The new curriculum consists of a common core:

• BIOL 141 (4 cr) Foundations of Biology: Cells, Energy and Organisms
• BIOL 142 (4 cr) Foundations of Biology: Ecology and Evolution
• BIOL 302 (4 cr) Molecular and General Genetics
• BIOL 303 (4 cr) Cell Biology
• BIOL 300L (2 cr) Experimental Biology Laboratory

Three of these courses are new: BIOL 141, BIOL 142 and BIOL 300L. The four Biology Core lecture courses are 4 credit classes and will consist of three hours of lectures and one hour of a required discussion section. The required discussion sections will be a new element for BIOL 302 and BIOL 303.

BIOL 141 and BIOL 142 replace the current BIOL 100 Concepts of Biology and BIOL 301 Ecology and Evolution. The courses will provide an integrated review of Biological Sciences from the chemical basis of life, subcellular organization, interactions among cells and among individuals in populations, and evolution of life over time.

The only requirement for these courses is completion or enrollment in MATH 150 Pre-Calculus Mathematics or placement into MATH 151.

Note that there is a new class, BIOL 101 (Concepts of Biology). This course is a re-designed BIOL 100 intended for pre-allied health students who are not majors in Biological Sciences. It will not count as a substitute course for BIOL 141/BIOL142 toward any BIOL major. If you think you might enroll as a BIOL major at some point, do not take BIOL 101!

Each of the first four are 4 credit courses and will consist of three hours of lecture and one hour of a required discussion section. The required discussion sections will be a new element of BIOL 302 and BIOL 303.

BIOL 300L replaces BIOL 100L as the first required laboratory in the major. The course will provide a preparation for the Junior-level elective laboratories. It will introduce students to basic procedures and instrumentation in biological research as well as training in planning, executing and analyzing biological experiments. It also will not satisfy the MS general education requirement and is intended exclusively for students majoring in the life sciences. The prerequisites for this Core laboratory class are completion of BIOL 302, CHEM 102 and CHEM 102L. Most students will not take this lab before their fourth semester in the major.

The core courses will be phased-in in stages beginning with the Fall 2010 semester. At the same time, the old courses will be phased out. By the Fall 2011 semester only the new core courses will be presented.

There are plans for new Junior-level elective classes including new laboratories. Planned new laboratory courses will explore issues in Cell and Developmental Biology, Molecular Genetics, or Quantitative Biology.

The first of these new electives is a 2 credit lab - BIOL 312L - Modeling in the Life Sciences. It will begin in Spring 20l2. See a complete course description at: http://www.umbc.edu/biosci/general/BIOL 312L.php