Undergraduate Programs

Students doing lab work in teaching lab during Phage Hunters BIOL 302L class.
UMBC students at work in the Phage Hunters genetics course. Photo by Steve Caruso.

 
An innovative, comprehensive overview of biology forms the basis for all of the degrees offered by the Department of Biological Sciences. Students choose their course of study according to their career objectives. The B.A. in Biological Sciences (BIOL B.A.) curriculum is designed for students who plan to pursue a medical or other health profession, or who wish to combine another area of study — such as business, art, environmental studies, or science writing — with a solid background in biology.  The B.S. in Biological Sciences (BIOL B.S.) curriculum is most appropriate for students planning to pursue graduate study in biology or to work in a technical or laboratory research setting.  Students wishing to combine biological knowledge with the fields of computer science and mathematics can pursue the B.S. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BINF). Finally, students whose career goal is teaching biology at the secondary education level can follow the program leading to a B.A. in Biology Education (BIOE). In addition to these degree programs, our department also participates in the B.S. program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BIOC) with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Students majoring in another area of study can also pursue one of our minor programs. We have courses of study leading to minors in Biological Sciences, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and Quantitative Biology.

The links at the left will lead you to more complete explanations of these courses of study.