Biology Department Academic Advising

All students are assigned a full time Biology faculty as their academic adviser. Your adviser is listed in your MyUSF account. You can also contact the Biology Program Assistant who can help identify your adviser. 

An academic adviser is a faculty member within a student's major who can help with questions related to academics while at USF, such as planning course schedules and completing all core and major requirements. Academic advisers are not the same as the Academic Success Coaches available through CASA.    

Pre-registration advising appointments are held once each semester. All freshmen, sophomores, students on probation, undeclared and new transfer students advised in Biology, and junior and senior Biology majors with science GPA < 2.0 have an automatic hold on their registration, and must meet with their assigned adviser before the hold will be cleared. Juniors and seniors with science GPA > 2.0 are not required to meet with their advisor during pre-registration advising but are encouraged to do so.

Students can seek advice from any Biology faculty member at any time; however, only the assigned adviser can clear an advising hold during the pre-registration advising period.


Check your USF email account regularly

  • Important information about classes, advising, & university events is sent by email, so you should check your USF email regularly or have USF email forwarded to your preferred email account.
  • Use your USF email account when conducting university or class business. If you must use an alternate account, use an account that has your name in the address field (i.e., not a nickname or phrase).

Use appropriate etiquette when making appointments

  • Use an online scheduling tool or email to schedule an appointment.
  • Professors typically have office hours for drop in visits, and ordinarily appointments should be scheduled for visits outside of office hours. 
  • Keep the appointment.
  • Call or email to cancel the appointment if you cannot keep it.

Biology Department Policies

Minimum Grade Requirements

Students must earn a minimum grade of C or higher in the following courses required for the Biology major:

  • General Biology - Molec of Life (BIOL 105)
  • General Biology - Diversity of Life (BIOL 106)
  • Cell Physiology (BIOL 212)
  • Genetics (BIOL 310/311)
  • Evolution (BIOL 414)
  • General Chemistry I (CHEM 111/112)
  • General Chemistry II (CHEM 113/114)
  • Introductory Physics I (PHYS 100)

Required courses for the Biology major can only be taken twice. If the minimum grade is not achieved on the second attempt, you will be disqualified from the major. A withdrawal (W) is considered an unsuccessful attempt at a course.
In addition, failure to earn the minimum grade in more than two required courses in the Biology major will result in disqualification from the major.

Organic Chemistry:
  • Students can fulfill the Organic Chemistry requirement by taking either 1) Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (CHEM 236) or 2) Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 230) and Organic Chemistry II (CHEM 231). 
  • Students who enroll in Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 230) in the Fall must earn a minimum grade of C to progress onto Organic Chemistry II (CHEM 231) in the Spring semester.  If you earn lower than a C in CHEM 230, the Chemistry Department will not allow you to take CHEM 231.  In this scenario, you should enroll in Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (CHEM 236) in the Spring semester.
  • You must complete Organic Chemistry II (CHEM 231) or Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (CHEM 236) with at least a D- to satisfy Biology major requirements (this does not override Chemistry Department prerequisite requirements).
  • All Biology majors must take the Organic Chemistry I lab (CHEM 232), but this does not have to be completed in the same semester as Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 230) or Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (CHEM 236) lecture.
Physics: 
  • With few exceptions, Biology majors should register for Introductory Physics (PHYS 100), not the calculus-based General Physics (PHYS 110).  It is not true that General Physics is better for medical school.  
  • Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (MATH 109) is a co-requisite for General Physics I (PHYS 110) and a prerequisite for General Physics II (PHYS 210).  A minimum grade of C is required in Introductory or General Physics I (PHYS 100/110) to progress to Introductory or General Physics II (PHYS 101/210).
Genetics:
  • Students enrolled in Genetics may concurrently enroll in only one upper division biology course — Ecology (BIOL 319).  Genetics must be completed with a C or higher before enrolling in any other upper division Biology courses.  Students who are repeating Genetics may not register for Ecology (BIOL 319).
Evolution:   
  • Registration in Evolution (BIOL 414) is restricted to Biology majors who are in one of their last two semesters at USF and have already taken at least two upper division Biology courses in addition to Genetics. 
  • If you meet these requirements and are unable to register for Evolution (BIOL 414), you should contact Professor Paul (jrpaul@usfca.edu).  
Undergraduate Seminar: 
  • Registration in Seminar (BIOL 490) is restricted to Biology majors who are in one of their last two semesters at USF; students cannot enroll in BIOL 490 the semester immediately following Genetics.
  • If you meet this requirement and are unable to register for Seminar (BIOL 490), you should contact Professor Paul (jrpaul@usfca.edu).
Biochemistry: 
  • Up to 4 units of Biochemistry courses can be applied to the Biology major as upper division elective credit.  However, Biochemistry classes cannot satisfy both Chemistry/Biochemistry minor AND Biology major requirements.
    • Students who plan to apply Fundamentals of Biochemistry as an upper division elective for the Biology major should register for BIOL 357
    • Students who plan to apply Fundamentals of Biochemistry as an upper division elective for the Chemistry minor should register for CHEM 356
  • If you are a Chemistry minor, you may NOT apply CHEM 350 or CHEM 356 as an upper division elective course for the Biology major.  However, CHEM 351 could apply as an upper division Biology elective. 
  • If you are a Biochemistry minor, you may NOT substitute any Biochemistry class for upper division Biology credit.  
Important note about CEL courses:

While there are upper division Biology courses with a Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) designation, you are advised not to leave this graduation requirement to your last semester at USF expecting to take a Biology CEL class. The Biology CEL courses close very quickly and cannot accommodate all of our majors. Even if you are a senior, there are several groups of students who have the opportunity to register on the Friday before undergraduate registration officially starts (e.g., Honors College, ROTC, Dual Degree, Athletes, etc.).  You should plan to complete the CEL requirement with a Core or minor course prior to your senior year.  You can still take the Biology CEL courses, but this will alleviate stress in case the classes are closed at your registration time

Prerequisites and Corequisites for Biology Courses

  • Students cannot enroll in a Biology course unless they meet ALL of the course and grade prerequisites and/or corequisites.
  • The only upper division Biology class that does not have Genetics as a prerequisite is Ecology.  (Ecology can be taken concurrently with Genetics). However, students that are re-taking Genetics may not register for Ecology during the same semester.
  • Evolution is the capstone class taken during one of the last two semesters at USF. Students may not enroll in Evolution the semester following Genetics and must complete a minimum of 2 upper division biology elective courses prior to registering for Evolution.   

Taking Courses at Another University

  • The College of Arts and Sciences requires that all courses for the major, minor and core curriculum be taken at USF in order to fulfill graduation requirements.
  • Exceptions for students to take courses at another University
    • Students may receive credit for courses taken at another university before enrolling at USF.
    • Students completing an approved USF study abroad program may be able to transfer units for the core or major if courses are approved in advance by the Biology department chair.
  • Continuing students must complete a Petition to Enroll at Another Institution (PEAI) prior to taking a course at another university as part of an approved study abroad program.

Closed Upper Division Electives

  • Students cannot enroll in upper division Biology electives that are at capacity or closed. 
  • If an upper division elective is closed, you must add your name to the waitlist for upper division Biology courses. This waitlist is a Google form and a link will be provided in the pre-advising email sent each semester. 

Advanced Placement Credit

  • Students who score 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Test in Biology receive 8 units of credit for BIOL 100 and BIOL 103. 
    • Students who score 5 on the test can petition the Biology Department Chair to receive credit for BIOL 105-General Biology Molecules of Life and BIOL 106-General Biology - Diversity of Life.  
    • Some medical schools or other graduate professional programs do not accept Advanced Placement credit for General Biology.  
  • Students who complete International Baccalaureate Higher Level (IBHL) examinations in Biology with a score of 4 or higher receive 8 units of credit for BIOL 105 and BIOL 106.