2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog
Biological Sciences
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 Return to: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences
www.smu.edu/biology
Professor Richard Jones, Department Chair
Professors: Edward Glasscok, Robert Harrod, Richard Jones, Pia Vogel
Associate Professor: Amy Brewster
Assistant Professors: Zhihao Wu, Annika Wylie
Senior Lecturers: Bianca Batista, Carolyn Harrod, Eva Oberdörster (Director of Undergraduate Studies)
Lecturers: Alejandro d’Brot, Bethany Smith, Rachel Wright
Research Associate Professor: Svetlana Radyuk
Departmental Distinction
A biological sciences major with sufficiently high academic standing may graduate with departmental distinction by successfully completing a special program of study that includes advanced coursework, research and a senior thesis under the direction of a member of the departmental faculty. To graduate with departmental distinction, a student must be working toward a B.S. degree and must submit an application to the Undergraduate Studies Committee of the department. At the time of the application, the student must have begun a research project with a departmental faculty member, and must have completed at least 14 credit hours of biological sciences, including at least six advanced hours (3000 level and above), with a GPA in these courses of at least 3.500 and an overall GPA of at least 3.500. For students who have transferred to SMU, two grade point averages will be calculated: one for all work attempted and one for work completed through enrollment at SMU. Admission to the program will be based on the lower of the two averages.
With departmental approval, the student will enroll for BIOL 4398 , and continue to work on the distinction research project. Upon completion of this course with a grade of B+ or better, the student has the option to enroll in BIOL 4399 (pass/fail). On the basis of this research project, an oral presentation will be made to the faculty, and a senior thesis or review article will be written. In addition, three 4000-level courses must be completed: one from BIOL 4319 , BIOL 4331 , BIOL 4370 , and at least two from BIOL 4320 , BIOL 4305 , BIOL 4310 , BIOL 4311 , BIOL 4325 , BIOL 4340 . Completion of these requirements and maintenance of a 3.500 GPA for all biological sciences courses attempted will determine if the B.S. degree will be awarded with departmental distinction.
Department Transfer Credit Policy
Once students have matriculated at SMU, the biological sciences department will not accept transfer credit for online courses. For general University transfer course policies, students should refer to the transfer policies found on the Enrollment and Academic Records section of this catalog.
ProgramsMajor(s)Minor(s)CoursesBiological Sciences
Courses for Nonscience Majors. BIOL 1300 , BIOL 1305 , BIOL 1308 and BIOL 1310 are designed to satisfy the University-wide requirements of nonscience students. BIOL 1300 is not open to students who have earned prior credit in BIOL 1301 , and BIOL 1305 , BIOL 1308 , BIOL 1310 are not open to students who have earned prior credit in BIOL 1302 . Non-science majors should note that BIOL 1301 , BIOL 1302 may also be taken to satisfy University-wide requirements. BIOL 2441 and BIOL 2442 may be taken by nonscience majors, but may not be taken by Biology majors or minors.
Courses for Biology Majors. Students who wish to earn the B.A. or B.S. degree in biology are encouraged to complete BIOL 1301 /BIOL 1101 , BIOL 1302 /BIOL 1102 and CHEM 1303 , CHEM 1304 (with labs) in their freshman year. However, with the approval of an academic adviser, a student may postpone BIOL 1301 , BIOL 1302 , for one or two terms. The introductory biology courses are the minimum prerequisite for all advanced biology courses. The general chemistry courses are a prerequisite for most advanced biology courses.
Special Courses. BIOL 2101 , BIOL 2102 , BIOL 2185 , BIOL 3385 , BIOL 3398 , BIOL 3399 , BIOL 4398 and BIOL 4399 are research courses. BIOL 1305 , BIOL 1308 , BIOL 1310 , BIOL 3343 and BIOL 3347 are SMU-in-Taos courses.
Return to: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences
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