Biology degree programs require high school science and math courses, with undergraduate students needing to complete introductory courses before advanced ones. Non-science classes may also be required. Graduate programs require an undergraduate degree in biology or related subjects, with completion of a dissertation as a graduation requirement.
Universities offering degree programs in biology typically require applicants to complete certain classes while in high school. Biology prerequisites for admission purposes usually include science and math courses. In addition, students currently enrolled in degree programs in biology must complete several prerequisites in order to graduate.
Generally, anyone who wants to enroll in a biology course in college must first have taken a biological science course while in high school. Other types of science-related biology prerequisites include physical sciences, marine biology, and chemistry. In addition to science, most colleges also require students to have achieved good grades in math, and some higher education establishments require students to have achieved minimum grades in all subjects, even if some of these topics are not directly related to science.
College students typically begin degree programs in biology by taking classes such as introductory biology, basic chemistry, and general science. Typically, each of these classes lasts a single semester. These core courses serve as prerequisites for the more advanced biology-related classes that undergraduate students must take later in the degree program. Students who have successfully completed classes classified as first-year biology prerequisites can continue studying topics such as marine ecology, biological conservation, human biology, and other related subjects.
In most countries, undergraduate students are required to complete a certain number of credit hours before they are eligible to graduate. Students are typically required to complete both classes directly related to their degree program and course classes that provide a basic overview of other subjects, such as language courses or information technology (IT) topics. A college may list some of these non-science classes as biology prerequisites that students must complete before receiving their degrees.
Some universities offer graduate programs in biology and science-related topics, and as with undergraduate programs, biology prerequisites often include completing high school science classes with above-average grades. In addition, graduate students must have successfully completed an undergraduate degree in biology or a related subject. In most cases, postgraduate courses focus on a narrow subject, in which case prospective students may have to have completed private tutoring in science while earning their undergraduate degrees. Someone applying to a graduate program in marine ecology may have studied marine plants and animals during graduation. For graduate programs, successful completion of a dissertation is typically listed as one of the graduation requirements.
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