Aug 24, 2024

2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Biology, Organismal Biology and Ecology Concentration, B.S.

Biology
615-898-2847
Dennis Mullen, program coordinator
Dennis.Mullen@mtsu.edu

Every Biology major is required to declare a concentration area. Each area requires hours to be selected from a set of designated courses. Four tracks are available under the Organismal Biology and Ecology concentration: botany, zoology, ecology, or general.

All Biology majors are assigned a professional advisor. The student is responsible for seeking the assistance of the advisor. This catalog is not intended to provide the detail necessary for self-advising.

Academic Map

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

Biology, Organismal Biology and Ecology, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (TBC)	41 hours
Major Requirements	42 hours*
Major Core	29 hours
Concentration	10 hours
Major UD Electives	3 hours
Supporting Courses	19-20 hours*
Electives	17-29 hours
TOTAL	120 hours

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

True Blue Core (41 hours)

True Blue Core (TBC) requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in the Foundational Skills areas of Written Communication (WC), Information Literacy (Info Lit), Non-Written Communication (NWC), and Quantitative Literacy (Quant Lit). Knowledge Domains include Human Society and Social Relationships (HSSR), Scientific Literacy (Sci Lit), Creativity and Cultural Expression (CCE), and History and Civic Learning (HCL), which include Discovery and Explorations categories. Students must choose at least one course from each Discovery category.

The following courses required by the major meet True Blue Core requirements:

MATH 1910 (Quant Lit)
BIOL 1110 /BIOL 1111 (Sci Lit)
CHEM 1110 /CHEM 1111 (Sci Lit)

Major Requirements (42 hours)

Biology Core (29 hours)

BIOL 1000 - Introduction to the Biology Major 1 credit hour
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
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 3060 - Diversity of Eukaryotic Life 2 credit hours AND
BIOL 3061 - Diversity of Eukaryotic Life Lab 1 credit hour
BIOL 3250 - Genetics 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3251 - Genetics Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 3400 - General Ecology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3401 - General Ecology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4200 - Senior Seminar 1 credit hour
BIOL 4110 - General Physiology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4111 - General Physiology Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4210 - Cell and Molecular Biology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4211 - Cell and Molecular Biology Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4500 - Plant Physiology 4 credit hours

Organismal Biology and Ecology Concentration (10 hours)

Students may select from the Organismal Biology and Ecology concentration courses or may choose to follow one of the tracks below.

BIOL 3500 - Evolution 3 credit hours (required)
Select at least seven additional credit hours from the following:
BIOL 3020 - Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3021 - Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates Lab 0 credit hours
NOTE: Biology majors passing BIOL 2020/2021 with a C (2.0) or better can use it as an elective option to BIOL 3020/3021. This substitution is not recommended for pre-med students and does not count for upper-division hours.
BIOL 3040 - Entomology 3 credit hours
BIOL 3050 - Parasitology 3 credit hours AND
BIOL 3051 - Parasitology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4080 - Mycology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4081 - Mycology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4090 - Forest Ecology 4 credit hours
BIOL 4140 - Invertebrate Zoology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4141 - Invertebrate Zoology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4180 - Vertebrate Zoology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4181 - Vertebrate Zoology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4220 - Ichthyology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4221 - Ichthyology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4330 - Biome Analysis 1 to 4 credit hours
BIOL 4390 - Ethology (Animal Behavior) 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4391 - Ethology (Animal Behavior) Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4420 - Plant Ecology and Evolution 4 credit hours
BIOL 4570 - Principles of Toxicology 3 credit hours AND
BIOL 4571 - Principles of Toxicology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4580 - Marine Biology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4581 - Marine Biology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4590 - Principles of Environmental Toxicology 4 credit hours

General Biology Track (11-12 hours)

This track satisfies teacher education requirements.

Area One (4 hours)

Choose one:

BIOL 3020 - Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3021 - Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4180 - Vertebrate Zoology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4181 - Vertebrate Zoology Lab 0 credit hours

Area Two (4 hours)

BIOL 4080 - Mycology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4081 - Mycology Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4090 - Forest Ecology 4 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4420 - Plant Ecology and Evolution 4 credit hours

Area Three (3-4 hours)

Choose one:

BIOL 3040 - Entomology 3 credit hours
OR
BIOL 3050 - Parasitology 3 credit hours AND
BIOL 3051 - Parasitology Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4140 - Invertebrate Zoology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4141 - Invertebrate Zoology Lab 0 credit hours

Zoology Track (10 hours)

BIOL 3020 - Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3021 - Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 3040 - Entomology 3 credit hours
BIOL 3050 - Parasitology 3 credit hours AND
BIOL 3051 - Parasitology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4140 - Invertebrate Zoology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4141 - Invertebrate Zoology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4180 - Vertebrate Zoology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4181 - Vertebrate Zoology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4220 - Ichthyology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4221 - Ichthyology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4390 - Ethology (Animal Behavior) 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4391 - Ethology (Animal Behavior) Lab 0 credit hours

BIOL UD elective (3 hours)

Supporting Courses (19-20 hours)

MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours (3 credit hours counted in the True Blue Core, 1 credit hour remaining)
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in the True Blue Core)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 2030 - Elements of Organic Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 2031 - Elements of Organic Chemistry Lab 0 credit hours
OR
CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 credit hour
BIOL 4350 - Biometry 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4351 - Biometry Lab 0 credit hours
OR
MATH 1920 - Calculus II 4 credit hours
OR
MATH 2050 - Probability and Statistics 3 credit hours

Electives (17-29 hours)

Curriculum: Biology, Organismal Biology and Ecology

Freshman

Written Communication 3 credit hours
Information Literacy 3 credit hours
Non-Written Communication 3 credit hours
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours (Quant Lit)
BIOL 1000 - Introduction to the Biology Major 1 credit hour
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours (Sci Lit) AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours (Sci Lit)
BIOL 1120 - General Biology II 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1121 - General Biology II Lab 0 credit hours
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Sci Lit) AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Sci Lit)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Sophomore

Creativity and Cultural Expression Literature 3 credit hours
History and Civic Learning 6 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Electives 6 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
CHEM 3010 - Organic Chemistry I 3 credit hours AND
CHEM 3011 - Organic Chemistry I Lab 1 credit hour
OR
CHEM 2030 - Elements of Organic Chemistry 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 2031 - Elements of Organic Chemistry Lab 0 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Junior

BIOL 3060 - Diversity of Eukaryotic Life 2 credit hours AND
BIOL 3061 - Diversity of Eukaryotic Life Lab 1 credit hour
BIOL 3400 - General Ecology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 3401 - General Ecology Lab 0 credit hours
BIOL 4110 - General Physiology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4111 - General Physiology Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4210 - Cell and Molecular Biology 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4211 - Cell and Molecular Biology Lab 0 credit hours
OR
BIOL 4500 - Plant Physiology 4 credit hours (strongly recommended for Botany track students)
BIOL 4350 - Biometry 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 4351 - Biometry Lab 0 credit hours
OR
MATH 1920 - Calculus II 4 credit hours
OR
MATH 2050 - Probability and Statistics 3 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships 6 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Electives 6 credit hours
BIOL concentration course 3-4 credit hours

Subtotal: 32-34 Hours

Senior

BIOL 4200 - Senior Seminar 1 credit hour
BIOL upper-division 3-4 credit hours
Electives* 15-16 credit hours
BIOL concentration courses 6-8 credit hours

Biology, Organismal Biology and Ecology Concentration, B.S.

Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (41 hours)

Major Requirements (42 hours)

Biology Core (29 hours)

Organismal Biology and Ecology Concentration (10 hours)

Botany Track (12 hours)

Ecology Track (10 hours)

Choose two of the following:

General Biology Track (11-12 hours)

Area One (4 hours)

Area Two (4 hours)

Area Three (3-4 hours)

Zoology Track (10 hours)

BIOL UD elective (3 hours)

Supporting Courses (19-20 hours)

Electives (17-29 hours)

Curriculum: Biology, Organismal Biology and Ecology

Freshman

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Sophomore

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Junior

Subtotal: 32-34 Hours

Senior

Subtotal: 25-28 Hours