Biological Sciences Major, BS - Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Concentration

The biological sciences major offers concentrations in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology; ecology and evolutionary biology; and microbiology.

Continuing, returning, and transfer students must meet progression requirements before declaring a major in biological sciences.

To declare biological sciences as a major, students must have an overall GPA of 2.0, be in good academic standing and have completed CHEM 122* -CHEM 123* and CHEM 132* -CHEM 133* and BIOL 150* or BIOL 158* with a minimum grade of C. Although the completion of either BIOL 113* -BIOL 114* -BIOL 115* or BIOL 150* -BIOL 160* -BIOL 159* are permissible as prerequisites to the major, the faculty encourage students to take BIOL 150* -BIOL 160* -BIOL 159* , particularly if they anticipate a career in a health profession.

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Prerequisites

A minimum grade of C must be earned in all prerequisites.

BCMB Concentration

The concentration consists of 32 hours.

I. Complete:

BCMB 311 - Advanced Cellular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 401 - Biochemistry I 4 Credit Hours
CHEM 260 - Foundations of Organic Chemistry 3 Credit Hours
CHEM 269 - Foundations of Organic Chemistry Laboratory 1 Credit Hours
CHEM 359 - In-depth Organic Chemistry Laboratory 1 Credit Hours
CHEM 360 - In-depth Organic Chemistry 3 Credit Hours

II. Select one course:

BCMB 402 - Biochemistry II 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 405 - Biophysical Chemistry 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 412 - Molecular Biology and Genomics 4 Credit Hours

III. Select (13 total hours):

A. Select at least 2 credit hours from laboratory courses:

BCMB 322* - Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology Lab 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 403 - Neurogenetics Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 416 - Neurobiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 419* - Cellular and Comparative Biochemistry Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
MICR 479 - Advanced Techniques in Nucleic Acid Sequencing 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 452* - Independent Research in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 1-3 Credit Hours (Maximum of 3 hours may be applied toward the Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Major.)

B. Select one integrative biology course:

BCMB 321 - Introductory Plant Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 330 - Developmental Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 423 - Neural Basis of Behavior 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 415 - Foundations in Neurobiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 440 - Advanced Human Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 461 - Cancer Biology 3 Credit Hours

C. Select remaining hours:

BCMB courses numbered 300 and above (Check the BCMB webpage to find courses offered by semester at https://bcmb.utk.edu/course-offering-by-semester/)
BCMB 321 - Introductory Plant Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 322* - Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology Lab 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 330 - Developmental Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 333 - Structural Biology and Human Health 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 402 - Biochemistry II 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 403 - Neurogenetics Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 405 - Biophysical Chemistry 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 409* - Perspectives in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 412 - Molecular Biology and Genomics 4 Credit Hours
BCMB 415 - Foundations in Neurobiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 416 - Neurobiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
BCMB 419* - Cellular and Comparative Biochemistry Laboratory 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 420 - Advanced Topics in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 422* - Computational Biology and Bioinformatics 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 423 - Neural Basis of Behavior 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 424 - Programming for Statistical and Graphical Analysis of Biological Data 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 433 - Analytical Techniques in Human Disease 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 440 - Advanced Human Physiology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 452* - Independent Research in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 1-3 Credit Hours
BCMB 452R* - Independent Research in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 1-3 Credit Hours
BCMB 455* - Scientific Communication 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 457 - Honors Thesis 1 Credit Hours
BCMB 461 - Cancer Biology 3 Credit Hours
BCMB 492 - Off-Campus Study 1-6 Credit Hours
BCMB 493 - Independent Study 1-3 Credit Hours
SELECT REMAINING HOURS:
EEB 403 - The Evolution of Cancer: An Integrative Approach 3 Credit Hours
MICR 321 - Advanced Microbiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 330 - Immunology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 410 - Microbial Physiology 3 Credit Hours
MICR 411 - Microbial Genetics 3 Credit Hours
MICR 420 - Microbial Pathogenesis 3 Credit Hours
MICR 429 - Medical Microbiology Laboratory 2 Credit Hours
MICR 440 - Virology 3 Credit Hours

Note:

At least 7 out of the 13 credit hours must be BCMB courses.

Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology Concentration - Honors Option

An honors option is offered to students who have completed BIOL 150* (or BIOL 158* ), BIOL 159* (or BIOL 167* ), BIOL 160* (or BIOL 168* ), and BIOL 240 with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or above and an overall GPA of at least 3.25 at the time of electing to take the honors option.
Complete 12 hours of upper-division (300-level or above) honors BCMB courses with a grade of B or better in each course. These honors courses should include BCMB 457 and BCMB courses (except for BCMB 452* ) taken as honors-by-contract courses (BCMB 457 is automatically an honors course and cannot be taken as honors-by-contract.)
Participate in independent research (BCMB 452* ) with a minimum of 3 credit hours of BCMB 452* and 1 credit hour of BCMB 457 spread out over at least two semesters.
Note: No more than 4 total credit hours combined from BCMB 452* and BCMB 457 may be applied toward the BCMB concentration.
An overall GPA of 3.25 is required at graduation.

* Meets Volunteer Core Requirements .

Undergraduates

Graduate Students