Biology Minors
Melanie Lee-Brown, Department of Biology
The Biology minor allows students from any major to pursue a focused exploration of a track in Biology such as General Biology, Field Biology, or Cell and Molecular Biology. Requirements for the Biology Minor tracks will include four courses: no more than 2 courses chosen from BIOL 111, BIOL 112, and BIOL 115 and at least one course at the 300/400 level, in consultation with a Biology Department advisor.
The minor in biology is not available to biology majors.
Biology Minor Requirements
The minor requires a minimum of 16 credit hours (four courses). Appropriate prerequisites are necessary for upper-level courses.
General Biology Track
- No more than two courses from the following: – 4 or 8 credits
- BIOL 111 Integrative Biology: Molecules and Cells
- BIOL 112 Integrative Biology: Organisms, Ecology and Evolution
- BIOL 115 General Botany
- Two or three additional biology courses (at least one course must be at the 300 level or above) – 8 or 12 credits
Total credit hours required for Biology Minor: General Biology Track – 16 credits
Field Biology Track
- Up to two courses from the following: – 4 or 8 credits
- BIOL 112 Integrative Biology: Organisms, Ecology and Evolution
- BIOL 115 General Botany
- Two or three additional field biology courses from the following list (at least one course must be at the 300 level or above): – 8 or 12 credits
- BIOL 224 Field Botany
- BIOL 233 North Carolina Freshwater Fishes
- BIOL 235 Vertebrate Field Zoology
- BIOL 242 Natural Science Seminars
- BIOL 332 Invertebrate Zoology
- BIOL 333 Ichthyology
- BIOL 334 Animal Behavior
- BIOL 336 Ornithology
- BIOL 438 General Ecology
Total credit hours required for Biology Minor: Field Biology Track – 16 credits
Cell & Molecular Track
- BIOL 111 Integrative Biology: Molecules and Cells – 4 credits
- Three additional biology courses from the following list (at least two courses must be at the 300 level or above): – 12 credits
- BIOL 291 Introduction to Scientific Investigation
- BIOL 313 Molecular Cell Biology
- BIOL 315 Microbiology
- BIOL 340 Psychobiology
- BIOL 343 Sensory Systems
- BIOL 434 Biochemistry
- BIOL 443 Genetics
Total credit hours required for Biology Minor: Cell & Molecular Track – 16 credits
Forensic Science Minor
Frank P. Keegan, Department of Biology
The minor in forensic science provides students with a focused and coherent study of the techniques used by various disciplines to analyze evidence found at the scene of a crime. The focus is on the meaning and significance of physical evidence and its role in criminal investigations. Techniques and insights provided by the scientific areas of chemistry, biology, physics and geology are used to explore the utility and limitations that technology and knowledge impose on the individualization and characterization of forensic evidence.
The study of forensics makes science relevant and pertinent to the interests and goals of pre-law students and those interested in pursuing careers with the FBI or other law enforcement agencies, in pathology, in creative writing or with international agencies monitoring ethnic and political violence.
The minor in forensic science is not available to forensic biology majors.
Forensic Science Minor Requirements
The minor requires a minimum of 16 credit hours (four courses).
- BIOL 245 Introduction to Forensic Science – 4 credits
- BIOL/CHEM 246 Forensic Chemistry – 4 credits
- BIOL 349 Forensic Anthropology – 4 credits
- JPS 200 Criminal Procedure – 4 credits
Total credit hours required for Forensic Science Minor – 16 credits
