Biochemistry, BS

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or before Academic Year 2024-2025. Learn more about University Academic Regulation 3.1.

Minimum Overall Grade Point Average: 2.00
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
Analytical & Quantitative Thought (A)
MATH 2144Calculus I (A) 14
Humanities (H)
Courses designated (H)6
Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory Science (L) course
CHEM 1314Chemistry I (LN) 14
PHYS 1114College Physics I (LN) 14
or PHYS 2014 University Physics I (LN)
Social & Behavioral Sciences (S)
Course designated (S)3
Additional General Education
Courses designated (A), (H), (N), or (S)7
Hours Subtotal40
Diversity (D) & International Dimension (I)
May be completed in any part of the degree plan
Select at least one Diversity (D) course
Select at least one International Dimension (I) course
College/Departmental Requirements
First Year Seminar
(Transfer students with 15 hours exempt)1
Arts & Humanities
See note 2.a.3
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
BIOL 1113
BIOL 1111
Introductory Biology (N)
and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN)
4
or BIOL 1114 Introductory Biology (LN)
CHEM 1515Chemistry II (LN)5
Foreign Language
See note 30
0-6 hours
Upper-Division General Education
Select 6 hours outside major department
See note 2.c.
Hours Subtotal13
Major Requirements
Minimum GPA 2.00.
BIOC 3713Biochemistry I3
BIOC 3723Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory3
BIOC 3813Biochemistry II3
BIOC 3223Physical Chemistry for Biologists3
or CHEM 3413 Physical Chemistry Applications
or CHEM 3433 Physical Chemistry I
BIOC 4883Senior Seminar in Biochemistry3
or CHEM 4123 Biomolecular Chemistry and Function
or CHEM 4313 Medicinal Organic Chemistry
or MICR 4233 Advanced Cell and Molecular Biology
BIOC 4990Undergraduate Research2
or CHEM 4990 Special Problems in Chemistry
or MICR 4990 Special Problems
BIOL 3204Physiology4
or BIOL 1604 Animal Biology
or PBIO 1404 Plant Biology (LN)
BIOL 3023General Genetics3
or ANSI 3423 Animal Genetics
or PLNT 3554 Plant Genetics and Biotechnology
CHEM 2113Principles of Analytical Chemistry3
CHEM 3053Organic Chemistry I3
CHEM 3112Organic Chemistry Laboratory2
CHEM 3153Organic Chemistry II3
MATH 2153Calculus II (A)3
or STAT 2013 Elementary Statistics (A)
or STAT 4013 Statistical Methods I (A)
MICR 2123Introduction to Microbiology3
MICR 2132Introduction to Microbiology Laboratory2
PHYS 1214College Physics II (LN)4
or PHYS 2114 University Physics II (LN)
Select at least one of the following:3
Cell and Molecular Biology
Introduction to Plant Molecular Biology
Additional Requirements
Select 6 hours of the following:6
BIOL
CHEM
MICR
With approval from the advisor and department head, maximum of 30 hours of science courses from an accredited doctoral health program may be substituted for major requirements other than BIOC 3713 Biochemistry I, BIOC 3723 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, BIOC 3813 Biochemistry II.
Hours Subtotal56
Electives
Select 11 hours11
May need to include 6 hours of a foreign language (see note 3)
May need to include 6 hours upper-division general education outside major department (see note 2.c.) and 6 additional upper-division hours
MATH 1513 and MATH 1813 required for students who do not place directly into MATH 2144.
Hours Subtotal11
Total Hours120

Other Requirements

  • See the College of Arts and Sciences Requirements.
  • Minimum GPA 2.00 in all BIOC 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 (A), PHIL 3003 Symbolic Logic (A) 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 or 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 2030.

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
CHEM 1314 Chemistry I (LN) 4
MATH 2144 Calculus I (A) 4
General Education and/or Elective courses 7
 Hours15
Spring
BIOL 1113
BIOL 1111
Introductory Biology (N)
and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN)
4
CHEM 1515 Chemistry II (LN) 5
General Education courses 6
 Hours15
Sophomore
Fall
CHEM 3053 Organic Chemistry I 3
MICR 2123 Introduction to Microbiology 3
MICR 2132 Introduction to Microbiology Laboratory 2
PHYS 1114 College Physics I (LN) 4
General Education courses 3
 Hours15
Spring
CHEM 3153 Organic Chemistry II 3
CHEM 3112 Organic Chemistry Laboratory 2
MICR 3033
Cell and Molecular Biology
or Introduction to Plant Molecular Biology
3
PHYS 1214 College Physics II (LN) 4
General Education, Major Requirements, or Elective course 3
 Hours15
Junior
Fall
BIOC 3713 Biochemistry I 3
CHEM 2113 Principles of Analytical Chemistry 3
BIOL 3023
General Genetics
or Animal Genetics
or Plant Genetics and Biotechnology
3
College and Elective courses 6
 Hours15
Spring
BIOC 3813 Biochemistry II 3
BIOL 3204
Physiology
or Animal Biology
or Plant Biology (LN)
4
CHEM 4990 Special Problems in Chemistry 1
General Education, Major Requirements, or Elective courses 6
 Hours14
Senior
Fall
BIOC 3223
Physical Chemistry for Biologists
or Physical Chemistry Applications
or Physical Chemistry I
3
CHEM 4990 Special Problems in Chemistry 1
Major, College, and Elective courses 12
 Hours16
Spring
BIOC 4883
Senior Seminar in Biochemistry
or Biomolecular Chemistry and Function
or Medicinal Organic Chemistry
or Advanced Cell and Molecular Biology
3
Major, College, and Elective courses 12
 Hours15
 Total Hours120
1

Speak with your academic advisor about pairing General Education (H) and (S) courses with General Education International (I) and Diversity (D) dimensions.