Biology Major Concentration (B.A. & Sc.) (36 credits)
Offered by: Biology (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 36
Program Description
The B.A. & Sc.; Major Concentration in Biology is a planned sequence of courses designed to promote a basic grounding in biology. Topics include a range of fundamental biological concepts spanning molecules and cells to organisms and ecosystems, including development, behaviour and evolution.
Advising Note: Freshman students should be aware that PHYS 101 and/or PHYS 102 are required for some of the courses in the major and minor concentrations in Biology.
Degree Requirements — B.A. & Sc. students
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Arts & Science (B.A. & Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (18 credits)
Students must take at least 36 new credits in this program.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 200 | Molecular Biology. | 3 |
Molecular Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The physical and chemical properties of the cell and its components in relation to their structure and function. Topics include: protein structure, enzymes and enzyme kinetics; nucleic acid replication, transcription and translation; the genetic code, mutation, recombination, and regulation of gene expression. | ||
| BIOL 201 | Cell Biology and Metabolism. | 3 |
Cell Biology and Metabolism. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course introduces the student to our modern understanding of cells and how they work. Major topics to be covered include: photosynthesis, energy metabolism and metabolic integration; plasma membrane including secretion, endocytosis and contact mediated interactions between cells; cytoskeleton including cell and organelle movement; the nervous system; hormone signaling; the cell cycle. | ||
| BIOL 205 | Functional Biology of Plants and Animals. | 3 |
Functional Biology of Plants and Animals. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Unified view of form and function in animals and plants. Focus on how the laws of chemistry and physics illuminate biological processes relating to the acquisition of energy and materials and their use in movement, growth, development, reproduction and responses to environmental stress. | ||
| BIOL 206 | Methods in Biology. | 3 |
Methods in Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to modern methods used in organismal biology, including ecological sampling, experimental methods and statistics. Particular emphasis is on ways of thinking about the design of sampling programs and the analyses of data to test hypotheses using observational or experimental data. | ||
| BIOL 215 | Introduction to Ecology and Evolution. | 3 |
Introduction to Ecology and Evolution. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to the fundamental processes of ecology and evolution that bear on the nature and diversity of organisms and the processes that govern their assembly into ecological communities and their roles in ecosystem function. | ||
| BIOL 216 | Biology of Behaviour. | 3 |
Biology of Behaviour. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the study of animal behaviour at the population, organismal, cellular, and molecular levels. Historical and contemporary methods and experiments will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of the biology of behaviour, with a focus on the application of multiple levels of analysis to biological phenomena and the formulation of hypotheses about evolution, development, function, and mechanisms of behavioural traits. Topics will range from how animals communicate with one another to the cellular mechanisms that allow information to be processed by nervous systems. | ||
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
3-4 credits from CHEM block:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 204 | Physical Chemistry/Biological Sciences 1. | 3 |
Physical Chemistry/Biological Sciences 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Similar to CHEM 223/CHEM 243. Emphasis on the use of biological examples to illustrate the principles of physical chemistry. The relevance of physical chemistry to biology is stressed. | ||
| CHEM 212 | Introductory Organic Chemistry 1. 1 | 4 |
Introductory Organic Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry. | ||
- 1
*Students who have already taken CHEM 212 or its equivalent as advance credits may choose to substitute CHEM 204, or CHEM 222, or a 300-500 levels complementary Biology course, to be approved by the Biology Advisor.
3-4 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 301 | Cell and Molecular Laboratory. | 4 |
Cell and Molecular Laboratory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to biology research and communication with a focus on cell and molecular biology. Through conducting a series of project-based experiments and writing a final report, molecular and synthetic biology techniques such as gene cloning, manipulation, protein isolation and characterization and how research is conducted, analyzed and communicated will be addressed. In addition, an introduction to bioinformatics methods and their role in analysis will be provided. | ||
| BIOL 311 | Advanced Methods in Organismal Biology. | 3 |
Advanced Methods in Organismal Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Application of methods and techniques used by organismal biologists, paired with the design of sampling programs to test hypotheses using observational or experimental data, and the analysis of data. Topics include DNA barcoding/metabarcoding and experimental evolution. | ||
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 202 | Basic Genetics. | 3 |
Basic Genetics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences. | ||
| BIOL 302 | Fundamentals of Genetics and Genomics. | 3 |
Fundamentals of Genetics and Genomics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Trait variation within and across populations and species,and how this reflects variation within genomes. Case studies and problem-solving approaches will be used to illustrate the tools of genomics, molecular genetics and classical genetics, and how they are employed to understand the mechanisms of phenotypic variation.Topics will include evolutionary, developmental and human genetics. Application of multiple levels of genetic analysis, formulation, and testing of hypotheses on critical topics ranging from evolution to developmental biology to human genetics. | ||
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 300 | Molecular Biology of the Gene. | 3 |
Molecular Biology of the Gene. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of current knowledge and approaches in the area of regulation of gene expression, post-transcriptional control of gene expression, and signal transduction. | ||
| BIOL 303 | Developmental Biology. | 3 |
Developmental Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A consideration of the fundamental processes and principles operating during embryogenesis. Experimental analyses at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of developmental phenomena. | ||
| BIOL 304 | Evolution. | 3 |
Evolution. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A comprehensive introduction to evolutionary biology. It covers both short-term and long-term evolutionary processes. Topics include the history of life, the origin of species, adaptation, natural selection and sexual selection. | ||
| BIOL 305 | Animal Diversity. | 3 |
Animal Diversity. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity. | ||
| BIOL 306 | Neural Basis of Behaviour. | 3 |
Neural Basis of Behaviour. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Neural mechanisms of animal behaviour; neuroethology; cellular neurophysiology, integrative networks within nervous systems; neural control of movement; processing of sensory information. | ||
| BIOL 307 | Behavioural Ecology. | 3 |
Behavioural Ecology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. How an organism’s behaviour relates to its physical, biological, and social environment, using evolutionary and ecological perspectives. Emphasis is on general principles, covering topics such feeding, predator avoidance, aggression, reproduction, social behaviour, communication and cognition. | ||
| BIOL 308 | Ecological Dynamics. | 3 |
Ecological Dynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics. | ||
| BIOL 313 | Eukaryotic Cell Biology. | 3 |
Eukaryotic Cell Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. In-depth examination of the structure and function of eukaryotic cells, with an emphasis on experimental design and interpretation. Examination of the molecular mechanisms of various cellular processes, including protein homeostasis, intracellular transport, cytoskeletal dynamics, multicellular organization and cell proliferation. | ||
4-6 credits from Biology courses at the 300-500 levels.