The Undergraduate Minor in Biology

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Biology is a diverse and exciting field. For students with an interest in the field but not enough time to complete the major, a minor in Biology is an excellent choice.

Courses

Requirements

Six courses meeting the following criteria:

  • At least two courses from the Bio Foundations (BIO 80-level) must be taken. Additionally, students may count one additional Bio Foundations (80-level) course toward their minor.
  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade and be worth or approved for 3 or more units.
  • All additional courses, other than OSPAUSTL 10, 28, and/or 32 must be at or above the 100-level. Introductory Seminars may not be used to fulfill the minor requirements regardless of their level.
  • Minor courses may not be used to fulfill any other degree requirements (major, minor, or coterm).
  • Courses must be chosen from the offerings of the Biology Department or from the list of approved out-of-department electives for the minor.
  • In-department research (BIO 199) can count as 1 of the 6 required courses if taken for at least 3 units.
  • Students may count only one course from BIO 114 A/B/C.

Courses that do NOT count toward the minor:

  • Foundational lab courses (BIO 45, BIO 46, BIO/BIOHOPK 47)
  • Out-of-department research (BIO 199X)
  • Directed reading (BIO 198, 198X)

For additional information, see the checklist of requirements for the minor.

How to Declare

Declaring the Minor

All Biology minor declarations must be submitted no later than two quarters prior to the conferral of the undergraduate degree, using the following process.

1. Declare the Minor in Axess

Submit the Biology minor declaration on AXESS. As part of this declaration process, you must submit a checklist to Patricia Ayala Macias (ayalamac [at] stanford.edu (ayalamac@)) that details which courses are planned to fulfill the minor requirements.

2. Department Review

The department will review the request to verify its compliance with the minor requirements.

3. Approval

If acceptable, the minor declaration will be approved. If changes must be made, the student will be contacted via email by the Undergraduate Staff Advisor.

4. Mailing list

Once approved, the student will be added to the bio-interest email list.