Ferris Course Catalog

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Biotechnology BIOT

Career Path: Health Sciences, Natural Resources and Agriscience

Required Courses		Credit Hours
General Education
This degree requires completion of the General Education requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree. Details of these requirements are delineated on the General Education website. Courses listed below as program/major required courses with the indicators: C, S, Z, R, G, may also be used to satisfy some of these general education requirements.
Foundation
BIOL 121	General Biology 1 *Z	4
BIOL 122	General Biology 2 *Z	4
Choose one:
BIOL 205	Human Anatomy/Physiology*Z	5
OR
BIOL 321	Human Physiology and Anatomy 1*Z	5
AND
BIOL 322	Human Physiology and Anatomy 2*Z	5
CHEM 121	General Chemistry 1 *Z	5
CHEM 122	General Chemistry 2 *Z	5
CHEM 321	Organic Chemistry 1*Z	5
CHEM 322	Organic Chemistry 2*Z	5
CHEM 231	Quantitative Analysis *Z	4
MATH 130	Adv Algebra & Analytical Trig	4
PHYS 211	Introductory Physics	4
Professional
BIOL 375	Principles of Genetics*Z	3
BIOL 386	Microbiology & Immunology*Z	5
BIOL 388	Advanced Immunology Laboratory*Z	2
BIOL 470	Molecular Genetics*Z	4
BIOL 471	Biotech 2: Recombinant DNA Lab*Z	3
BIOL 472	Proteins*Z	3
BIOL 473	Biotech 3: Proteins Laboratory*Z	3
BIOL 474	Advanced Cell & Molecular Biology*Z	3
CHEM 332	Biochemistry Lab 1*Z	2
CHEM 333	Biochemistry Lab 2*Z	2
CHEM 364	Biochemistry*Z	4
CHEM 474	Advanced Biochemistry *Z	3
MATH 251	Statistics for the Life Sciences	3
Choose one:
BIOL 491	Biotechnology Internship	3-6
BIOL 497	Special Studies in Biology	3-6
CHEM 497	Special Studies in CHEM	3-6

Why Choose Biotechnology?

The Biotechnology program is designed to prepare students for positions in biological, medical or agricultural research laboratories, for graduate school or for professional school. The program is built on four basic aspects of laboratory expertise: recombinant DNA, tissue culture, immunology and advanced protein isolation techniques.

The first two years of the Biotechnology program are preparatory, structured to complete the biotechnology foundations course work. The professional sequence of biotechnology course work typically begins with the student's junior year. Students submit an application demonstrating completion of the preparatory coursework either at Ferris or another university. Admission to the professional biotechnology sequence is competitive and based on the foundation coursework. Internships are available to biotechnology students and enable them to spend a summer gaining work experience in a laboratory setting.

Get a Great Job

The Ferris Biotechnology program is designed for those who want to work at a laboratory bench or pursue study at the graduate level. The biotechnology field is a growing industry, making the technological and medical advances that improve the quality of life.

Biotechnology offers a career in furthering our understanding of the world and applying that knowledge toward the improvement of our lives. Job opportunities exist in most industries that conduct research and development programs. Biotechnology graduates are especially marketable, since the hands-on experiments conducted at Ferris give students real-world experience in a controlled laboratory setting. In fact, over 90 percent of graduates have jobs in the industry or are in graduate or professional schools.

Admission Requirements

First year student admission is open to high school graduates (or equivalent) who demonstrate academic preparedness, maturity and seriousness of purpose with educational backgrounds appropriate to their chosen program of study. High school courses and grade point average, ACT composite score, and ACT reading and mathematics subscores will be considered in the admission and placement process. Transfer students must have at least 12 credits at the time of application with a minimum 2.0 overall GPA including an English and mathematics course, or they must provide their high school records and ACT scores for admission review.

Graduation Requirements

The Biotechnology program leads to a bachelor of science degree. Graduation requires a minimum 2.0 GPA overall and a minimum of 121 credits including completion of all general education requirements as outlined on the General Education website.

More Information

Department of Biological Sciences
Ferris State University
820 Campus Drive/ASC 2004
Big Rapids, MI 49307-2225
Phone: 231-591-2550