following course designators (with at least 9 units at the 400-level; see Note 3):

BIOCH
BIOIN
BIOL
BOT
CELL
ENT
GENET
IMIN
MA SC
MICRB
MMI
NEURO
PALEO
PHYSL
PMCOL
ZOOL

3 units from:

Any 200-, 300- and 400-level course with the following course designators:

CHEM
CMPUT
EAS
MATH
PL SC
PHYS
REN R

Notes:

MATH 134 is strongly recommended; however, it may be replaced with MATH 117 , MATH 144 , or MATH 154 .
BIOL 107 , BIOL 108 , BIOL 207 , BIOL 208 and BIOL 221 may not be used to fulfill this program requirement.
Students must complete at least 9 units in courses with a lab component (at the 200-, 300-, and 400-level; excluding BIOL 207 , BIOL 208 , BIOL 298 , BIOL 299 , BIOL 398 , BIOL 399 , BIOL 490 , BIOL 498 , BIOL 499 , MMI 499 or equivalent, and other research or independent study courses).
Students should consult the Department of Biological Sciences for advice about course selection throughout the program.

Major in Biological Sciences Requirements

Foundation Courses

Senior Courses

3 units from:

Ecology, Evolution or Diversity List (See Note 2)

3 units from:

Genetics, Molecular Biology or Microbiology List (See Note 2)

3 units from:

Physiology, Cell Biology or Developmental Biology List (See Note 2)

18 units from:

Any 300- and 400-level course with the following course designators (with at least 6 units at the 400-level; See Note 3):

BIOCH
BIOIN
BIOL
BOT
CELL
ENT
GENET
IMIN
MA SC
MICRB
MMI
NEURO
PALEO
PHYSL
PMCOL
ZOOL

Notes:

MATH 134 is strongly recommended; however, it may be replaced with MATH 117 , MATH 144 , or MATH 154 .
BIOL 107 , BIOL 108 , BIOL 207 and BIOL 208 may not be used to fulfill this program requirement.
Students must complete at least 9 units in courses with a lab component (at the 200-, 300-, and 400-level; excluding BIOL 207 , BIOL 208 , BIOL 298 , BIOL 299 , BIOL 398 , BIOL 399 , BIOL 490 , BIOL 498 , BIOL 499 , MMI 499 or equivalent, and other research or independent study courses).
Students should consult the Department of Biological Sciences for advice about course selection throughout the program.

Minor in Biological Sciences Requirements

Foundation Courses

Senior Courses

3 units from:

Ecology, Evolution or Diversity List (See Note 1)

3 units from:

Genetics, Molecular Biology or Microbiology List (See Note 1)

3 units from:

Physiology, Cell Biology or Developmental Biology List (See Note 1)

6 units from:

Any 300- and 400-level course with the following course designators:

BIOCH
BIOIN
BIOL
BOT
CELL
ENT
GENET
IMIN
MA SC
MICRB
MMI
NEURO
PALEO
PHYSL
PMCOL
ZOOL

Notes:

BIOL 107 , BIOL 108 , BIOL 207 and BIOL 208 may not be used to fulfill this program requirement.