Biological Sciences - Undergraduate
Chair: Magdalena Bezanilla
Professors M. P. Ayres, M. Bezanilla, R. G. Calsbeek, K. L. Cottingham, M. L. Guerinot, W-L. Lee, M. A. McPeek, K. J. Peterson, G. E. Schaller, E. F. Smith, L. A. Witters; Associate Professors A. A. Amodeo, P. J. Dolph, B. He, C. E. Hicks Pries, R.A. Hill, M. B. Hoppa, C. D. Nadell, O. Zhaxybayeva; Assistant Professors E.L. Behrman, H. Cantwell, D. D. Ghosh, J. Mutz; Senior Lecturer N. M. Grotz; Lecturer W. Ryan, J. D. Warren; Professor Emeritus E. M. Berger, C. L. Folt, J. J. Gilbert, C.R. McClung, D. R. Peart, R.D. Sloboda; Research Professor and Professor Emeritus S.E. Bickel, R. T. Holmes, T. P. Jack; Associate Professor Emeritus S. J. Velez; Adjunct Professors D. Gilbert-Diamond, K. E. Griswold, D. A. Leib, L. R. Lynd, G. A. O’Toole, M. J. Turk, M. E. Zegans; Adjunct Associate Professor M. E. Romano; Adjunct Assistant Professors C. G. Howe; Research Professor C. Y. Chen, T. Punshon; Research Assistant Professor J. V. Trout-Haney, Principal Instructor C. D. Layne; Senior Instructors A. L. Socha, N. R. Sylvain; Instructor T. L. Torng
To view Biological Sciences Undergraduate courses, click here.
To view Biological Sciences Graduate requirements, click here.
To view Biological Sciences Graduate courses, click here.
Requirements for Majors in the Department of Biological Sciences
The biological sciences are a diverse collection of scientific disciplines that interact and intermingle in tremendously complex and interesting ways. To provide the maximum potential for students to explore this vast area of science, the Department of Biological Sciences offers a flexible major that allows students to select coursework to fit their individual interests and career aspirations. Before declaring an area of concentration, students develop their course plan in consultation with one or more faculty advisors.
Prerequisites: CHEM 5 or CHEM 11 and one quantitative course from among BIOL 10, COSC 1, ENGS 20, EAPS 17, QSS 15, MATH 8 or above. MATH 10 (or equivalent) satisfies the quantitative requirement
but cannot be used toward the major. Students who elect to include BIOL 10 in their area of concentration (see below) must fulfill this quantitative prerequisite with one of the other courses listed above. Although not required for the major, some upper-level Biology courses require CHEM 6, and 51-52 (or equivalent). In addition, because many graduate and professional schools require CHEM 51-52 for admission, we highly recommend that students consider taking these courses. Students must pass all prerequisite courses for the major in order to graduate.
Entering the Major:
BIOL 09 (Discovering Biology Through Research) courses are one pathway for entering the Biology curriculum. BIOL 09.01 and BIOL 09.02 courses are small enrollment courses. These courses are designed to give students a hands-on, discovery-based introduction to understanding and applying the scientific method to answer questions in biology. BIOL 09.01 or 09.02 counts toward the major if it is taken anytime during the first year (including after taking one or more Foundation courses) or as the first biology course.
BIOL 11 (The Science of Life) is another pathway for entering the Biology curriculum. BIOL 11 is a topics-based introductory Biology course. There are several offerings of BIOL 11 each year, each organized around a different topic that the instructors have chosen to introduce fundamental concepts and develop a perspective on the life sciences. BIOL 11 counts toward the major if it is taken anytime during the first year (including after taking one or more Foundation courses) or as the first biology course. Only one offering of BIOL 11 may be taken for credit.
Students may count both BIOL 09 and BIOL 11 for major/minor credit.
To help students determine if they are sufficiently prepared to enter a foundation course directly, the biology department has established an online self-assessment exam for students. Students who have any concerns about their preparedness should take BIOL 09/BIOL 11 before enrolling in a foundation course.
Foundation Courses: A student must take three courses from among five foundation courses: BIOL 12/BIOL 19 (Cell Structure and Function); BIOL 13 (Gene Expression and Inheritance); BIOL 14 (Physiology); BIOL 15 (Genetic Variation and Evolution); BIOL 16 (Ecology). The foundation courses are not sequenced and may be taken in any order. Students interested in the Biology FSP are encouraged to take BIOL 16 in fall or spring of their first year and BIOL 15 in their first or second year. In deciding which three courses to select from this list, students should discuss with their faculty advisors which foundation courses would be most appropriate for their area of concentration. Not all foundation courses need to be completed before the student moves on to courses in their area of concentration.
Area of Concentration: To complete the major, a student develops an area of concentration by taking seven additional courses, including at least two biology courses numbered 50 or above. Biology courses numbered 07 or below may not be counted towards the major. On our website, we list possible areas of concentration (Human Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Neurobiology, or Integrative Biology) that students may find useful in guiding their course selection. We offer these only as examples and not as an exhaustive list. The courses listed for each area are suggestions to help students get started. Students are not required to limit themselves to the courses listed under a single area. Students may also develop Areas of Concentrations that are not listed. Any Biology faculty member may serve as your advisor even if they are not listed under a specific area of concentration (provided they feel comfortable advising students in that area). Our hope is that students and advisors together will design a major that fulfills the specific interests and goals of each student. Faculty members with interests in the listed areas are on our website; students interested in other areas should ask the Department Chair or the departmental Undergraduate Committee to suggest a faculty member who would be appropriate to advise the student in developing their course plan. In recognition of the interdisciplinary nature of the life sciences, up to two suitable advanced courses from other departments may be included in the Area of Concentration when appropriate to the student’s objectives, or a modified major may be constructed (see below). One term of Independent Research (BIOL 95) or Honors Research (BIOL 97) may also be included among the seven courses.
Culminating Experience: To satisfy the culminating experience requirement, students must take a course numbered 50 or above, normally during their senior year. Any Biology course numbered 50 or above that is appropriate for the student’s area of concentration will satisfy the culminating experience requirement. Each student will determine with their faculty advisor which course is suitable as a culminating experience for their area of concentration and interests. These courses include the Biology foreign study program, independent research courses, courses that focus on the primary literature in a discipline, and courses with substantial laboratory components and/or individual projects. The culminating experience course should be taken in a student’s senior year, although a course taken in the junior year may in exceptional circumstances satisfy the culminating experience and requires the approval of the Department Chair or the departmental Undergraduate Committee.
Independent Research and the Biology Honors Program
Biology majors are encouraged to undertake independent research in biology either as part of the Honors Program or separately. Participants in the Honors Program should apply to enroll in BIOL 97/98. The subject of the honors research project should be directly relevant to the student’s area of concentration. Those who conduct research outside of the Honors Program should enroll in BIOL 95/96.
Work on an Honors thesis normally extends through three or more terms. Candidates for Honors must meet the minimum College requirements. Application to enroll in BIOL 95/96 or BIOL 97/98 should be made at least one month prior to the beginning of the term in which the course is to be elected. Plans for research should be made in the term before the project begins. Independent research conducted off campus during a leave/transfer term without the direct supervision of a faculty advisor from the Dartmouth College Department of Biological Sciences cannot be used to earn credit for BIOL 95, BIOL 96, BIOL 97 or BIOL 98.
BIOL 97 (or BIOL 95) may be counted only once among the seven courses for the area of concentration, but two terms of Independent Research may be taken for course credit towards graduation.
Each Honors candidate shall submit a thesis to a committee at least two weeks before the end of the last term.
The thesis committee will be composed of three faculty members, one of whom will be the research sponsor and one of whom will be the biology co-sponsor (if applicable). Specifically, at least two of the three members of the examination committee must be members of the Biology Department faculty (tenure-track, adjunct or research faculty) and at least one of these two must be a member of the Biology Department tenure-track faculty (those listed as professors, associate professors or assistant professors). Each candidate’s Honors Program concludes with the candidate making a public presentation of their work, followed by an oral examination conducted by the thesis committee, on the thesis work and related topics. The quality of the written thesis and the student’s grasp of his or her research program as determined by their performance on the oral exam determine if the student’s degree is awarded with honors.
Requirements for a Biology Modified Major
Students who wish to complement their interest in the life sciences with several courses in one or more disciplines may consider a modified major. For a modified major, the prerequisite and foundation course requirements remain the same. Students develop an area of concentration by taking five additional biology courses and four suitable advanced courses from another department or combination of departments. At least two of the advanced Biology courses must be numbered 50 and above; one of these is the culminating experience, normally taken in the senior year. Courses outside the Biological Sciences Department may not be substituted for foundation courses or for the five Biology courses in their area of concentration.
Biology Major Modified with Math
Mathematics is the “Language of Science”. Students who are more quantitatively oriented may want to consider modifying their Biology major with Mathematics. To facilitate this, the Biological Sciences and Mathematics Departments have agreed on the following structure for a Biology modified with Mathematics major. In addition to the biology courses in their area of concentration, students choosing this option will take four courses from among the offerings in Mathematics. Prerequisites and foundation course requirements for the Biology major remain the same. All students choosing this option must take
MATH 22 (Linear Algebra with Applications) and
MATH 23 (Differential Equations). The other two mathematics courses should be chosen in consultation with your Biology advisor depending on your area of concentration. Any two courses in the following list of Mathematics Department courses are appropriate:
Discrete Methods and Modeling: MATH 20 (Probability), MATH 36 (Mathematical Models in the Social Sciences), MATH 76 (Topics in Applied Mathematics)
Probability and Statistics: MATH 20 (Probability), MATH 28 (Introduction to Combinatorics), MATH 40 (Probability and Statistical Inference), MATH 50 (Introduction to Linear Models), MATH 70 (Elements of Multivariable Statistics and Statistical Learning)
Dynamics: MATH 46 (Introduction to Applied Mathematics), MATH 53 (Partial Differential Equations), MATH 76 (Topics in Applied Mathematics)
Requirements for the Biology Minor
The prerequisites for the Biology minor are CHEM 5 or CHEM 11 and one quantitative course from among BIOL 10, COSC 1, ENGS 20, EARS 17, QSS 15, MATH 8 or above. MATH 10 (or equivalent) satisfies the quantitative requirement. In addition, students will complete two foundation courses and four additional Biology courses (BIOL 09 or above). Students may choose to use BIOL 10 as a prerequisite or as one of the four additional Biology courses but not both. Students who elect to count BIOL 10 as one of the four additional courses must fulfill the quantitative prerequisite with one of the other courses listed above. Students do not need to develop an area of concentration for the minor, but they may do so if they wish. Courses outside the Biological Sciences Department may not be substituted for foundation courses or the four additional Biology courses.
Academic Standing
•Satisfactory completion of the Biology major or modified major requires obtaining a final grade point average of at least 2.00 in the ten courses that count toward the major or the twelve courses that count toward the modified major.
•Post-matriculation transfer credits are rarely granted for BIOL 11 or the Foundation Courses.
•No more than two transfer credits may be used for area of concentration courses. The one exception is that three courses may be transferred in from the Dartmouth exchange program at the Marine Biology Lab in Massachusetts.
Credit and Advanced Placement The Department gives no credit for courses taken at another college or university prior to first year matriculation at Dartmouth.
•BIOL - Biological Sciences - Undergraduate Courses