Lower-Division Courses

Biology Courses for Non-majors

• BIO 100 - Perspectives in Biology
• BIO 114 - The Origins of Life in the Universe
• BIO 115 - Explorations in Regional Biology (Australia, East Africa, Ecuador)

Core Biology Curriculum for Majors

• BIO 110: Biological Investigations
  • Introduction to scientific investigation through project-based studies of biological phenomena in the lab or field. Topics in this hands-on course introduce students to experimental design, data collection, data analysis, hypothesis testing, and scientific communication. The specific focus of individual Bio 110 sections will vary with faculty expertise. Sections offered in Fall of 2022 are described below.
    
    • BIO 110-01 The Forest and the Trees (Dr. Bierzychudek). This section will explore the structure and function of plants and their ecological interactions. Working in groups, students will carry out their own experimental and field-based studies of these phenomena, learn to analyze data in R, and share their results with the class.
    • BIO 110-02 The Forest and the Trees (Dr. Bierzychudek). This section will explore the structure and function of plants and their ecological interactions. Working in groups, students will carry out their own experimental and field-based studies of these phenomena, learn to analyze data in R, and share their results with the class.
    • BIO 110-03 Antibiotic Hunters (Dr. Gewin): This section will explore the scientific method in a search for new antibiotics produced by soil bacteria. Antibiotic-resistant infections are a growing issue throughout the world. Students will grow bacteria from soil samples, screen them for antibiotic activity, and work to identify any candidate microbes using current techniques of microbiology, biochemistry and DNA sequencing. The results of these experiments will be shared with the class and interesting candidate antibiotic microbes will be added to an international student-sourced antibiotic discovery database called Tiny Earth.
    • BIO 110-04 The Forest and the Trees (Dr. Long). This section will explore the structure and function of plants and their ecological interactions. Working in groups, students will carry out their own experimental and field-based studies of these phenomena, learn to analyze data in R, and share their results with the class.
• BIO 201: Biological Core Concepts - Systems  
  • This 4-credit, lecture- and discussion-based course serves as an introduction to core principles that underlie all of biology, illustrated through evidence-driven examples centered on integrative organismal biology and organisms’ interactions with the biotic and physical environment.
• BIO 202: Biological Core Concepts - Mechanisms
  • This 4-credit, lecture- and discussion-based course serves as an introduction to core principles that underlie all of biology, illustrated through evidence-driven examples centered on interactions among molecules and cells within organisms.

Second-year Biology Courses for Majors

• BIO 244 - Practicum
• BIO 252 - Introduction to Neuroscience