Undergraduate Programs


BIOLOGY MAJOR OPTIONS

California State University, Northridge offers a number of options for Biology Majors.

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) option is designed for students seeking a broad foundation in biology as part of a liberal education strong in the natural sciences. It is appropriate for students who do not want to specialize in a research field and are instead planning to enter a health profession or teach at the K-12 level. This is our most popular option. It has the largest number of units that students are entirely free to choose, thereby allowing them to explore what interests them in biology or further afield.

The Environmental Biology option (B.S. Option II) offers students a rich selection of field courses, studying both the diversity of organisms and their ecological interactions. Each year, around twenty such courses are taught using Northridge as a home base, but with many short excursions into the varied environs of southern California. Students may also elect to take the Tropical Semester and/or the Catalina Semester. Option II students may use terrestrial courses, marine courses, or a mixture. The Marine Biology option (B.S. Option V) is similar, but marine courses are stipulated. Both Option II and V require less chemistry than other options. These field programs have been extremely successful at placing students in graduate schools specializing in ecology, evolution or marine biology, as well as at initiating careers working in parks and similar governmental agencies.

Students in the Cell & Molecular option (B.S. Option I) and the Biotechnology track (B.S. Option IV, first track) select freely from a long list of courses on how organisms work and laboratory methods for studying those mechanisms. CSUN is very proud of its hands-on wet lab courses. Students who want to specialize on bacteria should take the similar but more specialized Microbiology program (B.S. Option III), bacteriology being a subject in which CSUN has a critical mass of faculty and coursework. Students who are aimed at an applied career as a medical lab technician should take the Medical Technology track (B.S. Option IV, second track).

All biology majors should purchase a university catalog or download and print out Biology's entry in the catalog. It is the student's contract with the major and the details of one's option are worth scrutinizing.

ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT

Advisement is required of Biology students during the fall semester before registering for the spring semester. Advisement can be obtained at the Biology Student Advisement Center, EH 2133. Advisement Center hours are available on the Advisement Center web page, or in the Biology Office.

Four and Five Year Degree Plans

BIOLOGY HONORS PROGRAM

Please refer to Honors Program Guidelines for program information and requirements. Dr. Rheem Medh - Program Administrator.

For Faculty and Administrators, primarily

Assessment Report for Academic Year 2011/12