Where to Start?

Students interested in attending ULM should browse the university's prospective student pages on-line.  Specific information pertaining to undergraduate admissions can be found on the ULM Office of Admissions website.

How to Be a Biology Major

In addition to being a fascinating field of study in its own right, the Biology major can be used to fulfill requirements for admission to medical, dental, veterinary, optometry or pharmacy schools, for wildlife biology certification by The Wildlife Society, or for fisheries biology certification by The American Fisheries Society (see below)

Specific Biology courses are required for every student majoring in Biology:

Principles of Biology I, II, and laboratories (BIOL 120,121,122,123)

Genetics (BIOL 305)

Senior Seminar (BIOL 499)

Every Biology major must also take 14 hours of Biology list electives, with at least one course from each of the four subject areas:

A. Cell/Devleopment/Molecular Biology

B. Organismal Biology

C. Ecology/Environmental Science/ Wildlife and Fisheries

D. Evolution/Systematics

A course taken to fulfill requirements in one listed area may not count toward a second area. The remaining elective biology courses may be taken to fulfill subject area concentrations or certification requirements.  Please see our course offerings to identify which courses apply for which list electives.

A total of 48 credit hours in Biology courses for majors are required for a Biology degree. A minimum of 16 of the Biology elective credit hours must be 300 - or 400 - level courses (courses taken for the four Biology list electives may not count towards this requirement). A minimum final GPA of 2.0 in Biology courses is required for graduation with the B.S. in Biology. Students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in all required Biology courses, including the four Biology list electives.

Independent study (Biology 403), Research Participation (Biology 497/498), Cooperative Internships (496) and Senior Biology Seminar (Biology 499) can be used as Biology electives (not to exceed more than 7 credits total).  Speak with your academic advisor before enrolling in any courses.

A sample undergraduate degree plan could look something like this:

For pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-veterinary,pre-optometry and pre-pharmacy oriented students, typical minimal admission requirements for medical schools can easily be met within the framework of Biology major requirements.  Recommended course electives for medical school admissions include Biology 214/215 (Microbiology), 306 (Genetics lab), Biology 316 (Comparative Anatomy), Biology 311, 312/313 (Human Physiology), and one year of physics (203, 204) for your physical science electives. Though not required, Biochemistry (Chem 336 and 337) is highly recommended and may substitute for 6 hours of Biology electives. Advanced English Composition (Engl 326) is also recommended.

Wildlife Biology certification from The Wildlife Society requirements include 6 hrs of wildlife management courses (Game Birds [Biol 486], Game Mammals [488]), 6 hrs of wildlife biology that must include Mammalogy (Biol 482) or Ornithology (484) but may also include Herpetology (480), 3 hrs of ecology (303/304), 9 hrs of zoology (from 208/209, 330, 332, 414, and 478), or 9 hrs of botany (from 204/205, 412, 432, 434, 436, 438, 440, and 451).  A total of at least 36 credit hours must be earned from the five subject areas, wildlife management, wildlife biology, ecology, zoology, and botany. Other requirements include 9 hrs of physical sciences from two different disciplines; 9 hrs of quantitative sciences, statistics (Math 116), plus an elective such as computer science, mathematical modeling, or sampling design; 12 hrs of communications (English 101, 102, Speech 201 [non-science elective]; and English 220 [non-science elective]); and 6 hrs of Policy, Administration, and Law (Resource Conservation & Management [Agro 301] and Resource & Environmental Economics [Econ 390]).

Fisheries Biology certification as an Associate Fisheries Professional from the American Fisheries Society requirements include 12 hrs of fisheries and aquatic sciences (from Freshwater Ecology [Biol 476], Ichthyology [478], Estuarine Zoology [490] and Aquatic Plants [432]), at least 18 hrs of “other biology courses”, 15 hrs of physical sciences (Chem 107/109, 108/110, 303/305, 304/306), 6 hrs of math and statistics (Math 113, 116), 9 hrs of communications (English 101, 102, communications elective), 6 hrs of “Human Dimensions” (Biol 320 [if not taken as an “other biology course”], Agri 421, Econ 202, or Phil 403). Certification requires that a student apply to The American Fisheries Society for certification upon graduation.

How to Be a Biology Minor or Major in Biology Education

A minor in Biology requires the following courses: 120/121, 122/123, 305 and 12 additional semester hours of Biology above Biology 200 (total of 23 credit hours).

A major in Science Education-Biology requires the following courses: Biology 120/121, 122/123, 204/205, 208/209, 214/215, 226, 303/304, 305 plus 23 additional hours of science (total of 53 credit hours of science).

A minor in Science Education-Biology requires the following courses: Biology 120/121, 122, 204/205, 214/215, 226, 303/304, and 305, Chemistry 101/103, 102/104 (total of 30 semester hours).  Students must have Mathematics 111 and 112 or proficiency in college algebra and trigonometry.