Biological Sciences Major at Shady Grove

The Universities at Shady Grove
9631 Gudelsky Drive
Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Facility (Bldg IV, Room 4110)
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-738-6007 
usgbiosci@umd.edu 
http://shadygrove.umd.edu/academics/degree-programs/bs-biological-sciences/

Program Director: Dr. Hadiya Woodham
Program Coordinator: Tracy Odim


The Biological Sciences Program at the University of Maryland offers a degree program in Physiology and Neurobiology (PHNB) at the Universities at Shady Grove.  The Biological Sciences Program at Shady Grove offers the Advanced Program courses normally taken in the junior and senior years.

All Biological Sciences majors complete a common sequence of introductory and supporting courses referred to as the Basic Program. For students matriculating at the Universities at Shady Grove most of these introductory and supporting courses are taken at a community college or at another four-year institution prior to admission to the Biological Sciences Program.  Depending on space available, students who matriculated at College Park may transfer to the Shady Grove Program in their junior year, where they may complete the Advanced Program in Physiology and Neurobiology.

Program Learning Outcomes 

  1. Students should have mastered the critical knowledge at each level in the curriculum that is necessary to move on to the next level in the curriculum.
  2. Students should demonstrate an ability to use and apply quantitative methods, especially: interpretation of graphical or tabular data; expression of physical, chemical, or biological process in mathematical form; solving equations to determine the value of physical, chemical, or biological variables.
  3. Students at the lower level should demonstrate an ability to carry out key experimental techniques used in the chemical and life sciences disciplines.
  4. Students at the lower level should have a basic understanding of how to express questions as a hypothesis, how to design a test of a hypothesis, and how to gather and analyze simple data.
  5. Students at the upper level should be able to integrate and apply a relevant body of basic knowledge to the evaluation of existing scientific studies and to design studies to test specific hypotheses that includes design elements typically found in a specific field of the chemical and life sciences.
  6. Students should effectively communicate in writing the processes of science and the results of scientific inquiry.
Course Title Credits
General Education Program Requirements 1
Complete General Education
Basic Program in Biological Sciences 1
BSCI170
BSCI171
Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology
and Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology Laboratory
4
BSCI160
BSCI161
Principles of Ecology and Evolution
and Principles of Ecology and Evolution Lab
4
BSCI223General Microbiology4
BSCI222Principles of Genetics4
MATH130Calculus I for the Life Sciences4
or MATH140 Calculus I
MATH1314
or MATH141 Calculus II
CHEM131
CHEM132
Chemistry I - Fundamentals of General Chemistry
and General Chemistry I Laboratory
4
CHEM231
CHEM232
Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
4
CHEM241
CHEM242
Organic Chemistry II
and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
4
CHEM271
CHEM272
General Chemistry and Energetics
and General Bioanalytical Chemistry Laboratory 2
4
Courses taken at the Universities at Shady Grove
PHYS131Fundamentals of Physics for Life Sciences I4
or PHYS331 Physics for Life Sciences I
PHYS132Fundamentals of Physics for Life Sciences II4
or PHYS332 Physics for Life Sciences II
PHNBAdvanced Program in Physiology and Neurobiology27
ELECTElectives22
Total Credits97
1

 Courses equivalent to be taken at an institution that offers lower level course work.

2

CHEM272 is not offered at most institutions. Students accepted into the UMCP Shady Grove Biological Sciences may substitute a General Chemistry II Lab for this course

Advanced Program in Physiology and Neurobiology

Course Title Credits
Required Courses13
BCHM461Biochemistry I3
or BCHM463 Biochemistry of Physiology
BSCI330Cell Biology and Physiology4
BSCI353Principles of Neuroscience 13
BSCI450Mammalian Systems Physiology3
Physiology and Neurobiology11
Special Topics in Biology (BSCI338E: Neuroethology)
Special Topics in Biology (BSCI338G: Seminar on Deregulated Cell Growth in Cancer and Drug Development)
Special Topics in Biology (BSCI338P: Pathophysiology of the Circulatory System)
Special Topics in Biology (BSCI338R: Darwinian Medicine)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339D: Biology of Chemosensory Systems)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339F: Neurophysiology of Cells and Circuits)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339G: Advanced Physiology)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339I: Cellular Mechanisms of Aging and Disease)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339Q: Diseases Due to Dysfunctional Cell Organelles)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339W: Molecular Neuroethology)
Selected Topics in Biology (BSCI339X: Advanced Cellular Neuroscience)
Special Topics in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics (BSCI348C: Cell Biology Lab) 2,3
Neurobiology of Extraordinary Senses
Principles of Animal Behavior
Principles of Evolution
Mathematical Modeling in Biology 4
Animal Communication
BSCI402
Biology of Vision
Membranes and Biological Interfaces
Behavioral Genetics
Molecular Genetics
Recombinant DNA Laboratory
Human Genetics
Cell Biology Lectures
BSCI421
Principles of Immunology
Immunology Laboratory 3
Developmental Biology
Biology of Cancer
BSCI434
Plant Physiology
Microbial Physiology
Neural Systems
General Endocrinology
Diseases of the Nervous System
Neurobiology Laboratory 3
Population Ecology
Microbial Ecology
BSCI465
Statistics, one course maximum
Introduction to Biometrics
Applied Probability and Statistics I
Introduction to Biostatistics
Special Topics Courses 5
Special Topics in Entomology
Special Topics in Biology
Selected Topics in Biology
Special Topics in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
Departmental Honors Seminar 6
Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics Department Honors Seminar
Biology Department Honors Seminar
Enrichment3
Minimum 3 credits from any 300- or 400-level BSCI, CHEM, or BCHM course.
Total Credits40

Advising is mandatory during each pre-registration period for all Biological Sciences majors. Advising for students interested in or enrolled in the Shady Grove Program is available from the director.  Call 301-738-6007 for an advising appointment.