Biology B.A. - Teacher Preparation General Science Broadfield
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, TEACHING GENERAL SCIENCE BROADFIELD CONCENTRATION
- This concentration provides students with coursework in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics needed to be certified by the State of Montana in broad-field science. This allows students to teach secondary sciences - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science (in middle and high schools). This concentration is appropriate for students interested in teaching science in smaller, more rural schools. In order to be licensed to teach secondary science, students must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program through the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences.
- This major requires a minimum cumulative institutional GPA of 2.75.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Lower-Division Courses in the Content Areas - Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, and Physics 1 | ||
| Biology Content Courses 2 | ||
| 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 |
| Chemistry Content Courses 3 | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| CHMY 123 | Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry | 4 |
| CHMY 141N & CHMY 142N | College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Lab | 5 |
| CHMY 143N & CHMY 144N | College Chemistry II and College Chemistry II Lab | 5 |
| CHMY 485 | Laboratory Safety | 1 |
| Earth Sciences Content Courses 4 | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| ASTR 131N | Planetary Astronomy | 3 |
| ASTR 134N | Planetary Astronomy Lab | 1 |
| ERTH 101N | Earth Systems Science | 3 |
| ERTH 103N | Earth Systems Science Lab | 1 |
| Geoscience Elective - Complete 1 course in Geoscience (GEO) | 3 | |
| Physics Content Courses | ||
| Complete one of the following Physics sequences: | 10 | |
Algebra- and Trigonometry-based Physics: | ||
| College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory | ||
| College Physics II and College Physics II Laboratory | ||
Calculus-based Physics: | ||
| Fundamentals of Physics with Calculus I and Physics Laboratory I with Calculus | ||
| Fundamentals of Physics with Calculus II and Physics Laboratory II with Calculus | ||
| Upper-Division Content Courses | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| BIOE 370 | General Ecology | 3 |
| BIOE 371 | General Ecology Lab (equivalent to 271) | 2 |
| Mathematics - Calculus | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 4 | |
| Applied Calculus | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Mathematics - Statistics | ||
| Complete the following course: | ||
| STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| Education Course | ||
| Complete the following course: | ||
| EDU 497 | Teaching and Assessing (Methods: 5 - 12 Science) | 4 |
| Advanced Writing Requirement | ||
| To meet the Advanced Writing Requirement, Biology students must complete 2 or 3 partial writing courses (either three 1/3 writing courses or one 1/3 writing course and one 2/3 writing course) or one complete writing course. The General Science Broadfield requires one 2/3 writing course (BIOE 371). The advanced writing requirement is completed with one additional course, chosen from any of the courses listed below. The recommended course is BIOO 434 (taken with BIOO 433), which is required for the Teaching Biology endorsement. | 3-9 | |
| Total Hours | 73-79 | |
- 1
A minimum of 10 credits is required in each of the four content areas.
- 2
An AP Biology score of 3 will substitute for either BIOB 160/BIOB 161N or BIOB 170N/BIOB 171N.
- 3
CHMY 141N/CHMY 142N & CHMY 143N/CHMY 144N should be completed before attempting CHMY 123.
- 4
ASTR 132N/ASTR 135N are NOT acceptable substitutes for ASTR 131N/ASTR 134N.
Advanced Writing Distributed Model Courses for Biological Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1/3 Advanced Writing Courses | ||
| BCH 482 | Advanced Biochemistry II | 3 |
| BIOB 410 | Immunology | 3 |
| BIOB 425 | Advanced Cellular & Molecular Biology | 3 |
| BIOB 483 | Phylogenics and Evolution | 3 |
| BIOE 403 | Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | 4 |
| BIOE 428 | Freshwater Ecology | 0,5 |
| BIOM 402 | Pathogenic Microbes | 3 |
| BIOO 320 | General Botany | 5 |
| BIOO 434 | Plant Physiology Lab | 1 |
| BIOO 470 | Ornithology | 4 |
| BIOO 475 | Mammalogy | 4 |
| 2/3 Advanced Writing Courses | ||
| BCH 486 | Biochemistry Research Lab | 3 |
| BCH 499 | Senior Thesis/Capstone | 3-6 |
| BIOB 411 | Immunology Laboratory | 2 |
| BIOB 499 | Undergraduate Thesis | 3-6 |
| BIOE 342 | Field Ecology | 5 |
| BIOE 371 | General Ecology Lab (equivalent to 271) | 2 |
| BIOM 411 | Experimental Microbial Genetics Lab | 1 |
| BIOM 499 | Undergraduate Thesis | 3-6 |
| Complete Advanced Writing Course | ||
| BIOH 462 | Principles of Medical Physiology | 3 |
| BIOM 420 | Host-Microbe Interactions | 3 |
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.