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Biology Major, Bachelor of Science (BS)

Graduation Requirements: Complete the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Major Field Test for Biology.

Review the Biology Department website for additional information about advising tracks including Pre-Veterinary medicine, Pre-Pharmacy, and many others.

Grade Requirements: a cumulative GPA ≥2.0 for all courses in student’s curriculum in Biology.

Required Biology Courses
BIOL 171
171L
BIOLOGY I
and BIOLOGY I LAB
5
BIOL 172
172L
BIOLOGY II
and BIOLOGY II LAB
5
BIOL 173
173L
BIOLOGY III
and BIOLOGY III LAB
5
BIOL 270
270L
BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
and BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION LAB
3
BIOL 310FUNDAMENTALS OF GENETICS5
Choose one of the following
BIOL 301
301L
MICROBIOLOGY
and MICROBIOLOGY LAB
5
or BIOL 302
302L
BOTANY
and BOTANY LAB
or BIOL 303
303L
INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
and INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY LAB
or BIOL 304
304L
VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
and VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY LAB
Choose one of the following
BIOL 423EVOLUTION4-5
or BIOL 440 ECOLOGY
Choose one of the following
BIOL 436CELL BIOLOGY5
or BIOL 438 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Choose one of the following
BIOL 334
334L
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY III
and HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY III LAB
4-5
or BIOL 351 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
or BIOL 352 PRINCIPLES OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
or BIOL 353 PRINCIPLES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY
Required Supporting Courses
BIOL 380DATA ANALYSIS FOR BIOLOGISTS5
or MATH 161 CALCULUS I
or MATH 380 ELEMENTARY PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
CHEM 171
171L
CHEM 172
CHEM 172L
CHEM 173
CHEM 173L
GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
and GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I
and GENERAL CHEMISTRY II
and GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY II
and GENERAL CHEMISTRY III
and GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY III
15
Electives–21 of 36 credits must be in Biology, non-Biology electives must be approved by faculty advisor.36
Required Senior Capstone
BIOL 490
490L
SENIOR CAPSTONE
and SENIOR CAPSTONE LAB
5
Total Credits102-104

Plan of Study

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses could be offered in different terms, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

First Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
BIOL 171
171L
5BIOL 172
172L
5BIOL 173
173L
5
CHEM 171
171L (Natural Science BACR 1)
5CHEM 172
172L (Natural Science BACR 2)
5BIOL 270
270L
3
ENGL 1015ENGL 2015CHEM 173
173L
5
  Elective - minor or general elective2
 15 15 15
Second Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
BIOL 301
301L (or BIOL 302 & BIOL 302L, BIOL 303 & BIOL 303L, BIOL 304 & 304L)
5BIOL 3105BIOL 436 or 4385
BIOL 380, MATH 161, or MATH 3805BIOL 423 or 4404-5Biology Elective24
Diversity - graduation requirement15Global Studies - graduation requirement15Humanities & Arts BACR 115
  Elective - minor or general elective2
 15 14-15 16
Third Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
BIOL 334
334L (or BIOL 351, BIOL 352, BIOL 353)
5Biology Elective24Biology Elective24
Biology Elective24Biology Elective24Social Science BACR 215
Humanities & Arts BACR 215Social Science BACR 115Elective - minor or general elective5
Elective - minor or general elective1Elective - minor or general elective2Elective - minor or general elective1
 15 15 15
Fourth Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
Biology Elective24Biology Elective24BIOL 490
490L (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement)
5
Biology Elective 24Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5
Biology Elective24Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5
Elective - minor or general elective3Elective - minor or general elective1 
 15 15 15
Total Credits 180-181
1

University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

2

Electives – 21 of 36 credits must be in Biology, non-Biology electives must be approved by faculty advisor.

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB


General Education Requirements (GER)
  • Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
    • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
    • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
  • Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences


University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List


Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term expected to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.

  1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Core Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
  2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Students who earn a BS in Biology from EWU should be able to:​​
  • apply basic concepts of cell biology, including understanding key terms;
  • apply basic concepts of ecology and evolution, including understanding key terms;
  • apply basic concepts of molecular biology and genetics, including understanding key terms;
  • apply basic concepts of organismal biology, including understanding key terms;
  • apply basic statistics to analyze and interpret quantitative data;
  • compose written documents that communicate information in a manner consistent with scientific norms;
  • deliver presentations that communicate information in a manner consistent with scientific norms;
  • use scientific practices to generate evidence to support or refute proposed explanations for natural phenomena.