Bachelor Science in Biology to Master of Science in Biology Fast Track
About This Program
Bachelor of Science in Biology to Master of Science in Biology Fast Track will enable outstanding senior undergraduate Biology students to satisfy degree requirements leading to a master's degree in Biology while completing their undergraduate studies.
Undergraduate Biology students will apply when they are within 30 hours of completing their bachelor’s degrees. They must have completed at least 30 hours at UTA, achieving a GPA of at least 3.3 in those courses, have an overall GPA of 3.3 or better in all department courses, and have a GPA of at least 3.3 in all biology courses taken at UTA. Additionally, they must have completed 13 hours of specified undergraduate fast track foundation courses at UTA with a minimum GPA of 3.5 in these courses. If one of these courses is transferred from another school it will not be included, and an equivalent course determined by the undergraduate advisor will be used as a fast track foundation course.
Associated Programs
For detailed information about the programs associated with this Fast Track, refer to their individual degree pages.
Admissions Criteria
For admission to the fast track program undergraduates should:
- be within 30 hours of graduation
- have completed 30 hours at UTA
- have earned a GPA of at least 3.3 overall and in Biology
- have completed the following courses with GPA of at least 3.0:
- have completed BIOL 2444 GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY with a 4.0.
BIOL students pursuing the fast track will be allowed to take BIOL 5309, BIOL 5304,and BIOL 5314 in place of advanced undergraduate biology electives.
Curriculum
| BS Foundations | ||
| General Core Requirements | 42 | |
| Students must complete specific courses in certain core areas. | ||
| For Communication select: | ||
| RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION I | ||
| RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION II | ||
| For Life & Physical Sciences select: | ||
| GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS I | ||
| GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS II | ||
| For Mathematics select: | ||
| PREPARATION FOR CALCULUS | ||
| CALCULUS I | ||
| Biology Foundations | ||
| Additional hours required in core. | 4 | |
| BIOL 1131 | BIOLOGY FOUNDATIONS | 1 |
| COMS 2302 | PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING | 3 |
| CHEM 1441 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY I | 4 |
| CHEM 1442 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY II | 4 |
| CHEM 2321 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I | 3 |
| CHEM 2322 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II | 3 |
| CHEM 2181 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY | 1 |
| CHEM 2182 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY | 1 |
| Select courses at any level sufficient to complete 111 undergraduate hours. | 3 | |
| Select three 3000/4000 level courses. | 9 | |
| Biology Specialization | ||
| BIOL 1441 | BIOLOGY I FOR SCIENCE MAJORS: CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 4 |
| BIOL 1442 | BIOLOGY II FOR SCIENCE MAJORS: ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION | 4 |
| BIOL 2300 | BIOSTATISTICS | 3 |
| BIOL 2444 | GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY | 4 |
| BIOL 3315 | GENETICS | 3 |
| BIOL 3301 | CELL PHYSIOLOGY | 3 |
| BIOL 3454 | GENERAL ZOOLOGY | 4 |
| or BIOL 3427 | PLANT SCIENCE | |
| BIOL 3442 | HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY | 4 |
| or BIOL 3446 | HUMAN ANATOMY | |
| BIOL 3310 | SELECTED TOPICS IN BIOLOGY | 3 |
| BIOL 3101 | CURRENT TOPICS IN BIOLOGY | 1 |
| MS Program | ||
| BIOL 5309 | IMMUNOLOGY | 3 |
| BIOL 5304 | VIROLOGY | 3 |
| BIOL 5311 | EVOLUTION | 3 |
| BIOL 5314 | BIOMETRY | 3 |
| BIOL 5317 | BACTERIAL PATHOGENESIS | 3 |
| BIOL 5319 | HUMAN GENETICS | 3 |
| BIOL 5335 | ESSENTIALS OF GENOMICS | 3 |
| BIOL 5340 | BIOINFORMATICS | 3 |
| BIOL 5354 | LIMNOLOGY | 3 |
| BIOL 5310 | SELECTED TOPICS IN BIOLOGY | 3 |
| Total Hours | 141 | |
This program consists of 111 undergraduate credit hours, plus 30 graduate credit hours.
Suggested Course Sequence
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOL 1441 | 4 | BIOL 1442 | 4 |
| CHEM 1441 | 4 | CHEM 1442 | 4 |
| ENGL 1301 | 3 | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| BIOL 1131 | 1 | POLS 2312 | 3 |
| POLS 2311 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOL 2300 | 3 | BIOL 2444 | 4 |
| CHEM 2321 & CHEM 2181 | 4 | CHEM 2322 & CHEM 2182 | 4 |
| HIST 1301 or 1331 | 3 | MATH 1426 | 4 |
| MATH 1421 | 4 | HIST 1302 or 1332 | 3 |
| COMS 2302 | 3 | ||
| 17 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOL 3315 | 3 | BIOL 3301 | 3 |
| BIOL 3454 or 3427 | 4 | BIOL 3442 or 3446 | 4 |
| BIOL 3101 | 1 | PHYS 1442 | 4 |
| PHYS 1441 | 4 | Social Science | 3 |
| Language, Phil and Culture | 3 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOL 5309 | 3 | BIOL 5304 | 3 |
| BIOL 5314 | 3 | BIOL 3310 | 3 |
| Creative Arts | 3 | Any level Elective | 3 |
| Foundational Component Core Elective | 3 | Advanced Electives | 6 |
| Advanced Elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fifth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOL 5340 | 3 | BIOL 5311 | 3 |
| BIOL 5310 | 3 | BIOL 5317 | 3 |
| BIOL 5354 | 3 | BIOL 5319 | 3 |
| BIOL 5335 | 3 | ||
| 9 | 12 | ||
| Total Hours: 141 | |||
Advising Resources
Biology department advising is available for transfer students, prospective students, and first time in college students after meeting transition criteria.
Location:
Life Science Building 3rd floor - 345, 347, 349, 351
Email:
Find advisor emails at link below.
Phone:
817-272-2408