Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Biology, B.A.

Four-Year Academic Map 2023-2024

This is a sample academic plan for students entering on the 2023-2024 catalog. Students should meet with an academic advisor prior to registration to formulate their own plan. Please tap the button following each course to view course description and prerequisites or see the UH Hilo Catalog for more course information.

Year 1: Fall Semester

Course Credit
MATH 125 or MATH 241 (FQ: Quantitative Reasoning) 3
CHEM 161 (DP: Physical Science) 3
CHEM 161L (DY: Science Laboratory) 1
BIOL 171 3
BIOL 171L 1
ENG 100 (FW: Written Communication) 3
Credits 14

Year 1: Spring Semester

Course Credit
FGA, FGB or FGC: Global Multicultural Perspectives I 3
CHEM 162 3
CHEM 162L 1
BIOL 172 3
BIOL 172L 1
DA, DH or DL: Arts, Humanities, Literature I 3
Credits 14

Year 2: Fall Semester

Course Credit
CHEM 241 3
CHEM 241L 1
BIOL 270 3
BIOL 270L 1
PHYS 151 See note 2 3
PHYS 151L See note 2 1
FGA, FGB or FGC: Global Multicultural Perspectives II 3
Credits 15

Year 2: Spring Semester

Course Credit
CHEM 242 3
CHEM 242L 1
BIOL 280 3
BIOL 281 3
BIOL 281L 2
PHYS 152 See note 2 3
PHYS 152L See note 2 1
Credits 16

Year 3: Fall Semester

Course Credit
BIOL 357 3
DS: Social Science I 3
DB: Biological Science, GE HPP (Rec: BIOL 156 ) 3
BIOL Upper Elective 3
WI Elective 3
Credits 15

Year 3: Spring Semester

Course Credit
BIOL 375 3
BIOL Upper Elective 3
DS: Social Science II 3
WI Elective 3
GQR: Quantitative Reasoning 3
Credits 15

Year 4: Fall Semester

Course Credit
BIOL 495A 1
BIOL Upper Elective 3
BIOL Lab Upper Elective 2
DA, DH or DL: Arts, Humanities, Literature II 3
GL: Language Arts 3
WI Upper Elective 3
Credits 15

Year 4: Spring Semester

Course Credit
BIOL 495B 1
BIOL Upper Elective 3
BIOL Lab Upper Elective 2
GE GCC 3
ENG 225 WI See note 1, ENG 286A , ENG 287 , PHIL 327 , or PHIL 416 3
Elective or GE HPP 4
Credits 16

Notes

  1. Students are required to take three (3) Writing Intensive courses to satisfy GE requirements. Please see the WI website for the list of certified courses.
  2. Students should choose one track in Physics either:
    • PHYS 151-151L and PHYS 152-152L
    • PHYS 170-170L and PHYS 272-272L
  3. BIOL 101 and BIOL 101L are non-major courses and do not count toward the major or minor in Biology.
  4. Students should begin Chemistry courses their freshmen year if they plan to complete their academic program in four years. Chemistry courses are often prerequisites for required biology classes.
  5. Students must earn a minimum grade of “C-” in all required and prerequisite courses.
  6. Students must earn at least a 2.0 GPA in courses required for the major.
  7. BIOL 171-172 are offered every semester and can be taken in either order.
  8. The upper division credits needed for graduation for all degrees in Biology are met in the process of completing these degrees.
  9. Many upper-level Biology courses are writing intensive and therefore offer the opportunity to complete that university requirement. In those courses students write a series of laboratory reports demonstrating their ability to perform experiments and to organize, analyze, and interpret the quantitative results of experimental work.