Academics: Degree Options

 

Students who wish to specialize in a particular area of biology can do so through a set of departmentally-defined options. Students who complete the required biology electives for any option can have up to two noted on his or her transcript.

The recommended elective courses required for each of the options are listed below.





Biochemistry Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-740 Advanced Biochemistry
21-259 Calculus in Three Dimensions
or  
21-260 Differential Equations
Any one of the following courses:
09-518 Bioorganic Chemistry: Nucleic Acids and Carbohydrates
09-519 Bioorganic Chemistry: Peptides, Proteins and Combinatorial Chemistry
09-521 Bioinorganic Chemistry
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-442 Molecular Biology
03-534 Biological Imaging and Fluorescence Spectroscopy
03-439 Introduction to Biophysics
03-871 Structural Biophysics

Biophysics Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-740 Advanced Biochemistry
03-439 Introduction to Biophysics
21-259 Calculus in Three Dimensions
or  
21-260 Differential Equations
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-315 Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Neuroscience
03-534 Biological Imaging and Fluorescence Spectroscopy
03-871 Structural Biophysics

Cell Biology Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-350 Developmental Biology
03-450 Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms of Development
03-741 Advanced Cell Biology
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-360 Biology of the Brain
03-442 Molecular Biology
03-751 Advanced Developmental Biology

Computational Biology Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-510 Computational Biology
15-211 Fundamental Structures and Algorithms I
Any one of the following courses:
36-247 Statistics for Laboratory Sciences
21-260 Differential Equations
21-241 Matrix Algebra
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-511 Computational Molecular Biology and Genomics
03-512 Computational Methods for Biological Modeling
15-212 Fundamental Structures of Computer Science II
15-451 Algorithm Design and Analysis
09-560 Computational Chemistry

Developmental Biology Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-350 Developmental Biology
03-442 Molecular Biology
03-751 Advanced Developmental Biology
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-360 Biology of the Brain
03-450 Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms of Development
03-741 Advanced Cell Biology

Genetics Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-450 Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms of Development
03-442 Molecular Biology
03-730 Advanced Genetics (minimum grade of B in 03-330 required)
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-350 Developmental Biology
03-380 Virology

Molecular Biology Option
Required Biology Electives:
03-442 Molecular Biology
03-450 Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms of Development
09-518 Bioorganic Chemistry: Nucleic Acids
Recommended Biology Electives:
03-350 Developmental Biology
03-360 Biology of the Brain
03-380 Virology
03-730 Advanced Genetics
03-751 Advanced Developmental Biology

Neuroscience Option (Undergraduate Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon)
Required Biology Electives:
03-360 Biology of the Brain
Any two of the following courses:
03-315 Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Neuroscience
03-761 Neural Plasticity in Sensory and Motor Systems
85-219 Biological Foundations of Behavior
Recommended Biology Electives:
42-301 Physiology
03-534 Biological Imaging and Fluorescence Spectroscopy
03-350 Developmental Biology
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