A Standard Academic Program for a Bachelor of Arts in Biology Degree
A Bachelor of Arts in Biology degree is advised for students who dream of becoming biological or bio medical scientists in the future. These sciences are all centered on the study of life and the different factors that affect its existence. The former is all about life itself while the latter revolves around the application of the knowledge of life for medicinal purposes.
Course Requirements
The degree requires the completion of basic and advanced courses in Biology as well as basic courses in physics and organic chemistry. Intermediate courses in math such as Calculus II and basic statistics are also required. These core subjects are required in order to make the student ready for anything he may encounter while practicing as a scientist of life.
Upper Level Courses
Upper level courses vary depending on the career path or specialization the student has chosen. If he chose to specialize in a field of biological science he will need to finish subjects about different kinds of life from microorganisms to animals to human beings. If he chose the path of bio medical science he will be required to finish subjects that tackle about the use of living organisms to treat other living organisms.
Areas of Concentration
A student may take up a concentration in several dub-disciplines of biological and bio medical science. All of the requisites of his specialization must be included. The commonly chosen concentrations are as follows:
- Anatomy
- Animal behavior
- Biochemistry
- Biomechanics
- Cell and Molecular Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
- Genomics
- Marine biology
- Neurobiology
- Pharmacology
- Physiology
- Plant biology
Qualification Advancements
A student who has obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Biology degree can choose to pursue even greater heights by aiming for a Master’s degree. He will choose a concentration that will be noted as his major. He will then take up numerous courses that will provide him with advanced and extensive knowledge in that major. He will also conduct a study utilizing all that he had learned and present it to a panel of experts. If the panel has judged his study to be beneficial or have the potential to be beneficial to the biology community his status will be raised to that of a master’s degree holder.
A student who has obtained the status of a Master of Arts in Biology may choose to achieve the highest qualification by enrolling for a doctorate course. He may choose the same major he chose in his master’s degree studies or select another major to diversify his advanced knowledge. Like in the master’s study he will be required to take up additional courses and present a thesis. The study should from to be significantly beneficial to the scientific community for the student to achieve the status of Doctor of Arts in Biology.
Independent Study
Students are also advised to find learning outside of the college or university and its laboratories. They should conduct independent studies in areas they are most interested in. The independent studies will provide them with research experience as well as help improve their analytical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. To ensure safety however, the student is required to have a member of the faculty as a consultant. If the independent study is successful and has enough potential, it may even be used as the basis for his master’s or doctorate degree studies. The studies will also provide invaluable insight to how life in the field you are planning to choose is like.
