Biology Program to Evolve in 2011W

On May 12th, the Senate of UBC Vancouver will be voting to pass changes to the Biology program. These changes will entirely abolish senior specializations (e.g. Animal Biology, Cell Biology and Genetics, Plant Biology, etc.) as well as modify existing first and second year requirements. Changes to the Biology program, if passed by Senate, will take effect for first-year students applying to the Biology program in 2011W and for second-year students applying in 2012W. Existing students may choose to graduate under the rules of the new Biology program. For more information, please refer to the UBC Vancouver senate site.

See details after the jump.

First Year Requirements

Entrance to the Biology program occurs after first or second year. After first year, all biology students will have taken a total of 34 credits:

• 6 credits of 100-level ENGL
• BIOL 111 (this requirement is waived if students have completed Biology 12)
• BIOL 112
• BIOL 121
• BIOL 140
• CHEM 121, 123 (or 111, 113 if students have not taken Chemistry 12)
• MATH 100 or 102 or 104 (or 120 or 180 or 184)
• MATH 101 or 103 or 105 (or 121)
• PHYS 100 (this requirement is waived if students have completed Physics 12)
• PHYS 101 (or 107)
• 3 credits of elective (if students have already taken Physics 12)

Proposed changes to these requirements include:

• Reduction to only three (3) credits of 100-level ENGL or SCIE 113 (a new science communications course) in first year; three (3) additional credits of 100-level ENGL or SCIE 113 are to be taken in second year

Second-Year Requirements

In second year, students intending to major in Biology are currently required to take prerequisite courses for specific specializations (e.g. Animal Biology, Cell Biology and Genetics, General Biology, etc.). Currently, second year requirements can be broadly summarized as follows:

• BIOL 200, 201
• 2 courses of organismal biology (e.g. BIOL 204, 205, 209, 210 and/or MICB 202)
• CHEM 233, 235, 205
• 12 credits of electives

Proposed changes to these requirements include:

• Addition of three (3) credits of 100-level ENGL or SCIE 113
• Removal of BIOL 201 and CHEM 205 as mandatory courses (though they are recommended as electives)
• Addition of BIOL 230 (Fundamentals of Ecology) as a mandatory course
• Addition of BIOL 234 (Fundamentals of Genetics) as a mandatory course
• Addition of BIOL 260 (Fundamentals of Physiology) as a mandatory course
• Redefinition of courses fulfilling the organismal diversity requirement to include only BIOL 203, BIOL 204, BIOL 205, BIOL 209, BIOL 210 and MICB 201

Third-Year and Beyond

By third year, current Biology students are enrolled in their specializations, each with its own list of required courses and electives. Program electives are updated annually to reflect changes in curricula and course offerings. A student enrolled in Cell Biology and Genetics, for example, refers to the Cell Biology and Genetics worksheet and elective list annually when selecting courses.

Specializations will be removed altogether in the new Biology program to create a more general but flexible degree. Senior level requirements according to the new program will include:

• BIOL 300 (which may be replaced by STAT 200)
• BIOL 336
• 4-6 credits of Biology Laboratory courses
• 18-20 credits of Life Science courses
• 29 credits of electives

Biology Laboratory courses will be defined as the following courses, some of which are not yet offered and are currently being developed by students taking Directed Studies (BIOL 448):

• BIOL 326 (Experimental Biology of Invertebrates)
• BIOL 337 (Introductory Genetics Laboratory)
• BIOL 340 (Introductory Cell Biology Laboratory)
• BIOL 341 (Introductory Molecular Biology Laboratory)
• BIOL 351 (Plant Physiology I)
• BIOL 352 (Plant Physiology II: Plant Development)
• BIOL 360 (Cell Physiology Laboratory)
• BIOL 363 (Laboratory in Animal Physiology)
• BIOL 404 (Ecological Methodology)
• BIOL 409 (Field Course in Ecology)
• BIOL 437 (Laboratory in Animal Cell Molecular Biology)
• BIOL 444 (Techniques in Plant Molecular Biology)

Life Science courses will be divided into two groups: those that count towards the 72-credit science course requirement for the Bachelor of Science and those that do not.

Life science courses that will be counted as science courses include:

• Any 300-level or 400-level course in BIOC, BIOL, MICB, MRNE or PHYL available to Life Science majors
• ANAT 390, 391
• EOSC 371, 470, 471, 474, 475, 476, 478
• GEOB 307, 407
• FNH 350, 351, 451
• MATH 462
• MEDG 410, 419, 420, 421
• PCTH 305

Life science courses that will not be counted towards the science credit requirement include:

• APBI 311, 312, 314, 315, 318, 342, 401, 411, 418, 419, 444
• CONS 330, 440, 486
• FRST 302, 310, 385, 386, 395, 399, 420, 444, 485, 495

How do you feel about the changes to the Biology program?