Department of Biology
Administered by the Department of Biology within the College of Arts and Sciences.
https://www.utpb.edu/academics/colleges/arts-sciences/departments/biology/index
Biology courses apply to the Bachelor of Science degree with a major or a minor in Biology. Degree programs provide preparation for careers in elementary and secondary teaching; research in basic and applied biological sciences; preparation for health professions programs (medicine; veterinary medicine; dentistry; optometry; etc.); science writing and communication; environmental management and conservation; and forensic science among others. As a minor, Biology is a good supporting field for majors in Chemistry, Psychology and the like. The introductory sequence, General Biology (BIOL 1306/BIOL 1106, BIOL 1307/BIOL 1107), is required for all Biology degree plans and is appropriate for meeting the University general education requirements for two life science courses with a laboratory (8 semester credit hours). Biology for Non-majors (BIOL 1308/BIOL 1108) is appropriate for meeting the University general education requirement of a life science course for non-science majors.
The Biology program features three basic degree plans: Pre-professional, General Studies, and Teacher Certification and two degree tracks: Molecular Biology and Organismal Biology. Students seeking to earn a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology must pass all courses taken for the major, minor, general education, and support requirements on the Biology degree plans with a grade of C or better.
Prerequisites to Health Professions Programs
UT Permian Basin offers academic and pre-professional advising toward a number of health professions, including medicine, dentistry, chiropractic medicine, optometry, pharmacy, physician's assistant, physical therapy, podiatry, and veterinary medicine. The mission of the health professions advising program is to help students become well informed and prepared applicants to enter health professional schools. To fulfill this mission, the health professions advising program offers the following services to interested students: academic advising; information regarding prerequisites, application, and admission to various health professional programs, especially those in Texas; and in the case of eligible students, information and application assistance to the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) and the TTUHSC Confianza Programs. The Health Professions Advisory Committee annually conducts mock interviews for interested applicants to medical and dental schools. Please refer to the Health Professions Advisor at UT Permian Basin for further information.
Students have the option to major in any academic discipline they choose, and they are encouraged to choose a major that reflects their interests and abilities. Nevertheless, most health professional programs require certain courses in mathematics and the natural sciences that must be taken as undergraduate prerequisites. Therefore, largely for convenience, the pre-professional health curriculum are offered primarily through the Biology and Chemistry programs within the College of Arts and Sciences. Students planning a career in one of the health professions, regardless of major, should contact the health professions advisor for appropriate pre-professional advising.
Depending on the health program, the health professional schools require a minimum number of undergraduate semester credit hours ranging from 60 to 90 as a requirement before application submission. However, the minimum number of hours to apply is not the same as all the hours that are sufficient to gain acceptance. In practice, applicants with these minimum requirements rarely receive admission; a baccalaureate degree is usually highly desirable and in a few cases required. As a general, rule it is recommended that students plan on completing their degree before entering a health professions program.
Below is a course equivalency guide showing the UT Permian Basin courses that meet what are essentially the minimum requirements for entry into the various health professional programs in the State of Texas. This guide is only approximate, and schools occasionally change their prerequisites. Students should contact the University Health Professions Advisor or the individual professional school for more complete or updated information. Entry into these programs is very competitive. Following the course equivalency guide does not guarantee acceptance into a professional school. Therefore, students should choose a major that prepares them for alternative career choices.
Pre-professional Course Requirements for Health Professional Schools in Texas
With minor exceptions, all of the doctoral-granting health professional schools in Texas (medicine, dentistry, chiropractic medicine, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine) require the following block of undergraduate prerequisites. For laboratory courses, the laboratory component is required. Below the table of common prerequisites, additional or special requirements for various schools are summarized as conveniently as possible.
Additional Course Requirements, by Health Professional Program
Minimum two upper level Biology courses:
Most Texas medical schools require Biochemistry and two upper level Biology courses but make no specifications.
Special required courses:
- BIOL 3300-BIOL 3101, Microbiology with lab (4 sch), optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine
- BIOL 4303, Nutrition (3 sch), veterinary medicine
- BIOL 3350-BIOL 3151 and BIOL 3352-BIOL 3153, Human Anatomy & Physiology with lab (8 sch), optometry, pharmacy
- BIOL 4320, Biochemistry (3 sch), dentistry, optometry, veterinary, and 80% of Texas medical schools
- BIOL 4340-BIOL 4141, Genetics with lab (4 sch), pharmacy, veterinary medicine
- ENGL 23xx, Survey of X Literature (3 sch), required by pharmacy, veterinary medicine
- COSC 1335, Computers & Problem Solving (3 sch), required by chiropractic medicine
- PSYC 1301, Intro. to Psychology (3 sch), required by chiropractic medicine, optometry
- Various additional but often unspecified hours in humanities and social sciences (Psychology, Sociology) required by chiropractic medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine
Important notes:
- All science prerequisite courses (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) must be the courses required for science majors; for example, BIOL 1308-BIOL 1108, Biology for Non-Science Majors are not accepted as prerequisites.
- Remedial, developmental, or "English as a second language" courses are not accepted as prerequisites; for example, ENGL 0399, MATH 0398, MATH 0399, and CHEM 1305, Intro to Chemistry, are not accepted.
- University of Houston College of Optometry requires both Calculus and Statistics.