Advising Toolkit for Biology - Biomedical Majors
Due to overwhelming demand for advising appointments, we at the CORE have created this guide for students to follow.
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Toolkit Items:
- Blank copy of a degree plan that can be saved and filled-in.
- List of Courses applicable to the 19 hours of Major Electives in Section B of the degree plan.
- List of example courses a student can take that apply to Section E (Free Upper Division Electives) of the degree plan.
- Sample four-year plan:
- Instructions on how to register for College of Science linked lectures and labs.
Advising Tips:
- Download the blank degree plan (Item #1) and keep track of your completed courses by updating the "Has" Column with earned credit hours, and updating the "Needs" column to reflect how many credit hours you have left in a particular section.
- The bottom right-hand corner of the degree plan keeps track of your overall progress toward degree completion
The right-most column of the degree plan keeps track of the courses required for your major (Sections B and C) and your Electives (Section E).
Section B:
Lists all courses in BIOL, MICR, and ZOOL as required by the degree:
- BIOL 1305-1107
- BIOL 1306-1108
- MICR 2340-2141
- BIOL 3314-3115
- ZOOL 4181
- BIOL 4388
- BIOL 3192
The section also indicates you have 19 hours of Major Electives you must complete in addition to the courses listed.
12 out of the 19 required hours must be in Upper Division (3000 or 4000 level) coursework.
The remaining 7 of the 19 can be at any level. (We recommend taking upper division coursework here as well, but it is your choice.)
All courses in this section must be from Item #2 of your toolkit.
Special Rules on courses in this area:
BIOL 4198, 4298, and 4398 can be repeated for a total of 6 hours toward the degree.
Examples:
- Mary took BIOL 4398 during Fall of 2019 and BIOL 4398 in Spring of 2020 (for a total of 6 hours). She can no longer take BIOL 4398, 4298, or 4198 for credit toward the degree.
- Aaron took BIOL 4198 during Fall of 2018, BIOL 4298 in Spring of 2019, and BIOL 4398 in Fall of 2019 (for a total of 6 hours). He can no longer take BIOL 4198, 4298, or 4398 for credit toward the degree.
- Kristina took BIOL 4298 during Fall 2018 and BIOL 4298 in Spring of 2019 (for a total of 4 hours). They can still take two BIOL 4198 (which will bring their total to 6 hours) or one more BIOL 4298 (which will bring their total to 6 hours) for credit toward the degree. They cannot take BIOL 4398.
A similar rule applies to BIOL 4395. It can only be taken twice for a total of 6 credit hours toward the degree.
Section C
Lists all the required Chemistry courses for your major.
Section E
Is filled with 13 hours of Upper Division (3000 or 4000 level) courses in any subject. It is what makes the Biology - Biomedical degree plan so flexible.
Examples of courses to take in this area are listed under item #3 of your toolkit.
More Tips:
Item #4 of the Advising Toolkit is a guide on what order you can take your courses. It does not list the only order you can take them in.
Pay close attention to items #2 and #3 for information on the pre-requisite coursework needed to take a particular course. If you have not completed the pre-requisite coursework, you won't be able to take the course.
Advising Tips Continued:
Advisors at the CORE recommend taking a balanced set of courses during the first semester of university study. This is for first-time freshmen AND transfer students!- Balanced schedules are typically made up of two Math/Science courses and two Non-Math/Non-Science courses.
- An incoming freshman will be advised to take Math, the introductory science course for their major, UNIV 1301 or SCI 1301, and something else from the core curriculum (First column on the degree plan, Item #1 of toolkit). For example:
- MATH 1411*
- BIOL 1305 w/ lab BIOL 1107*
- UNIV 1301 or SCI 1301**
- MUSL 1327**
- An incoming transfer student who may have their core completed by the time they arrive at UTEP would be advised to take Math, a science course, and two upper division free electives. For example:
- STAT 2480*
- CHEM 2324 w/ lab CHEM 2124*
- RWS 3359**
- CHIC 3302**
- *These courses are chosen based on completion of prerequisite courses and/or test scores.
- **These courses are chosen by the student based on their interests and goals.
After their first semester, transfer students can continue this approach until they complete all their upper division electives or follow a different route if desired.
Freshmen can continue this route until all their core curriculum is complete, at which point they can take upper division free electives to balance their science and math courses.