Total Semester Hours required for the Degree: 120 semester hours
Semester Hours required for the Biological Sciences Major- EVB Option: 81-83 semester hours
Core Requirements
Biological Sciences majors with an Environmental Biology Option must complete a core which includes the following courses and 15-semester hours of electives selected from the Option Electives list below.
BIO 1150
Biology Forum. (1 credits)
BIO 1500
General Biology I. (4 credits)
BIO 1550G
General Biology II. (4 credits)
BIO 3120
Molecular and Cellular Biology. (4 credits)
BIO 3180
Introduction to Ecology and Evolution. (4 credits)
BIO 3200
Genetics. (4 credits)
BIO 3510
Plant Physiology. (4 credits)
or
BIO 3520
Animal Physiology. (4 credits)
BIO 3850
Environmental Health and Sustainability. (4 credits)
BIO 4275
Internship. (1 to 3, 6 or 12 credits)
(See Footnote 2)
CHM 1310G
General Chemistry I. (3 credits)
CHM 1315G
General Chemistry Laboratory I. (1 credits)
CHM 1410
General Chemistry II. (3 credits)
CHM 1415
General Chemistry Laboratory II. (1 credits)
CHM 2430
Survey of Organic Chemistry. (3 credits)
CHM 2435
Survey of Organic Chemistry Laboratory. (1 credits)
ECN 2800G
Economics of Social Issues. (3 credits)
MAT 2110G
Brief Calculus with Applications. (3 credits)
(See Footnote 1)
or
MAT 1441G
Calculus and Analytic Geometry I. (5 credits)
(See Footnote 1)
PLS 4763
Environmental Politics & Policy. (3 credits)
AND
BIO 4750
Statistical Analysis of Scientific Data. (4 credits)
or
MAT 2250G
Elementary Statistics. (4 credits)
Option Electives
Option electives to choose from (15 semester hours required):
BIO 3035
Economic Botany. (3 credits)
BIO 3300
General Microbiology. (4 credits)
BIO 3322
Dendrology. (3 credits)
BIO 3330
Introduction to Botany. (4 credits)
BIO 3340
Zoology. (4 credits)
BIO 3450A
Independent Study I. (1 to 3 credits)
or BIO 3450B
BIO 3451A
Undergraduate Research I. (1 to 3 credits)
or BIO 3451B
BIO 3612
Plant Evolution and Diversity. (3 credits)
BIO 3620
Functional Comparative Anatomy. (4 credits)
BIO 3710
Plant – Animal Interactions. (3 credits)
BIO 3810
Freshwater Ecology. (3 credits)
BIO 3950
Vertebrate Natural History. (3 credits)
BIO 3952
Invertebrate Natural History. (3 credits)
BIO 4400A
Teaching in the Lab I. (1 credits)
or BIO 4400B
BIO 4810
Plant Ecology. (4 credits)
BIO 4812
Fisheries Ecology and Management. (3 credits)
BIO 4814
Conservation Biology. (3 credits)
BIO 4816
Study of Biotic Communities. (3 credits)
BIO 4818
Applied and Environmental Microbiology. (4 credits)
BIO 4820
Spatial Analysis for Environmental Sciences. (4 credits)
BIO 4832
Animal Behavior. (4 credits)
BIO 4840
Resource Management and Environmental Assessment. (3 credits)
BIO 4842
Wildlife Ecology and Management. (3 credits)
BIO 4940
Phycology. (3 credits)
BIO 4942
Mycology. (3 credits)
BIO 4944
Lichens. (3 credits)
BIO 4946
Bryology. (3 credits)
BIO 4948
Plant Taxonomy. (3 credits)
BIO 4950
Ichthyology. (3 credits)
BIO 4952
Herpetology. (3 credits)
BIO 4954
Ornithology. (3 credits)
BIO 4956
Mammalogy. (4 credits)
BIO 4958
Parasitology. (4 credits)
BIO 4960
Wetland and Aquatic Vascular Plants. (3 credits)
BIO 4964
Entomology. (4 credits)
BIO 4984
Evolutionary Biology. (3 credits)
CHM 4750
Environmental Chemistry. (3 credits)
ECN 3810
Economics of Natural Resources. (3 credits)
GEO 3550
Surface Water Processes and Resources. (3 credits)
GEO 3780
Land Use Planning. (3 credits)
GEO 3810
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems. (3 credits)
GEO 3820
Remote Sensing I. (3 credits)
GEO 3870
Remote Sensing II. (3 credits)
GEO 4850
Environmental Geology. (3 credits)
Footnotes:
(Major GPA based on all biological sciences courses taken at EIU)
1 Students not prepared for this course will be required to take additional prerequisite math classes.
2 12 hours of BIO 4275 is required in the major OR 6 hours of BIO 4275 plus 6 total hours of BIO 3450 Undergraduate Research, BIO 3451 Independent Study, BIO 4444 Honors Independent Study, or BIO 4555 Honors Research. Research/Independent Study coursework hours counted here may not also be counted toward elective credit.
Information sourced from the 2025-2026 EIU Undergraduate Catalog.
