Interdisciplinary Biology B.A.
The B.A. in Interdisciplinary Biology is designed for students who seek an interdisciplinary science program. This major is not research-oriented and is not considered a preparatory program for traditional research-based graduate programs. It is, however, designed for students seeking careers in environmental education, science writing, journalism or illustration, business, programming, wildlife film-making, or natural history centers and museums. There is enough latitude in the requirements to allow for a minor or even a double major in a related field of interest (e.g. journalism, art, computer science, media arts, etc.).
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 - Interdisciplinary Biology
The lower-division core should be completed before attempting most upper-division major courses. AP Biology credit with a score of 3 may be substituted for either BIOB 160 /BIOB 161NorBIOB 170N/BIOB 171N.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| 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 194 | Your Future in Biology | 1 |
| BIOB 272 | Genetics and Evolution | 4 |
| Complete one of the following Ecology courses: | 3-5 | |
| Introductory Ecology | ||
| Field Ecology | ||
| General Ecology | ||
| Electives | ||
| Complete 25 credits of upper-division (300-level or above) credits in the biological sciences. This includes courses with the following subject codes: | 25 | |
BIOB - General | ||
BIOE - Ecological | ||
BIOH - Human | ||
BIOM - Microbiology | ||
BIOO - Organismal | ||
BCH - Biochemistry | ||
NEUR - Neuroscience | ||
| Wildlife Physiological Ecology | ||
| Chemistry and Mathematics | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
| M 121 | College Algebra | 3 |
| or M 122 | College Trigonometry | |
| or M 151 | Precalculus | |
| or M 162 | Applied Calculus | |
| or M 171 | Calculus I | |
| Interdisciplinary Electives 1 | ||
| Complete 12 credits of courses in the following areas. Credits may be combined among disciplines. | 12 | |
Art | ||
| Drawing I | ||
| Illustration | ||
| Painting I | ||
| Ceramics I | ||
| Sculpture I | ||
| Photography I: Technologies and Processes | ||
| Environmental Drawing | ||
Business and Analytics | ||
| Introduction to Business | ||
| Business Ethics and Social Responsibility | ||
| MIS Foundations for Business | ||
| Introduction to Data Analytics | ||
| Principles of Microeconomics | ||
Computer Science | ||
| Introduction to Computer Science | ||
| Interdisciplinary Computer Science I | ||
| Interdisciplinary Computer Science II | ||
| Intermediate Data Structures and Algorithms | ||
| Computational Biology | ||
Journalism | ||
| Journalism and American Society | ||
| Intro Radio/Audio Storytelling | ||
| Writing the News | ||
| Beginning Video and Photojournalism | ||
| Reporting the News | ||
| Digital and Interactive Reporting | ||
| Documentary Film History | ||
Media Arts | ||
| Intro to Media Arts | ||
| Introduction to Film Editing | ||
| Sound Production & Design Fundamentals | ||
| Photoshop: Art and Design | ||
| Illustrator: Vector and Layout Design | ||
| Introduction to Web Design | ||
Natural History | ||
| Planetary Astronomy | ||
| Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe | ||
| Planetary Astronomy Lab | ||
| Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Lab | ||
| The Evolving Universe | ||
| Earth Systems Science | ||
| Earth Systems Science Lab | ||
| The Rocky Planet | ||
| The Water Planet | ||
| Earth's Changing Climate | ||
| Intro to Physical Geography: Climate, Landforms, and Vegetation | ||
| Intro to Physical Geography Laboratory: Climate, Landforms, and Vegetation | ||
| Biogeography | ||
| Writing in the Disciplines Requirement | ||
| To complete the General Education Requirement for Writing in the Disciplines, Interdisciplinary Biology students can either take a complete writing course (in or outside of DBS) or partial writing courses (2-3) within the DBS Distributed Model. | ||
| Total Hours | 61-63 | |
Writing in the Disciplines Distributed Model Courses for Biological Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1/3 Writing in the Disciplines 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 371 | General Ecology Lab (equivalent to 271) | 2 |
| BIOE 403 | Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | 4 |
| BIOE 428 | Freshwater Ecology | 5 |
| BIOH 447 | Genes and Development Lab | 3 |
| BIOM 327 | Vector-Borne Diseases: Public Health Perspectives | 3 |
| BIOM 435 | Virology | 3 |
| BIOO 470 | Ornithology | 4 |
| BIOO 475 | Mammalogy | 4 |
| WILD 470 | Conservation of Wildlife Populations | 4 |
| 2/3 Writing in the Disciplines 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 448 | Terrestrial Plant Ecology | 4 |
| BIOE 485 | Plant Evolution | 3 |
| BIOM 499 | Undergraduate Thesis | 3-6 |
| Full Writing in the Disciplines Courses | ||
| BIOH 462 | Principles of Medical Physiology | 3 |
| BIOM 420 | Host-Microbe Interactions | 3 |
Four Year Plan
| Freshman | ||
|---|---|---|
| Autumn | Hours | |
| BIOB 160 & BIOB 161N |
Principles of Living Systems and Principles of Living Systems Lab |
4 |
| CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
| M 121 |
College Algebra or College Trigonometry or Precalculus or Applied Calculus or Calculus I |
3-4 |
| WRIT 101 | College Writing I | 4 |
| BIOB 194 | Your Future in Biology | 1 |
| Hours | 16-17 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOB 170N & BIOB 171N |
Principles of Biological Diversity and Principles of Biological Diversity Lab |
5 |
| Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Sophomore | ||
| Autumn | ||
| Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 | |
| Language 101 | 4-5 | |
| Intermediate Writing Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 6 | |
| Hours | 16-17 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOB 272 | Genetics and Evolution | 4 |
| BIOE 172N | Introductory Ecology 1 | 3 |
| Language 102 | 4-5 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Hours | 14-15 | |
| Junior | ||
| Autumn | ||
| BIOE 370 | General Ecology 1 | 3 |
| BIOO 475 | Mammalogy | 4 |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 5 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOO 335 | Rocky Mountain Flora 1 | 4 |
| BIOO 470 | Ornithology 1 | 4 |
| Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Elective | 1 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Senior | ||
| Autumn | ||
| BIOE 406 | Behavior & Evolution 1 | 4 |
| BIOB 480 | Conservation Genetics 1 | 3 |
| Upper Division Elective | 8 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOE 447 | Ecosystem Ecology 1 | 3 |
| Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement | 3 | |
| Upper Division Elective | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 121-124 | |
Updated Autumn 2025
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Indicates you have a choice of alternative courses for degree completion. See catalog, Degree Works, or your advisor for other options.