Bachelors

Bachelor’s Degrees

At Queens College, you can pursue a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Biology or Biology (Education). And if you take four semesters of research for credit, you are also eligible to defend an honors thesis. Note that there is no meaningful difference between the Arts (BA) and Science (BSc) designations and that these vary among CUNY campuses—QC offers the BA degree.

Learning Outcomes for the Biology Major

By the end of your degree program, you will:

A. Have acquired a broad understanding of the concepts that have shaped the field of biology, including:
  1. the cellular basis of life
  2. how traits are inherited, expressed and modified
  3. how evolution and ecology shape the diversity of life

B. Have learnt and applied scientific competencies and critical thinking skills, including:

  1. the ability to evaluate scientific evidence critically, including data analysis
  2. knowledge of contemporary analytical techniques and being being able to use some of them
  3. the ability to communicate the results of scientific investigations orally and in writing
C. Have incorporated ethical values and attitudes, including:
  1. an appreciation for biodiversity and why it is so important for humans to value our fellow species
  2. a deep understanding of why it is critical that the public support biological research
  3. an appreciation for the impact of scientific literacy and education in the life sciences
  4. understanding why ethics are foundational to science
D. Be prepared for a career in the life sciences.

Requirements for the Biology Major

  1. At least 36 credits in BIOL courses (not including 39X, 387).
  2. Biology 105 AND 106 (or their equivalents), taken at the same college.
  3. CHEM 113 AND 114.
  4. CHEM 102 OR 251.
  5. ONE of MATH 151, MATH 142, BIOL 230. Note: No double-counting. Meaning, you can take Biol 230 to meet EITHER your math requirement OR your lab elective, not both (see point 7 below).
  6. AT LEAST TWO OF BIOL 285, BIOL 286, BIOL 287.
  7. AT LEAST FOUR (4) laboratory or field courses as electives.
  8. AT LEAST THREE (3) 300-level electives (not including 39X, 381, 387).
  9. AT LEAST 20 BIOL credits above Biology 106, taken at QC.
  10. Transfers: a maximum of 16 BIOL credits in the major.
  11. Required and elective courses applied to other majors or minors cannot also be applied toward Biology-major elective requirements (Note: up to 10 BIOL credits are allowed to overlap a Health minor).

Below are links to forms outlining various Biology degree requirements that you can use to plan and track your progress.

To learn more about QC’s various degree programs and how to navigate them, see the degree program maps.

Nonmajors Courses

Are you majoring in something else? The Biology Department offers survey and topic-oriented courses (with 001-099 course codes) that are designed for non majors. Most of these have recitation or discussion sections rather than formal labs.

Accelerated Graduate Track

If you are an undergraduate Biology major with a GPA of 3.0 and are considering pursuing a Master’s degree, you can save money and time by joining our Accelerated Graduate Track. Find more info here (select “Biology”).

For tuition information, see here.