Biology B.A. - Biological Education
Individuals interested in teaching in K-12 schools must complete a degree in the content area they want to teach plus the Teacher Education Program through the Department of Teaching and Learning. Individuals must complete the teaching track within that degree program, which may contain different course requirements than the non-teaching track since the sequence of courses is designed to meet state standards. Upon completion of the degree program with the teaching track and the secondary licensure program, one will be eligible for a standard Montana teaching license in this content area.
General Degree Requirements
To earn a baccalaureate degree, all students must complete successfully, in addition to any other requirements, the University of Montana General Education Requirements. Please refer to the General Education Requirements page for more information.
Additional requirements for graduation can be found on the Degree/Certificate Requirements for Graduation page.
Unless otherwise noted in individual program requirements, a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in all work attempted at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation. Please see the Academic Policies and Procedures page for information on how your GPA is calculated.
Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of a major, minor, or certificate program must be completed with a grade of C- or better unless a higher grade is noted in the program requirements.
BACHELOR OF ARTS - BIOLOGY; BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION CONCENTRATION
- This concentration provides students with coursework in biology and related sciences and mathematics needed to be certified by the State of Montana to teach secondary biology in middle and high school. This concentration is appropriate for students interested in teaching biology in a larger, more urban school. In order to be licensed to teach secondary biology, students must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program through the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Biology/Microbiology Lower-Division Core | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | 3 |
| BIOB 161N | Principles of Living Systems Lab | 1 |
| BIOB 170N | Principles of Biological Diversity | 3 |
| BIOB 171N | Principles of Biological Diversity Lab | 2 |
| BIOB 260 | Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BIOB 272 | Genetics and Evolution | 4 |
| Upper-Division Core Courses Required by the Biological Education Concentration | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| BIOE 370 | General Ecology | 3 |
| BIOE 371 | General Ecology Lab (equivalent to 271) | 2 |
| BIOM 360 | General Microbiology | 3 |
| BIOM 361 | General Microbiology Lab | 2 |
| Plant-Based Organismal Course Requirement | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 4-5 | |
| Terrestrial Plant Ecology | ||
| Plant Evolution | ||
| General Botany | ||
| Plant Physiology and Plant Physiology Lab | ||
| Animal-Based Organismal Course Requirement | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 3-4 | |
| Developmental Biology | ||
| Comparative Animal Physiology | ||
| Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
| Mathematics | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| M 162 | Applied Calculus 1 | 4 |
| or M 171 | Calculus I | |
| STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| Chemistry | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
| CHMY 123 | Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry | 4 |
| CHMY 124 | Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry Lab | 2 |
| CHMY 485 | Laboratory Safety | 1 |
| Physics | ||
| Complete one of the following Physics courses: | 5 | |
| College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory | ||
| Fundamentals of Physics with Calculus I and Physics Laboratory I with Calculus | ||
| Environmental Geosciences | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
| Earth Systems Science | ||
| Oceanography | ||
| Education Course | ||
| Complete the following course: | ||
| EDU 497 | Teaching and Assessing (Methods: 5 - 12 Science) | 3 |
| Advanced Writing Requirement | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| BIOE 371 | General Ecology Lab (equivalent to 271) | 2 |
| BIOO 434 | Plant Physiology Lab | 1 |
| or BIOO 320 | General Botany | |
| Total Hours | 67-69 | |
- 1
Students should choose M 171 if they plan to take additional calculus courses or if they plan a double major or minor in a field that requires more calculus (e.g. astronomy, math, physics, biochemistry, computer science).
Secondary Teaching Licensure
For endorsement to teach this subject, a student also must gain admission to the Teacher Education Program and meet all the requirements for secondary teaching licensure. For more information, see the Teaching and Learning Department webpage.