Undergraduate Degree

Environmental microbiology is a large and diverse field that addresses concerns such as soil fertility, water purity and quality, and safety of the food supply.   Although environmental biology is concerned with all members of the biosphere and the geochemical surroundings, microorganisms are at the heart of the biological activities in the environment.  Many of the environmental problems facing society are microbiological ones, or ones for which microbiological solutions may be found.

The Bachelor of Science degree program with a major in environmental biology/microbiology is designed for students who plan to pursue careers involving microbiology and the environment or who plan to pursue graduate study in microbiology and related environmental areas.

The educational objectives of the program are to:

1. Help students to acquire knowledge of microbiology and related environmental areas.
2. Prepare students to solve problems in environmental microbiology.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Biology/Microbiology

1. The University requirements for bachelor's degrees as described in the Undergraduate Education section of this catalog; 120 credits, including general elective credits, are required for the Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Biology/Microbiology.
   
   The University's Tier II writing requirement for the Environmental Biology/Microbiology major is met by completing Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology 408 or 494L.  Those courses are referenced in item 3.b.(2) below.
   
   Students who are enrolled in the College of Natural Science may complete the alternative track to Integrative Studies in Biological and Physical Sciences that is described in item 1. under the heading Graduation Requirements in the College statement.  Certain courses referenced in requirement 3. below may be used to satisfy the alternative track.
2. The requirements of the College of Natural Science for the Bachelor of Science degree.
   
   The credits earned in certain courses referenced in requirement 3. below may be counted toward College requirements as appropriate.
3. The following requirements for the major:

   a.	The following courses outside the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology (58 or 68 credits):
   	(1)	One of the following, either a. or b. (4 or 6 credits):
   		(a)	BMB	461	Advanced Biochemistry I		3
   			BMB	462	Advanced Biochemistry II		3
   		(b)	BMB	401	Comprehensive Biochemistry		4
   	(2)	All of the following courses (15 credits):
   		CSS	210	Fundamentals of Soil Science			3
   		GLG	201	The Dynamic Earth			4
   		GLG	421	Environmental Geochemistry			4
   		IBIO	355	Ecology			3
   		IBIO	355L	Ecology Laboratory (W)			1
   	(3)	One of the following groups of courses (6 or 9 credits):
   		(a)	BS	161	Cell and Molecular Biology		3
   			BS	162	Organismal and Population Biology		3
   		(b)	LB	144	Biology I: Organismal Biology		4
   			LB	145	Biology II: Cell and Molecular Biology		5
   		(c)	BS	181H	Honors Cell and Molecular Biology		3
   			BS	182H	Honors Organismal and Population Biology		3
   	(4)	One of the following courses (2 credits):
   		BS	171	Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory			2
   		BS	172	Organismal and Population Biology Laboratory			2
   		BS	191H	Honors Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory			2
   		BS	192H	Honors Organismal and Population Biology Laboratory			2
   		This requirement is waived for students who selected item (3) (b) above.
   	(5)	One of the following groups of courses (9 or 10 credits):
   		(a)	CEM	141	General Chemistry		4
   			CEM	142	General and Inorganic Chemistry		3
   			CEM	161	Chemistry Laboratory I		1
   			CEM	162	Chemistry Laboratory II		1
   		(b)	LB	171	Principles of Chemistry I		4
   			LB	172	Principles of Chemistry II		3
   			LB	171L	Introductory Chemistry Laboratory I		1
   			LB	172L	Principles of Chemistry II - Reactivity Laboratory		1
   		(c)	CEM	151	General and Descriptive Chemistry		4
   			CEM	152	Principles of Chemistry		3
   			CEM	161	Chemistry Laboratory I		1
   			CEM	162	Chemistry Laboratory II		1
   		(d)	CEM	181H	Honors Chemistry I		4
   			CEM	182H	Honors Chemistry II		4
   			CEM	185H	Honors Chemistry Laboratory		2
   	(6)	One of the following groups of courses (8 credits):
   		(a)	CEM	251	Organic Chemistry I		3
   			CEM	252	Organic Chemistry II		3
   			CEM	255	Organic Chemistry Laboratory		2
   		(b)	CEM	351	Organic Chemistry I		3
   			CEM	352	Organic Chemistry II		3
   			CEM	355	Organic Chemistry Laboratory I		2
   		(c)	LB	271	Organic Chemistry		3
   			CEM	252	Organic Chemistry II		3
   			CEM	255	Organic Chemistry Laboratory		2
   	(7)	One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
   		MTH	124	Survey of Calculus I			3
   		MTH	132	Calculus I			3
   		LB	118	Calculus I			4
   		MTH	152H	Honors Calculus I			3
   	(8)	One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
   		LB	119	Calculus II			4
   		MTH	126	Survey of Calculus II			3
   		MTH	133	Calculus II			4
   		MTH	153H	Honors Calculus II			4
   		STT	231	Statistics for Scientists			3
   		STT	421	Statistics I			3
   	(9)	One of the following groups of  courses (8 or 10 credits):
   		(a)	PHY	221	Studio Physics for Life Scientists, I		4
   			PHY	222	Studio Physics for Life Scientists, II		4
   		(b)	LB	273	Physics I		4
   			LB	274	Physics II		4
   		(c)	PHY	183	Physics for Scientists and Engineers I		4
   			PHY	184	Physics for Scientists and Engineers II		4
   			PHY	191	Physics Laboratory for Scientists, I		1
   			PHY	192	Physics Laboratory for Scientists, II		1
   		(d)	PHY	193H	Honors Physics I-Mechanics		4
   			PHY	294H	Honors Physics II-Electromagnetism		4
   			PHY	191	Physics Laboratory for Scientists, I		1
   			PHY	192	Physics Laboratory for Scientists, II		1
   b.	The following courses in the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology (19 credits):
   	(1)	All the following courses (13 credits):
   		MGI	301	Introductory Microbiology			3
   		MGI	302	Introductory Laboratory for General and Allied Health Microbiology			1
   		MGI	421	Prokaryotic Cell Physiology			3
   		MGI	425	Microbial Ecology			3
   		MGI	431	Microbial Genetics			3
   	(2)	One of the following courses (3 credits):
   		MGI	408	Advanced Microbiology Laboratory (W)			3
   		MGI	494L	Summer Undergraduate Research Institute in Genomics (W)			3
   	(3)	One of the following three options (3 credits):
   		(a)	MGI	491	Current Topics in Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology		3
   		(b)	MGI	492	Undergraduate Research Seminar		1
   			One of the following courses:
   			MGI	499	Undergraduate Research		2
   			MGI	499H	Honors Research		2
   		(c)	MGI	493	Professional Internship in Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology		3
   			The completion of either of these three options fulfills the department's capstone course requirement.
   c.	One course from two of the following areas (6 to 8 credits):
   	(1)	CSS	455	Environmental Pollutants in Soil and Water			3
   	(2)	FOR	340	Forest Ecology			3
   		PLB	402	Biology of Fungi			4
   	(3)	FSC	440	Food Microbiology			3
   	(4)	GEO	206	Physical Geography			3
   		GEO	221	Introduction to Geographic Information			3
   	(5)	GLG	435	Geomicrobiology (W)			4
   	(6)	FOR	466	Natural Resource Policy			3
   		IBIO	446	Environmental Issues and Public Policy			3
   	(7)	FW	420	Stream Ecology			3
   		FW	472	Limnology			3
   	(8)	MGI	433	Genomics (W)			3
   		CMSE	410	Bioinformatics and Computational Biology			3
   	(9)	IBIO	357	Global Change Biology (W)			3