www.smu.edu/biophysics
Associate Professor Peng Tao, Director
The B.S. degree in biophysical sciences bridges the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics, connecting the complexity of life to the laws of physics. The program at SMU consists of core courses in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and the School of Education. It includes the entire SMU prehealth curriculum and additional courses that provide advanced learning in order to provide a strong foundation for careers in medicine or research. The remaining credit hours can be obtained from a selection of elective courses that are available in the degree plan. This program is advised in the SMU Department of Physics.
Students obtaining a B.S. degree in biophysical sciences cannot receive a minor or second major in chemistry or physics. In addition, no advanced biology courses, except Genetics and Cell Biology, can be double counted towards a minor or second major in biology.
SMU-UT Southwestern Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program
The Biophysical Sciences program offers the SMU-UT Southwestern Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. This fellowship program is designed to provide selected students (Fellows) with a unique opportunity to perform scientific research at the UT Southwestern (UTSW) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences under the guidance of UTSW faculty and an SMU faculty mentor.
Fellows conduct this research full-time for one semester on the UTSW campus while remaining a full-time SMU student. Students in the program carry out a well-defined research project and make original contributions to their scientific discipline. The SMU faculty mentor assigns the final grade based on an evaluation from the UTSW faculty member, a mid-term research paper, and a poster presentation.
Upon successful completion, Fellows receive 6 credit hours toward their biophysical sciences major requirements by enrolling in CHEM 4308 and PHYS 4390 and 6 credit hours toward their graduation total as advanced elective credits by enrolling in CHEM 4697 .
SMU Degree Requirements
An SMU undergraduate degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours and must include completion of the University’s Common Curriculum , one major and a combination of electives and/or other majors or minors. Completion of certain majors requires more than 120 hours to finish the degree. The credit hours within this curriculum are distributed as follows: