Biology Program Guide

Essential Program Decisions By Year

As you move through your program, you make a series of decisions that result in increasing specialization until in the 4th year the program can be designed around your personal interests and objectives. The major decisions to be made are:

First Year (entering second year)

Your primary decision will be what second-year organism courses to take, and, then secondly, what biology program option to enter in third year. Applications for Biology must be submitted in June. In your third year you may continue in Biology or apply for one of the more specialized options.

Select second-year organism courses that are consistent with your interests and the Biology Program Option that you plan to enter in third year (e.g., Animal Biology, Ecology, Genetics, etc.). For example, if you want to pursue the Plant Biology Option, you should select BIOL 209 and 210 (Non-vascular and Vascular Plants) as your organism courses for second year. For details, see the Biology Program planning sheets for each of the options. Please note that there is some flexibility in the choice of Biology Program Options at this stage: the same set of organism courses will allow you to enter a number of different Biology Program Options. For example, with BIOL 205 (Invertebrates) and 209 (Non-vascular Plants) you could enter Cell Biology and Genetics, Ecology, Conservation Biology or Marine Biology.

Second Year (entering third year)

There are four important decisions to make when planning your third year program:

1. Selecting a Biology Program Option

The option you select should be consistent with the organism courses you selected in second year. See the Biology Program Options and Program Worksheets for the different Biology Options, like Animal Biology, Plant Biology, Conservation Biology, Ecology and Environmental Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Marine Biology,  Cell Biology and Genetics, Applied Plant Biology, General Biology, or one of our combined programs. (PLEASE READ THE INFOMATION BELOW ON SELECTING A BIOLOGY PROGRAM OPTION!!!)

2. Majors, Honours and Co-op Programs

Choosing whether to do a majors, honours, or co-op program is an important decision, please read the Overview of the Biology Program.

Major programs are somewhat broader in their requirements than Honours programs and require more course work outside of Life Sciences. The Majors degree is appropriate for most pre-professional students. (Please have a look at the Biology Majors Program Worksheets)

Honours Programs are more narrowly focused and requires some extra courses in third and fourth year, and the completion of a research project and thesis with an oral defense in fourth year. The Honours program is restricted to students with averages of 75% or above in a full program of courses taken in the previous winter session and is intended to prepare students for graduate study in Life Sciences. (Please have a look at the Honours Information and Biology Honours Program Worksheets)

You may wish to apply for the Co-op Program where work terms are interspersed with study terms. You can do this from either Majors or Honours Programs although Co-op Honours Programs require careful planning with an Advisor to get all the required courses done between work terms. If you are interested in Co-op, contact Ms. Cynthia Wickstrom (wickstrom@physics.ubc.ca).

Minor programs.

Minor programs in Science, Arts or Commerce are possible in Majors programs (see below). The Minor must be planned as an integral part of your third- and fourth-year programs. You can get the application to do a minor in Biology from Science Advising.

3. Lab or Field Work.

During second year you should start thinking about getting experience with lab or field work. This is also the time to begin exploring future possibilities for Directed Studies (BIOL 448) projects, or summer employment with faculty in Life Science departments. Most labs plan ahead, so do not expect to get a directed studies position at the last minute.

4. IMPORTANT: Admission into 3rd year standing in all options of the Biology Program is determined by admission to the appropriate 3rd year physiology lab course (either BIOL 361/360/362, BIOL 361/363/364 or BIOL 351/352). One of these course sequences must be taken in 3rd year.

Credit will be given for only one of BIOL 361/363/364 or PHYL 301, but only BIOL 353 will satisfy the Biology Program physiology requirement.

IMPORTANT - Students unable to register in one of the lab physiology courses on entering 4th year should select a General Science Program, another program in Science or another Faculty because they will no longer be in the Biology Program.

Third Year (entering fourth year)

Select electives for fourth year to tailor your program to your individual interests and needs. Consideration should be given to a directed studies project for fourth year. Please see the Biology Program Elective Lists.

 

The number of decisions required at any one time is not very large. Further, you do not need to decide at the beginning of the program everything that you will take at later stages. There is sufficient flexibility to allow your program to develop as you proceed. Most of the important decisions for years 1 - 3 can be altered without too much difficulty up to one year after you first make them. Thus, if you feel that you have selected the wrong program at the start of the third year, you may still be able to change as late as the start of 4th year, providing you have an appropriate third year physiology lab course. This is because the programs are designed with the early course work being more general and the later more specialized. We encourage students to take the program core courses in third year (statistics, physiology, genetics and ecology) and to leave most of the electives to 4th year. This facilitates transfer between program options.

 

Selecting a Biology Program Option

There are eighteen Biology B.Sc. program options. All of them require a core of basic courses, but differ in the selection of electives (primarily in the fourth year) and in the range of organism courses required at lower levels. These programs are designed to produce graduates who have an extensive background in a specific area in biology, a good foundation in organismal biology and a solid background in areas of biology other than their specialization.

In selecting a biology program option, you should keep in mind your career objectives and personal interests. Thus, if you are interested in environmental studies you might take the Ecology and Environmental Biology option and choose electives from the relevant earth sciences and chemistry courses. In general, you should let your interests guide you. Each of the programs is fairly broad and provides a good background in biology. Students preparing for professional careers in the Health Sciences or in Teaching need to keep the requirements of these professional programs in mind as they select program options and plan their undergraduate programs. Virtually all professional programs require marks in upper-level courses of mid-70s or better.

Pre-med and Pre-dent.

For example, if you intend to apply to the Faculty of Medicine or the Faculty of Dentistry you will need to take a year of biochemistry (BIOL 201 plus BIOC 302 or 303, or BIOC 300). Most of the pre-medical or pre-dental students in the Biology Program take the Animal Biology or Cell Biology and Genetics options. This is not necessary; the Biology option is very flexible and will allow you to get a good pre-professional education as well.

Secondary Teaching.

If you intend to pursue a teaching career in secondary schools, you need to consider acquiring a second teaching concentration (18 credits of upper level courses in an area other than biology). Any key second-year courses required as prerequisites for your second area should be worked into your second-year program. See "Secondary Teaching Field Requirements" in the Education section of the Calendar. Similarly, if you wish to complete a Minor in another faculty, you need to make sure that your second-year program includes the key prerequisite courses.

Business.

If you intend to follow up a Biology B.Sc. with an MBA or other professional program in Commerce, you might consider the Commerce Minor option described above.

Professional Biologist.

If you intend to be a professional biologist you may pursue either a Major or Honours degree, but be sure to include some research experience (BIOL 448 or 449) in your undergraduate program in preparation for work at the graduate level.

Here is a short list of some things that are expected for admission to graduate programs in Biology:

First class average, ideally, although some programs will accept students with averages as low as 75% in upper level courses.

High grades are important for getting scholarships which are important because they liberate time for lab/research work; otherwise time is spent as a teaching assistant during each term. Most students have support.

Research experience prior to getting accepted into a lab or research group is essential. Otherwise, how do you know that you like that sort of work?

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