Biology (BA)

This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2018–Spring 2019 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.

Bachelor of Arts in Biology (BIOLBA)
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences (AS)
Department: Biology 

Program Information

There are two undergraduate degree programs offered in the Biology Department, a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology. 

The BA degree is a more general degree than the BS. It is a liberal arts degree designed for those students who desire a broad education in a variety of disciplines. This degree requires more foreign language and social science and/or humanities courses than the BS degree. It is a good degree for students interested in taking a diversity of courses outside the sciences. This degree is also suitable for someone planning to be a teacher. A student planning on applying to professional schools can do so with this degree, as long as the student takes all the prerequisites for admission to the desired program.

Completion of this degree requires work to be submitted for the department’s Learning Outcomes Measurement. For details, contact the department.

Degree Summary

Specific coursework information can be found on the Degree Requirements tab.

Accelerated BA-BS/MS in Biology

Students who wish to pursue an accelerated non-thesis master's degree in Biology (BA-BS/MS) will be allowed to apply up to nine (9) hours of coursework taken for graduate credit while enrolled as an undergraduate. An additional twenty-four (24) hours of graduate coursework will constitute the minimum number of credit hours for obtaining the non-thesis masters in the accelerated program.

Early Start Program (Jointly with the College of Education and Human Development)

The Master of Arts in Teaching program in conjunction with the undergraduate programs in Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics offers a comprehensive and professionally-focused program leading to an additional degree of MAT Middle or Secondary Education. This early start program enables superior students to receive two degrees within five years. A total of 148 credits are required for the dual degrees: 121 credits of coursework devoted toward the baccalaureate degree and 36 credits toward the MAT, with nine hours double-counted. This program will be available for students who are entering their junior year. They may take graduate level courses in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) in their 4th year of study.

The current qualifications for the joint degree program have been agreed upon by discipline faculty from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Education and Human Development. The criteria vary by discipline. Students enrolling in the accelerated program will be non-thesis students and must adhere to all policies pertaining to Graduate Students. All interested students must submit an application to the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) MAT program and meet the admission criteria.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Admission to the BA in Biology requires completion of BIOL 240, BIOL 242 and BIOL 244 with a grade of C or better; completion of MATH 111 with a grade of C or better OR placement into a mathematics course above the level of MATH 111 on the basis of either the University of Louisville mathematics placement examination or ACT/SAT score; and a minimum overall grade point average of 2.0. 

The Application for Major form can be found on the Arts & Sciences Advising Center website: louisville.edu/artsandsciences/advising/apply.

General Education Requirements

All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  Some General Education requirements may be met in the requirements for the major or supporting coursework, in which case additional electives may be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

College/School Requirements

Program/Major Requirements

Only 40 hours in the major department may be applied toward the Bachelor of Arts Degree.

At least 50 of the total minimum hours required must be at the 300 level or above.

Flight Plan

Degree Audit reports illustrate how your completed courses fulfill the requirements of your academic plan.  What-if reports allow you to compare the courses you have completed in your current academic plan to the courses required in another academic plan.  For both reports, please consult with your advisor before editing your course schedule.

To create either report:

1. Log into your ULink account.
2. Click on the Student Services tab.
3. Next, click on "View my Academic Advisement Report" to run a Degree Audit report in the Undergraduate Advising area. 
4. To create a What-if report, click on "Create a What-if Advisement Report."

Click here to run a Degree Audit report, or create a What-if report.