BS in Biology

Teacher Certificate

For students interested in a teaching career, NJIT students have the option of applying to the Teacher Certification Program. This program, jointly administered with the Rutgers-Newark Department of Urban Education, allows accepted students to take the necessary coursework to be able to obtain a teaching license in New Jersey.

Teacher certification is open to students enrolled in either the BA or BS curriculum. All requirements of each curriculum must still be completed (38 credits of biology, cognate courses). Some Education courses fulfill the General University Requirements.

See the Teacher Education Programs link for more information.

The Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree Program in Biological Sciences emphasizes a more quantitative approach to biology than the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree program. The BS program will help students develop computer and mathematical skills needed for biological sciences in the 21st century. Students opting for BS must take advanced mathematics and computer science courses, including one upper division mathematical biology course. This curriculum is ideal for students who wish to work in industry, in government, or as a researcher or teacher.

Required Coursework

To obtain a Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Biological Sciences, students must satisfy the Major Requirements in Biology, the General University Requirements (GUR), and complete a minimum of 128 credits. The requirements for a BS in Biology consist of 38 credits in Biological Sciences plus cognate courses in Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science.

The following requirements define the BS Degree in Biological Sciences. All required courses listed below, including cognate courses, must be completed with a grade of C or better.

1) REQUIRED CORE COURSES ~ 12 credits
A. R120/BIOL 200 Concepts in Biology * (4cr) *Effective from Fall 2011 ONLY. Currently enrolled students should complete General Biology (R120:101&102).	4 credits +
B. R120:201 Foundations of Cell & Molecular Biology Lecture (3cr)	3 credits +
C. R120:202 Foundations of Cell & Molecular Biology Laboratory (1cr)	1 credit +
D. BIOL 205 Foundations of Ecology & Evolution Lecture (3cr)	3 credits +
E. BIOL 206 Foundations of Ecology & Evolution Laboratory (1cr)	1 credit = 12cr
2) CONCEPT CLUSTERS ~ 13 credits. Majors must complete one course from each* of the following four concept cluster categories:*
A. Ecological and Evolutionary Framework (3cr) BIOL 222 Evolution R120:282 Animal Behavior R120:280 Ecology R120:370 Plant Ecology	3 credits +
B. The Functional Organism (4cr) R120:211 Plant Kingdom R120:335 General Microbiology R120:330 Plant Physiology R120/BIOL 340 Mammalian Physiology R120:342/343 Developmental Biology & Dev. Biol. Laboratory R120:230 Biology of Seed Plants	4 credits +
C. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms (3cr) R120:352 Genetics R120:355 Cell Biology R120:356 Molecular Biology R120:360 Biochemistry	3 credits +
D. Computational Biology (3cr) MATH 371 Physiology and Medicine MATH 372 Population Biology MATH 373 Intro Mathematical Biology MATH 430 Analytical & Computational Neuroscience MATH 431 Systems Computational Neuroscience	3 credits = 13cr
3) BIOLOGY ELECTIVES ~ 6 credits. Majors must complete two courses* from the following list of (3cr) biology elective courses:*
R120:325 Animal Parasites R120:342 Developmental Biology R120:345 Comparative Physiology R120/BIOL 346 Neurobiology R120:350 Immunology R120:365 Human Ecology BIOL 375 Conservation Biology BIOL 383 Neural Basis of Behavior BIOL 368 Ecology and Evolution of Disease R120:402 Biology of Cancer R120:422 Biological Invasions BIOL 440 Cell Biology of Disease R120:445 Endocrinology BIOL 447 Cellular and Systems Neuroscience BIOL 448 Neuropathophysiology R120:455 Molecular Cell Biology R120:456 Virology R120:472 Environmental Assessment BIOL 491 Research and Independent Study BIOL 492 Research and Independent Study R120:493 Seminar in Biology R120:494 Seminar in Biology	<···2 courses 3 credits + 3 credits = 6cr
4) LABORATORY / FIELD EXPERIENCE ~ 7 credits. Majors must complete at least one 4-credit lab in this category:
A. Four Credit Laboratories (4cr) R120:211 Plant Kingdom R120:227 Biology of Invertebrates R120:230 Biology of Seed Plants R120:285 Comp. Vertebrate Anatomy R120:311 Taxonomy of Vascular Plants R120:313 Mycology R120:325/326 Animal Parasites & Parasitology Laboratory R120:330 Plant Physiology R120:335 General Microbiology R120/BIOL 340 Mammalian Physiology R120:342/343 Developmental Biology & Laboratory R120:405 Microanatomy of Tissues R120:430 Plant Growth and Development BIOL 451 Cell Physiology and Imaging	4 credits +
B. Three Credit Laboratories (3cr) R120:328 Ecology of Birds R120:371 Field Plant Ecology R120:380 Field Ecology R120:381 Field Animal Ecology BIOL 475 Analytical Field Ecology R120:485 Tropical Field Ecology (2cr)	3 credits = 7cr
5) COGNATE COURSES ~ 40-41 credits. Majors must complete all* cognate courses in this category:*
A. BNFO 136 Bioinformatics II (3cr)	3 credits +
B. CHEM 124 General Chemistry Lab (1cr) C. CHEM 125 General Chemistry I (3cr) D. CHEM 126 General Chemistry II (3cr) E. CHEM 243 Organic Chemistry I (3cr) F. CHEM 244 Organic Chemistry II (3cr) · G. CHEM 244A Organic Chemistry Lab (2cr)	15 credits +
H. PHYS 111 Physics I (3cr) I. PHYS 111A Physics Lab I (1cr) J. PHYS 121 Physics II (3cr) K. PHYS 121A Physics Lab II (1cr)	8 credits +
L. MATH 111 Calculus I (4cr) M. MATH 112 Calculus II (4cr) N. MATH 211 Calculus III (3cr)	11 credits +
O. MATH Cognate (3-4cr). O. Majors must complete one* of the following math cognate courses:* MATH 222 Differential Equations (4cr) MATH 227 Mathematical Modeling (4cr) MATH 337 Linear Algebra (3cr) MATH 340 Applied Numerical Methods (3cr)	3 or 4 credits = 40-41cr
6) GENERAL UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENT (GUR) COURSES ~ 50 credits.
BNFO 135 Bioinformatics I (3cr) FRSH SEM Freshman Seminar (0cr) HUM 101 English I (3cr) HUM 102 English II (3cr) MATH 333 Probability and Statistics (3cr) MGMT 390 Principles of Management (3cr)	15 credits +
GUR Elective - 2 Physical Education Elective Courses (1cr each = 2cr) GUR Elective - 3 Free Elective Courses (3cr each = 9cr) GUR Elective - 2 Technical Elective Courses (3cr each = 6cr) GUR Elective - 2 HSS Upper Level Elective Courses (3cr each = 6cr) GUR Elective - 2 Social Sciences Elective Courses (3cr each = 6cr) GUR Elective - 1 English and Cultural History Elective Course (3cr) GUR Elective - HSS Senior Seminar (3cr)	35 credits = 50cr

Category 1-4: Biology Courses:	38 credits
Category 5: Cognate Courses:	40-41 credits
Category 6: GUR Courses:	50 credits
BS DEGREE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES	128 CREDITS