Biology, B.A.

Juneau

The B.A. degree in Biology provides students with the opportunity to learn biological principles and skills in lecture, laboratory and field courses with a breadth in liberal arts and sciences. Students have the option to choose a Fisheries Science Emphasis or to pursue General Electives. Program assessment plans are posted on the Program Assessment website.

Admission Requirements

Applicants will be considered for full admission to the B.A. in Biology, and be assigned a faculty advisor, after completion of the following:

BIOL S115
BIOL S116
*Fundamentals of Biology I
and *Fundamentals of Biology II
8
MATH S151*College Algebra for Calculus 14
WRTG S111*Writing Across Contexts3
High school chemistry, or a C (2.00) or higher in either CHEM S103 or CHEM S105.
1

 May be met by placement examination.

Candidates must complete the General Education Requirements (GERs), the Alaska Native Knowledge Graduation Requirement, as well as the specific program requirements listed below for a minimum of 120 credit hours. Courses in a degree program may be counted only once. Courses used to fulfill the major requirements cannot be used to fulfill the GERs. Specific requirements for GERs are listed below. The degree must include 44 credits of upper-division (300 or above) courses. To satisfy the residency requirement, 30 credits must be completed at UAS, including 24 upper division credits.

Minimum Credit Hours 120
General Education Requirements 36
Alaska Native Knowledge Graduation Requirement 3
Major Requirements 36
Biology Electives 10
General Electives 38
General Education Requirements
Complete all General Education Requirements which must include the following:36
*Fundamentals of Biology I
*Fundamentals of Biology II
*College Algebra for Calculus
Major Requirements
BIOL S271Ecology4
BIOL S310Animal Physiology 14
BIOL S362Genetics4
BIOL S482Evolution4
CHEM S105*General Chemistry I 3
CHEM S105LGeneral Chemistry I Laboratory1
CHEM S106*General Chemistry II3
CHEM S106LGeneral Chemistry II Laboratory1
MATH S152*Trigonometry (or higher) 23
STAT S200*Elementary Statistics3
Select six credits from at least two disciplines in the following:6
*Earth and Environment (or higher)
*Physical Geology (or higher)
*Introduction to Astronomy
Probability and Statistics (or higher)
Biology Electives
Select 10 credits of the following:10
Introduction to Marine Biology
Introduction to Plant Biology
Communicating Science
Biological Oceanography
Experimental Design and Data Analysis
Conservation Biology
Current Topics in Biology: 3
Marine Ornithology and Herpetology
Marine Mammalogy
Field Studies in Behavior and Ecology 4
Individual Research 4
Research in Biology
Invertebrate Zoology
Marine Animal Physiology
Introduction to Ichthyology
Animal Behavior
Field Studies in Biology: 3
Aquatic Pollution
Marine Ecology
Biology Seminar 3
All Biology students have the option of pursuing a Fisheries Science Emphasis, which will satisfy up to 21 of the 38 General Elective requirements.
Fisheries Science Emphasis Requirements19-21
Must include 13 credits:
Introduction to Marine Fisheries Science 5
Introduction to Ichthyology
FISH F288
(Fish and Fisheries of Alaska) 5
FISH F487
(Fisheries Management) 5
Select two additional electives in BIOL (UAS) or FISH (UAF) with advisor permission (6-8 credits).
General Electives up to 38
To include upper-division courses as needed to meet 44 upper division credits required for degree.
1

Or any Upper Division Chemistry Course (4 credits).

2

Course credit may vary for higher level Math courses.

3

Only 4 credits from BIOL S375, 4 credits from BIOL S475, and 2 credits from BIOL S492 may be applied toward the Biology electives. Others may be applied toward General Electives.

4

Up to 6 credits total from BIOL S396/398/498 may be applied.

5

May be applied toward the Biology Electives and General Electives for students not pursuing the emphasis.

FISH courses available from UAF distance or face-to-face at the Lena Point CFOS facility.

  1. Students will gain a broad background in biological sciences.
  2. Students will develop critical thinking skills.
  3. Students will improve oral and written scientific communication skills.
  4. Students will gain practical experiences in basic biological research.