Catalog Year 2023-2024

For students declaring a BS in biology between August 1, 2023 - July 30, 2024.  Students may choose to follow either the current BS requirements or the requirements for the catalog year in which they declared the BA.

2023-24 Biology BS Checklist

2023-24 Biology BS Course Map

• View the complete requirements in the 2023-2024 Undergraduate Record - Biology BS 

• Use the Courses Offered page for course planning

• Visit the How to Declare page once you are ready to declare the BS in biology major

Catalog Year 2022-2023

For students declaring a BS in biology between August 1, 2022 - July 30, 2023.  Students may choose to follow either the current BS requirements or the requirements for the catalog year in which they declared the BA.

2022-23 Biology BS

2022-23 Biology BS Course Map

• View the complete requirements in the 2022-2023 Undergraduate Record - Biology BS 

• Use the Courses Offered page for course planning

• Visit the How to Declare page once you are ready to declare the BS in biology major

Double majors, minors, and sharing courses

• Students who have a second major may only share a limited number of courses between majors upon approval of Director Jess Manson.
• As of January 2024, students who declare a Biology major (BA or BS) may not double major with the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience BA major, or the Cognitive Science BA Major-Neuroscience Concentration. 
• Students who double major must submit at least 18 credits in each major.
• Credits applied toward one major may not be included in the core 18 credits of the other major, unless one or both majors is interdisciplinary.
• No more than two courses can be counted simultaneously for two non-interdisciplinary majors; an interdisciplinary major may share up to three courses with another major.
• There is no triple major.
• Two minors are permitted but one must be from the College of Arts & Sciences.
• Courses used for a minor may not be shared with any other major or minor.

Visit the College's Declaring a Major webpage for more details on this policy.

Biochemistry options for the Biology BS major

• Starting Fall 2022, CHEM 4440 will no longer be considered an alternative to taking BIOL 3030.
• Students who complete CHEM 4410 may may apply 3 credits to satisfy the BS requirements for BIOL 3030.
• Students who complete both CHEM 4410 and CHEM 4420 may apply 3 credits to satisfy the BS requirements for BIOL 3030 and 3 credits as a 4000-level elective.
• Students who completed either CHEM 4410, CHEM 4420 or CHEM 4440 between Fall 2021 and Summer 2022 may use these 3 credits as equivalent to BIOL 3030.

Courses Restrictions

BIOL 3420 Human Anatomy and Physiology II

Only the first semester of Human Anatomy & Physiology I (BIOL 3410) may be applied toward the Biology major. BIOL 3410 also satisfies the upper level lab requirement and the Area II requirement. The second semester of Human Anatomy & Physiology II (BIOL 3420) cannot be applied toward the Biology major, but can be used as college elective credit and contribute to the overall GPA.

Transfer and Test (AP/IB) Credit

Foundational Science Courses: 

• Transfer credit after matriculation must be pre-approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
• All labs must be taken in-person to be considered for transfer credit to meet the requirements of the biology major.
• Students, who score a 5 on the AP Biology exam or at least a 6 on the upper-level examinations in the International Baccalaureate program, will receive eight credits for BIOL 2100 and BIOL 2200. 
• Students with AP credit for CHEM 1410 and CHEM 1420 must enroll in the laboratory courses, unless granted credit for CHEM 1411 and CHEM 1421. Transfer students who received 1000T credit for labs that were completed in-person should contact the Chemistry Dept, Cindy Knight, to request equivalent credit for their transferred lab courses.
• Credit for specific AP exams in Physics may fulfill, in part or whole, the lecture component of this requirement. Students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on both Physics 1 and Physics 2, can ask their Registrar to have the transfer credit converted to PHYS 2010 and PHYS 2020.
• Refer to the Advanced Placement (AP) page for latest scores accepted and corresponding transfer credit.

Upper-level Major Courses:

• Transfer credits for upper-level courses taken at another institution after matriculation at the University of Virginia may be considered for outside elective credit toward the biology major; however, required core (BIOL 3000,3010, and 3020) and lab courses must be taken at the University of Virginia (transfer students exempted). After matriculation, transfer students must also complete required core courses and lab courses at the University of Virginia, unless credit was given for these courses at time of matriculation.
• All transfer credit after matriculation must be pre-approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.