Biochemistry, B.S.

Department of Chemistry
615-898-5466
Paul Kline, program coordinator
Paul.Kline@mtsu.edu

A Biochemistry degree can not only prepare students for professional careers as chemists; it may also serve as the basis for work in areas outside pure chemistry, such as materials science, medicine and other health-related fields, nutrition, pharmacology, patent law, business, and environmental science, to name a few.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Biochemistry, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

General Education (41 hours)

General Education requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences.

The following General Education courses are required for this major:

MATH 1910 (Math)
BIOL 1110/1111 (Nat Sci)
CHEM 1110/1111 (Nat Sci)

Major Requirements (55 hours)

CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (4 credit hours may be counted in General Education)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 3020 - Organic Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 3021 - Organic Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4330 - Physical Chemistry Fundamentals I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4331 - Physical Chemistry Fundamentals I Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 4500 - Biochemistry I 3 credit hours
CHEM 4510 - Biochemistry II 3 credit hours
CHEM 4550 - Bioanalytical Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4551 - Bioanalytical Chemistry Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours (4 credit hours may be counted in General Education)
BIOL 1120 - General Biology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1121 - General Biology II Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 2230 - Microbiology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2231 - Microbiology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 3250 - Genetics 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3251 - Genetics Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL/CHEM upper-division electives 9 credit hours (minimum of 3 credit hours in each discipline)

Supporting Courses (12 hours)

PHYS 2010 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2011 - Physics Problems Laboratory I 4 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2110 - Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2111 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory I 4 credit hours
PHYS 2020 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2021 - Physics Problems Laboratory II 4 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2120 - Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2121 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory II 4 credit hours
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours (3 credit hours may be counted in General Education, 1 credit hour remaining)

Electives (23 hours)

8 credit hours must be 3000/4000 level

Total hours in program: 120

Curriculum: Biochemistry

Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

Freshman

CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci) (See Note 1) AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Nat Sci) (See Note 1)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours (See Note 2) AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours (See Note 2)
ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours (Nat Sci)
BIOL 1120 - General Biology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1121 - General Biology II Lab 0 credit hours
Choose 6 hours from:
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 28 Hours

Sophomore

ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
HUM 2610 - Foreign Literature in Translation 3 credit hours (Hum/FA)
BIOL 2230 - Microbiology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 2231 - Microbiology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 3250 - Genetics 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3251 - Genetics Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 3020 - Organic Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 3021 - Organic Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours (Math)
COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication 3 credit hours (Comm)
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
Elective 1 credit hour

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Junior

CHEM 4500 - Biochemistry I 3 credit hours
CHEM 4510 - Biochemistry II 3 credit hours
PHYS 2010 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2011 - Physics Problems Laboratory I 4 credit hours
PHYS 2020 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2021 - Physics Problems Laboratory II 4 credit hours
CHEM 4550 - Bioanalytical Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4551 - Bioanalytical Chemistry Lab 0 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
Electives 5 credit hours
BIOL elective (upper-division) 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Senior

CHEM 4330 - Physical Chemistry Fundamentals I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 4331 - Physical Chemistry Fundamentals I Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM upper-division elective 3 credit hours
BIOL/CHEM upper-division elective 3 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours
Upper-division electives 8 credit hours
Electives 9 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

NOTE:

Included in the electives will be the hours necessary for the completion of the required 42 upper-division hours for graduation requirements and the necessary hours to satisfy the 120-hour graduation requirement.

NOTE 1: A student who has had little or no high school chemistry or is not satisfied with his/her high school chemistry should first take CHEM 1010 /CHEM 1011 before taking CHEM 1110 /CHEM 1111 .

NOTE 2: A student who has a sufficiently high score on the ACT Mathematics test may begin with MATH 1910 . If the background in math is weak, MATH 1710 should be taken before MATH 1730 .