2021-2022 Catalog 
    
    Jan 02, 2025  
2021-2022 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Microbiology Major, B.S.


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Professors Anderson, Carreno, Downing, Hamill, Wolverton

Associate Professors Ambegaokar, Hankison, Markwardt, Panhuis

Assistant Professors Gangloff, Reichard

Continuing Part-time Professor Tuhela-Reuning

Adjunct Professors Ichida, Roberts, Waterhouse, Watkins-Colwell

The Bachelor of Sciences in Microbiology (B.S. degree) provides strong background in Microbiology with more diverse training in the natural sciences by requiring additional courses in Chemistry, Physics and Math. It is primarily intended for students planning to pursue graduate school (Ph.D. or Masters) or medical school (M.D. or D.O.), as most of these programs require these cognate courses for entry.

Students may choose from six different majors in the Biological Sciences. Most majors begin with a common set of core courses, but each major has unique features that make it most appropriate for the specific area of biology in which a student has the greatest interest. Some students are especially interested in particular groups of organisms, such as microbes, plants, or human beings and other animals. These students may best be served by majors in Microbiology, Botany, or General Zoology, respectively. Other students, however, may be attracted to the study of biological processes such as genetics, molecular biology, physiology, evolution, and ecology, for example. For students interested in the process-oriented approach, the Genetics or Biology majors may be more appropriate.

All faculty members in the Biological Sciences serve as academic advisors and help majors and potential majors in curriculum planning. Advisors will help students choose among courses that have diverse emphases: molecular to whole-organism, laboratory and field, practical and theoretical. Students have access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities such as digital imaging equipment, a fluorescence microscopy laboratory, a scanning transmission electron microscope laboratory, and molecular biology laboratories. In addition, unique facilities serve the program, including a museum, a herbarium, and a greenhouse. The Kraus and Bohannan nature preserves, 80 and 50 acres respectively, are close to campus. Several other nearby facilities within easy driving range provide apprenticeship opportunities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Laboratories, nearby hospitals, Stratford Ecological Center, Ohio Wildlife Center, veterinary clinics, and the Columbus Zoo.

Majors are encouraged to exceed minimum requirements and to seek out distinctive learning and research experiences. These often take the form of independent study in the junior or senior year, summer research at Ohio Wesleyan or other institutions, or summer courses at a biological field station. Some of these summer experiences may count toward major requirements.

To satisfy distribution requirements, non-majors usually elect courses from among ZOOL 101 , ZOOL 104 , BOMI 103 , BOMI 104 , BOMI 106 , BOMI 107 , ZOOL 251 , and ZOOL 261 . However, all courses in both departments are open to any student who meets the prerequisites.

A student who achieves a 5 or above on the International Baccalaureate High Level Examination in Biology will be awarded credit for BIOL 120 and BIOL 122. A student who achieves a 4 or a 5 on the Advanced Placement test in Biology will be awarded credit for BIOL 120. Those same students may be eligible to take proficiency exams for BIOL 122, subject to strict time constraints (see University Catalog section on proficiency exams for details). Contact the department chair for more information.

Course credits submitted for a major or minor in the Biological Sciences may not be taken credit/no entry.

Secondary Education Licensure: Students interested in teaching high school biology are required to meet biology licensure requirements. Specific requirements are available from the Education Department.

Learning Objectives


  1. Students will be exposed to, directly apply, and understand the significance of, a wide range of current research techniques in the discipline of microbiology.

  2. Students will be able to critically interpret complex data, i.e., they can use the data to draw a meaningful conclusion while articulating the limitations of the data set.

  3. Students will be able to find and use primary literature to investigate a problem.

  4. Students will be able to design sound experiments, including proper controls and appropriate statistical analyses.

  5. Students will have a strong factual foundation in the structure, function, evolution, diversity, and ecology of microbes.  

Major Requirements


Core Biology courses:

BIOL 120: Intro to Cell Biology (with lab)

BIOL 125: Intro to Microbiology (with lab)

BIOL 271:  Genetics

BOMI 280: Medical Microbiology (with lab)

BOMI 328: Bacterial Physiology (with lab)

BOMI 353: Molecular Genetics (with lab)

BOMI 357: Molecular Biology of Viruses (with lab)

ZOOL 351: Cell & Molecular Biology (with lab)

Elective courses:

(a) One additional course in BOMI or ZOOL

(b) Two semesters of BOMI 499 (Seminars)

Required Cognate courses:

CHEM 110: General Chemistry I (with lab)

CHEM 111: General Chemistry II (with lab)

CHEM 260: Organic Chemistry I (with lab)

CHEM 261: General Chemistry II (with lab)

PHYS 115 or 110 : Principles of Physics I (with lab)

PHYS 116 or 111 : Principles of Physics II (with lab)

1 of the following :

  • MATH 110 (Calculus I)
  • MATH 105 (Basic Probability & Statistics)
  • MATH 230 (Applied Statistics)
  • MATH 200.3 (Biostatistics)
  • PSYC 210 (Quantitative Methods)

Recommended courses:

  • Students are encouraged to take both a Calculus course and a Statistics course.
  • CHEM 340: Biochemistry I (with lab)

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