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
Major Requirements	55 hours*
Supporting Courses	12 hours*
Electives	12-23 hours
TOTAL	120 hours

*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the General Education curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill General Education requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.

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 courses required by the program meet General Education requirements:

MATH 1910 (Math)
BIOL 1110 /BIOL 1111 (Nat Sci)
CHEM 1110 /CHEM 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 (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 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 credit hour
CHEM 3020 - Organic Chemistry II 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3021 - Organic Chemistry II Lab 1 credit hour
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 (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 (12-23 hours)

A minimum of 36 hours must be at the 3000/4000 level

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
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I 3 credit hours
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II 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 - World Literatures 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 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 credit hour
CHEM 3020 - Organic Chemistry II 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3021 - Organic Chemistry II Lab 1 credit hour
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 elective 1 credit hour
Electives 16 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

NOTE:

Included in the electives will be the hours necessary for the completion of the required 36 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 .