Zoology: Secondary Teacher Certification, BS

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or before Academic Year 2025-2026. Learn more about University Academic Regulation 3.1.

Minimum Overall Grade Point Average: 2.50
Total Hours: 120

General Education Requirements
English Composition
See Academic Regulation 3.5
ENGL 1113Composition I3
or ENGL 1313 Critical Analysis and Writing I
Select one of the following:3
Composition II
Critical Analysis and Writing II
Technical Writing
American History & Government
HIST 1103Survey of American History3
or HIST 1483 American History to 1865 (H)
or HIST 1493 American History Since 1865 (DH)
POLS 1113American Government3
Quantitative Thought & Logical Reasoning (Q)
MATH 1813Preparation for Calculus (Q) (or higher) 1, 23
Understanding Humanities-Human Heritage & Cultures (H)
Courses Designated (H)3
Courses designated (DH)3
Reasoning in the Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory-Based Inquiry (L) course.
BIOL 1113
BIOL 1111
Introductory Biology (N)
and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN) 1, 2
4
or BIOL 1114 Introductory Biology (LN)
CHEM 1314Chemistry I (LN) 1,24
CHEM 1515Chemistry II (LN) 1,25
Exploring Society & Human Behavior (S)
Course designated (S)3
Diversity (D)
Courses designated (D)
May be paired with another designated course
Global Cultural Competency (G)
Courses designated (G)3
Additional General Education
Additional general education credit hours may be required to meet the total 40-hour minimum of general education credit if courses carry more than one general education designation and can be used to meet multiple general education designation hour requirements above.
Courses designated (Q), (H), (N), (S), (D), (G), or (F).0
Hours Subtotal40
College/Departmental Requirements
UNIV 1111First Year Seminar (or other approved first year seminar course)1
Arts & Humanities
PHIL 3933Creation and Evolution3
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
PBIO 1404Plant Biology (LN) 24
PHYS 1114College Physics I (LN) 24
STAT 4013Statistical Methods I (Q) 23
or STAT 2013 Elementary Statistics (Q)
Foreign Language
(See note 3)
0-6 hours
Upper-Division General Education
Select 6 hours outside major department
(See note 2.c.)
Hours Subtotal15
Major Requirements
Zoology Core
Minimum GPA 2.50 and minimum grade of "C" or "P" for courses in Zoology Core and those denoted with 2
BIOL 1604Animal Biology4
BIOL 3023General Genetics3
BIOL 3034General Ecology4
BIOL 3104Invertebrate Zoology4
BIOL 3114Vertebrate Zoology4
BIOL 3204Physiology4
BIOL 4133Evolution3
CHEM 3013Survey of Organic Chemistry3
MICR 3033Cell and Molecular Biology3
Secondary Education Professional Core:
Minimum GPA 2.50 and minimum grade of "C" or "P" in each course
CIED 3313Field Experience in the Secondary Schools3
SMED 1012Inquiry Approaches to Teaching2
SMED 3013Knowing and Learning in K-12 Education3
SMED 4023Advanced Field Placement in Mathematics and Science3
SMED 4611Authentic Research in the Science Classroom 31
SMED 4613Teaching the Nature of Science Through an Inquiry Approach 33
SMED 4713Teaching and Learning Science in the Secondary School 33
SMED 4723Senior Seminar in Secondary Mathematics and Science Education 33
SPED 3202Educating Exceptional Learners2
CIED 4720Internship in the Secondary Classroom 36
Hours Subtotal61
Electives
Select 4 hours4
MATH 1513 required for students who do not place directly into MATH 1813 (or MATH 1613).
May need to include 3 hours of a foreign language (see note 3).
Hours Subtotal4
Total Hours120
1

College and Departmental Requirements that may be used to meet General Education Requirements.

2

Minimum GPA 2.50 and minimum grade of "C" or "P" for courses in Zoology Core and those denoted with this footnote.

3

Full admission to Professional Education required.

Other Requirements

  • See the College of Arts and Sciences Requirements.
  • Minimum 2.0 in all BIOL courses.
  • Upper-Division Credit: Total hours must include at least 40 hours in courses numbered 3000 or above.

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

  1. Hours in One Department: For B.A. and B.S. degrees, no more than 54 hours in one department may be required to meet degree requirements. Courses used to satisfy the General Education English Composition, U.S. History, American Government, and Mathematics or Statistics requirements will not count toward the 54-hour maximum required from one department.
  2. A&S College/Departmental Requirements
    1. Arts and Humanities are defined as any course carrying an (H) designation or courses from AMST, ART, DANC, ENGL (except ENGL 3323 Technical Writing) HIST, MUSI, PHIL (except PHIL 1313 Logic and Critical Thinking (Q), PHIL 3003 Symbolic Logic (Q) and PHIL 4003 Mathematical Logic and Computability), REL, TH, and foreign languages.
    2. Natural and Mathematical Sciences are defined as any course from the following prefixes: ASTR, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CS (except CS 4883 Social Issues in Computing), GEOL, MATH, MICR, PBIO, PHYS, and STAT; or courses from other departments that carry an (A) or (N) general education designation.
    3. Six upper-division hours are required from General Education or any CAS courses outside the student’s major department. This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student’s degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    4. Non-Western Studies Requirement for B.A. and B.F.A.; One course in Non-Western Studies (N.W.). This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student's degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    5. The College of Arts & Sciences requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major requirements and a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major-prefix courses applied to the degree.
  3. Foreign Language Proficiency
    1. The foreign language requirement for the B.A. may be satisfied by 9 hours college credit in the same language, which must include 3 hours at the 2000-level, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement. Currently Arabic and Mvskoke are not offered at the 2000-level at OSU.
    2. The foreign language requirement for the B.S., B.M. and B.F.A. may be satisfied by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language (passing grades at second-year level of study). It may also be satisfied by 6 hours college credit in the same language, which must include language courses 1713 and 1813, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement.
    3. In addition to a. and b., students pursuing teacher certification must meet novice-high foreign language proficiency by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language with no grade below B. Or, students may complete 3 hours college credit in a single language with no grade below C (or pass an advanced standing examination, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam, or Oral Proficiency Interview developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, equivalent to 3 hours of college credit.) Or, students may meet the requirement by transfer of documentation of meeting the foreign language competency from one of the teacher education programs in the State of Oklahoma approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
  4. Exclusions. Courses with ATHL or LEIS prefixes and leisure activity courses may not be used for degree credit.

Additional State/OSU Requirements

  • At least: 60 hours at a four-year institution; 30 hours completed at OSU; 15 of the final 30 and 50% of the upper-division hours in the major field completed at OSU.
  • Limit of: one-half of major course requirements as transfer work; one-fourth of hours earned by correspondence; 8 transfer correspondence hours.
  • Students will be held responsible for degree requirements in effect at the time of matriculation and any changes that are made, so long as these changes do not result in semester credit hours being added or do not delay graduation.
  • Degrees that follow this plan must be completed by the end of Summer 2031.

Finish in Four Plan of Study

The plan below is an example of how students can successfully complete degree requirements in four years. This suggested class schedule plan may be used as a guide and can be adjusted based on individual needs. Students are required to meet with an academic advisor prior to enrollment each semester to plan their class schedule, and students are ultimately responsible for completing all degree requirements.

Plan of Study Grid
Freshman
FallHours
First Year Seminar 1
BIOL 1113
BIOL 1111
Introductory Biology (N)
and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN)
4
MATH 1813 Preparation for Calculus (Q) 3
SMED 1012 Inquiry Approaches to Teaching 2
General Education courses 6
 Hours16
Spring
BIOL 1604 Animal Biology 4
CHEM 1314 Chemistry I (LN) 4
General Education courses 8
 Hours16
Sophomore
Fall
CHEM 1515 Chemistry II (LN) 5
PBIO 1404 Plant Biology (LN) 4
PHIL 3933 Creation and Evolution 3
General Education, Major, or Elective courses 3
 Hours15
Spring
BIOL 3104 Invertebrate Zoology 4
PHYS 1114
College Physics I (LN)
or University Physics I (LN)
4
SMED 3013 Knowing and Learning in K-12 Education 3
SPED 3202 Educating Exceptional Learners 2
General Education and Major courses 3
 Hours16
Junior
Fall
BIOL 3023 General Genetics 3
BIOL 3114 Vertebrate Zoology 4
CIED 3313 Field Experience in the Secondary Schools 3
MICR 3033 Cell and Molecular Biology 3
Major or Elective courses 3
 Hours16
Spring
BIOL 3204 Physiology 4
BIOL 4133 Evolution 3
CHEM 3013 Survey of Organic Chemistry 3
SMED 4611 Authentic Research in the Science Classroom 1
SMED 4613 Teaching the Nature of Science Through an Inquiry Approach 3
General Education, Major, or Elective courses 3
 Hours17
Senior
Fall
BIOL 3034 General Ecology 4
SMED 4023 Advanced Field Placement in Mathematics and Science 3
SMED 4713 Teaching and Learning Science in the Secondary School 3
General Education, Major, or Elective courses 5
 Hours15
Spring
CIED 4720 Internship in the Secondary Classroom 6
SMED 4723 Senior Seminar in Secondary Mathematics and Science Education 3
 Hours9
 Total Hours120