Undergraduate Microbiology Major Course Requirements
Students majoring in Microbiology must fulfill the General Education Program requirements of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Courses that can be used to fulfill these requirements are listed in the University of Iowa General Catalog.
General Education Program Requirements
Rhetoric: 1 -2 courses, 4 - 8 hours
Foreign Language: 4th semester competency
Historical Perspectives: 1 course, 3 hours minimum
Interpretation of Literature: 08G:001
Humanities: 1 course, 3 hours minimum
Natural Sciences*: 2 courses with one lab, 7 hours minimum
Quantitative or Formal Reasoning*: 1 course, 3 hours minimum
Social Sciences: 1 course, 3 hours minimum
Distributed General Education: 6 hours with a minimum of 3 hours chosen from each of two of the following areas: Cultural Diversity, Fine Arts, Foreign Civilization and Culture, Historical Perspectives, Humanities, Physical Education, Social Sciences
*Students majoring in Microbiology will fulfill these General Education Requirements in the course of fulfilling their Microbiology major requirements.
In addition to completing General Education Program Requirements, Microbiology majors must complete course requirements specific to the major.
Microbiology Major Course Requirements
Biological Sciences: Principles of Biology I and II (2:10 and 2:11)
Biochemistry: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I and II (99:120 and 99:130)
Chemistry: Principles of Chemistry I and II (4:11, 4:12)
Organic Chemistry I and II (4:121, 4:122) and Organic Chemistry Laboratory (4:141)
Physics: College Physics I and II (29:11 and 29:12)
Mathematics: One semester of college Calculus. Micro majors may choose from: 22M:16, 22M:21, 22M:25 or 22M:31. Note: 22M:16 is a 1-semester calculus course. 22M:21, 22M:25 and 22M:31 are each the first semester part of one year calculus courses.
Microbiology: A total of 21 semester hours (General Microbiology (61:157) for 5 semester hours and Advanced Courses* for 16 semester hours.
* Most advanced microbiology courses are open only to students who have obtained a grade of C or higher in General Microbiology (61:157).
Notes
- Students are encouraged to get a research experience with course credit by taking either Undergraduate Research in Microbiology (61:161) or Honors Undergraduate Research in Microbiology (61:171). However, a maximum of 2 semester hours of Undergraduate Research in Microbiology (61:161) or Honors Undergraduate Research in Microbiology (61:171) may count toward the departmental 21 s.h. requirement. Any number of hours from these courses may count towards the 120 s.h. graduation requirement of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Seminar Microbiology (61:163) may be taken for credit only once (usually during the student's Senior year), but students are encouraged to take the course for no credit at other times.
- Three semester hours of electron microscopy (Microscopy for Biomedical Research, 061:218) may count toward the departmental 21 s.h. Requirement Hours earned for Advanced Microscopy for Biomedical Research (61:220) may count toward the graduation requirement of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences but not toward the departmental requirement.
Advisors may recommend Nonfiction Writing (08N:080) to some microbiology majors.
Microbiology Advising
Students who declare Microbiology as a major will be assigned a faculty advisor from the Undergraduate Advising Committee. Majors are required to meet once per semester with their advisor (usually near the time of registration for the next semester). At this meeting, students will be cleared for online registration and review their progress toward the degree.
Students are encouraged to speak to their advisor at any time for answers to questions, assistance or advice setting up a research experience, etc.
Questions about advising or requests for a change of advisor should be directed to Dr. Richard Roller (335-9958, richard-roller@uiowa.edu).
Honors Program
The Honors Program is open to students who want to obtain a B.S. Degree with Honors. The student must have an overall and microbiology minimum grade point average of 3.33. The program requires:
- Twenty-five semester hours of microbiology courses. Six of the 25 semester hours must be from 2 semesters of Honors Undergraduate Research in Microbiology (61:171).
- A written report of the student's research.
- An oral presentation on the research project at the Department of Microbiology Honors Symposium.
Students interested in a BS Degree with honors should contact the Department of Microbiology Honors advisor, Dr. George Stauffer (335-7791, george-stauffer@uiowa.edu) and The University of Iowa Honors Program.