Apr 01, 2025  
2024-2025 Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog 
    
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2024-2025 Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog

Biology, Zoology, Botany, and Ecology Option, B.S.

This degree is approved for distance education by the WSCUC.

This option is designed primarily for those interested in careers that are related to zoology, ecology, and botany.  It is particularly appropriate for students who wish to attend veterinary or graduate school, and for those seeking employment in environmental consulting firms, and fish and wildlife agencies. This option requires approximately 80-83 units in the major, of which 43-46 units are in lower division courses and 37 units are in upper division courses.

All students must achieve at least a 2.0 grade-point average in each of the following: 1. the entire college record, 2. all units attempted at CSULB, and 3. all courses in the major. In addition, students must receive a C or better in all upper division major courses.

Degree Progress

Pre-Biology majors must complete the following requirements within the specified time of declaring the pre-major. Some students may need to take courses during Summer Session to meet these requirements. Students who have not met the requirements by the required semester must either declare another major or meet with an Academic Advisor to determine if the student’s performance in the courses merits an additional semester to complete.

Pre-Majors:

A grade “C” or better must be achieved within one calendar year.

Requirements

Lower Division:

Take all of the following courses:

Note(s):

CHEM 112A  and CHEM 112B  may be substituted for CHEM 111A  and CHEM 111B  with advisor substitution request.

Take one of the following courses:

Take one of the following courses:

Take one of the following courses:

These courses do not meet any specific or elective requirements for this major:

Take one of the following course combinations in Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry (Groups A or B):

Group A
Group B
Note(s):

Few, if any, health-related professional schools (e.g. veterinary medicine) will accept CHEM 227 . Some graduate programs with master’s or doctorates in biology and/or ecology may also not accept CHEM 227 . Students interested in these programs might consider taking CHEM 220A ,CHEM 220B  and CHEM 223A ,CHEM 223B . CHEM 227  is not acceptable as a prerequisite for CHEM 441A . CHEM 227  is acceptable toward the Minor in Chemistry.

Upper Division:

Take a minimum of 36 upper division units to include the following:

Take all of the following courses: (11 units)

Although BIOL 340  is not required for this option, it is a prerequisite for many 400-level courses and may be used as an elective.

Take at least one of the following courses/course pairs: 3-4 units

Take at least two of the following courses in organismal diversity

One of which must be BIOL 313 , BIOL 316 , BIOL 324 , BIOL 427 , or BIOL 439  

Select a minimum of two courses from the following:

Additional Upper Division Courses

Take 2-3 additional upper division courses totaling 6-9 units in the Department of Biological Sciences so that a minimum number of 37 upper division units is completed. At least three of these units must be at the 400-level. Note that many 400-level courses require BIOL 340 , which may also count as one of these elective courses. Three units of BIOL 494 , BIOL 495 , and/or BIOL 496  in any combination will count toward upper division courses in this category.

Courses outside of BIOL that may also count toward these units include

Courses that will not count towards these units are

Prerequisites

To meet prerequisite standards for courses in this program’s requirements, a “C” or better is necessary in the following: