An Overview of the Programs for Majors

The programs in the Biology major are designed to enhance a liberal education as well as offer excellent preparation for professional and graduate study in the biological sciences, medicine and other health-related fields, and environmental sciences. After a common set of prerequisite courses, the major is organized around two Areas of Concentration that reflect the interests and perspectives of faculty in the two participating departments. The following diagram provides an overview of the major; details are provided on the following pages.

Each area of concentration has its own core requirements (described below), but the number of required courses is the same for each. In addition to the standard major, MCDB offers two interdisciplinary programs of study in the biotechnology and neurobiology tracks. Once the requirements for the area of concentration have been met, students can choose electives from the other participating department, from Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and from certain other departments. When in doubt, consult the director of undergraduate studies in your area of concentration.

All majors in biology have the same choices for meeting the senior requirement. As described below, the requirements differ for the B.A., the B.S., the intensive B.S., and the combined B.S./M.S. degrees.

Prerequisites and How They Can Be Met

A number of these prerequisites can be met with acceleration credits. Students who have scored either a 5 on the AP test or 710 or above on the SAT II biology test or a 7 or above on the International Baccalaureate (IB) test can place out of MCDB 120a, E&EB 122b and their associated laboratories. Students who have equivalent scores on the chemistry AP test can place out of MCDB 120a and MCDB 121La, but they are advised to consult with the director of undergraduate studies if they are not confident about their preparation in biology. They must consult with the chemistry department, however, about their placement in chemistry.

Advanced placement credit awarded in general chemistry, physics and math or completion of advanced courses in those departments, is accepted in lieu of the relevant prerequisite for the Biology major. Students who already have mathematics preparation equivalent to Mathematics 115a or b are encouraged to take additional mathematics (e.g. MATH 120a or b or linear algebra) or statistics (e.g. E&EB 210).

Since the required chemistry courses are prerequisite to a number of MCDB and MB&B courses, students are strongly urged to take general or organic chemistry in their freshman year.

Premedical students will likely need to take the laboratory with introductory physics, although it is not required for the major in Biology. Premedical students should consider the advisability of taking both terms of the introductory biology laboratories (MCDB 121La and E&EB 123Lb). Note that the premedical requirements and the prerequisites for both Biology and MB&B majors are virtually the same, so students do not have to choose among these paths during their freshman year.

Official Yale College program and course information is found in Yale College Programs of Study, available on line at www.yale.edu/yalecollege/publications/ycps/.