Freshmen: Preparing to Major in Biology

New students considering a major in biology should first complete BOTH BIOL 121-122 and CHEM 111-112.  These sequences begin in the fall, so you should register for BIOL 121 and CHEM 111 next fall semester (i.e. your second semester at UMW).

Both of these year-long sequences (BIOL and CHEM) are prerequisites for Cellular Biology, Introduction to Ecology, and General Genetics, which should be taken in the sophomore year.  These latter courses are in turn prerequisites (in some combination) for all other upper-level biology courses.  BIOL 121 and CHEM 111 are offered in the fall semester only and BIOL 122 and CHEM 112 are offered in the spring semester only.  Both sequences (BIOL 121-122 and CHEM 111-112) are offered during the summer. Please view this recommended timetable for biology majors.

Below please find some examples of first semester schedules for a biology major. There are many variations of a first semester schedule; the examples are just meant to help you see that there are many ways to reach the same goals.

Example 1:

Course (credits) Requirement(s) Met
  1. MATH 121** - Calculus I (3)
  2. ENGL 101 - Writing Workshop (3)
  3. LATN 102 (if have exp.)** - Elementary Latin (3)
  4. ENGL 245 - Intro Film Studies
  5. FSEM 100Q - FY Seminar: The Human Animal (3)
Goal 2
Goal 1, WI
Goal 7
Goal 4 (art)
Elective

Example 2:

Course Requirement(s) Met
  1. PHIL 100 - Individual & Community (3)
  2. GEOG 101 - World Regional Geog (3)
  3. MATH 115A - Intro Math Modeling (3)
  4. IDIS 202 - Intro Women's Study (3)
  5. PHYD 132 - Tennis (1)
Goal 6, WI, SI*
Elective, GA*
Goal 2, EA, SI*
Elective, RA*
Goal 8

Please note that certain sequence courses begin in the fall. Examples of this can be found in all of the sciences (for Goal 3) and some of the foreign languages (for Goal 7). If you are unable to start at the correct place in the sequence, we recommend that you try to do so in the following fall semester.

*Please note that not all sections of a course may have the Across-the-Curriculum (ATC) attribute(s). Across-the-Curriculum designations for a course are dependent on instructor and semester. ATC designations for each course are listed in the Banner description for the semester in which you are registering.
**This particular course is in a discipline that allows students with demonstrated competence upon admission to UMW (such as AP/IB credit, dual enrollment, etc.) to begin courses at a higher level. Please read the Academic Planning Guide carefully to see if you meet the requirements. For example: students may begin at any level language course for which they feel prepared (101, 102, 201, or 202), but must then complete the rest of the sequence in order without skipping any levels.

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Here is a list of informative resources that will help freshmen planning on majoring in biology.