Current Students
Biology Degree Requirements
There are 11.5 credits in a concentration in Biology, consisting of 9.5 credits in biology and 2 credits in chemistry. These courses must include Biology 101 and 102 (or 115), 550, 551 and at least two additional courses at the 300-level or above.Concentrators must also complete Chemistry 120 (or 125) and 190 and one course chosen from a list provided by the department that discusses issues in public policy or ethics related to science or technology. With prior departmental approval, up to two credits may be transferred into the concentration from study off-campus. Students preparing for graduate studies in biology should take at least one year each of calculus and organic chemistry and should have knowledge of a foreign language and computing. Departmental honors are determined on the basis of distinguished achievement in coursework and in the Senior Thesis.
A minor in biology consists of five courses, which must include 101 and 102 (or 115) and at least one course at the 300-level or higher. The following courses do not count toward a concentration or minor in biology: 120, 150 and 215. Biology 101 and 102 are open to juniors and seniors.
These are the classes in the program you can choose from/must take.
101F General Biology: Genetics and Evolution.
102S General Biology: Cells to Ecosystems.
115F Biology: Fundamentals and Frontiers.
120S Female Biology.
150S Society and the Environment. (Same as Environmental Studies 150.)
180S Tropical Field Studies.
200F,S Scientific Digital Imaging.
213F Marine Biology.
215F Genetics and Society.
218S Industrial Ecology.
220F Molecular Evolution.
221S Microbiology.
222S Vertebrate Organization.
228F Invertebrate Biology.
237F Ecology.
240F Plant Diversity.
248S Genes and Genomes.
260S Geomicrobiology. (Same as Geosciences 260.)
270S Biological Chemistry. (Same as Chemistry 270.)
290F Paleontology. (Same as Geosciences 290.)
330S Neural Plasticity. (Same as Psychology 330.)
331S Vertebrate Physiology.
333F Vertebrate Development.
336F Cell Biology.
340S Plant Physiology.
346F Biochemistry.
349S Transmission Electron Microscopy.
352F Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis.
357F Cellular Neurobiology.
380S Parasitology.
437S Tropical Ecology.
438S Seminar in Biological Form.
441S Seminar in Evolutionary Biology.
443S Seminar in Bioinformatics.
445F Integrative Animal Biology.
448F Seminar in Molecular Genetics.
550F Senior Thesis I.
551F,S Senior Thesis II.
552F,S Senior Thesis III.
Click Here to get more course descriptions.
Click Here to see Hamilton College Catalogue.
>>Download 2007-08 Catalogue
>>Download 2007-08 Courses of Instruction