BA in General Biology at San Francisco State University

General Information and Requirements

• Candidates entering the bachelor’s programs in Biology should have completed three years of high school mathematics and one year of high school chemistry to allow completion of the curriculum in a timely fashion (see Undergraduate Admission Requirements).
• All major coursework must be completed with letter grades (CR/NC is not acceptable).
• A minimum grade point average of 2.0 in all coursework is required to receive a degree in these programs.
• To remain enrolled in a biology course, students must be prepared to provide copies of transcripts demonstrating completion of prerequisite courses with a grade of C- or better.
• At least 12 units in biology must be completed at SF State.
• Early in the first semester, and at regular intervals thereafter, students must consult with a biology advisor to plan a program of study. For the most current advising information, go to biology.sfsu.edu.

Program Learning Outcomes

Core Competencies

1. Understanding the Process of Science: Students will demonstrate how a theory is supported or can be rejected based on data from experiments.
2. Quantitative Reasoning: Students will be able to create graphs and perform simple statistical tests to determine whether or not differences between groups are significant.
3. Relationship Between Science and Society: Students will be able to explain a biological process or phenomenon as it relates to a societal issue.

Core Concepts

1. Evolution: Students will be able to understand the fundamental concepts of evolution, role of selective pressures, and how genes change.
2. Relationship Between Structures and Function: Students will be able to describe how variation in the structure of an organ in a plant or animal contributes to variation in its function.
3. Information Flow and Storage: Students will be able to explain the transmission of heritable traits.