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Minor in General Biology

To receive a General Biology minor from the School of Biological Sciences, a student must complete seven biology courses. These courses must total at least 28 units as follows:

Lower-Division Requirements

BILD 1 and BILD 3 or BILD 10 and BILD 3

  • Lower-division transfer credit for BILD 1, BILD 3, and BILD 10 may be applicable to the minor. Courses may need to be reviewed by the School of Biological Sciences to determine equivalency.
  • Advanced placement (AP) biology credit may be applied toward the lower-division requirements.
  • All courses must be completed with a letter grade, with the exception of AP credit.

Upper-Division Requirements

Any five upper-division biology courses offered by the School of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego (each course must be minimally valued at 4 units)

  • All courses must be taken for 4.0 units with the exception of courses satisfied by AP credit.
  • One quarter of BISP 193, 196, 197 or 199 may be used to satisfy a minor requirement. BISP 195 may not be used to satisfy a minor requirement.
  • All courses must be completed with a letter grade, with the exception of BISP 193, 196, 197 or 199..
  • The minimum GPA requirement for the General Biology minor is 2.0 in upper-division courses.
  • No upper-division courses taken outside of the UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences may be applied. Cross-listed and duplicate courses are not applicable to the minor.
  • A student may apply the equivalent of two applicable upper-division biology courses (a maximum of eight units) to fulfill the requirements for a minor that have also been used to satisfy the requirements of a major.

Students may not minor and major in the School of Biological Sciences.

Students are responsible for planning their biology minor coursework around enforced prerequisites and timing of course offerings.

For grading exceptions being considered due to the pandemic, see COVID 19 Undergraduate Updates

Declaration & Course List

How to Apply

Declare a minor using the Major/Minor Tool on Tritonlink. Make sure to also read How to Declare a Minor.

List only the courses required for the minor (see Sample Applications section below).

  • The General Biology minor requires the following lower-division courses: BILD 1 and BILD 3 or BILD 10 and BILD 3.
    • A score of 4 or 5 on the Biology AP Exam results in BILD 1, 2, and 3 credit, totaling 8 units. Due to the distribution of units, if you plan to use AP BILD credit for lower division minor requirements, please include BILD 2 on your minor application along with BILD 1 and BILD 3 (see Sample Application #2 below).
  • Under 'Institution,' for the lower-division requirement, please list: UCSD or Advanced Placement Credit. If you have equivalent lower-division transfer credit for BILD 1, BILD 3, or BILD 10, please list it as if it was taken at UCSD. For the upper-division requirements, if you have received approval from the School of Biological Sciences to utilize a transfer course from another institution, please list the institution where the course was completed.
  • Under 'Grade Options,' please list as Letter or Pass/Fail
    • Biology will only accept Pass/Fail for AP credit or one BISP 193,196, 197 or 199.
  • Students are not held to the upper-division biology courses they originally list on their minor application. Students may substitute eligible upper-division courses if desired. A new minor application is not required if the student deviates from the original application.
  • If the minor application is not completed correctly at time of submission, the minor application will be denied/rejected and must be resubmitted for review.

Sample General Biology Minor Applications

The charts below represent sample General Biology Minor applications intended to assist students in correctly completing the application. While students may select some or all of the upper-division courses listed in the samples, they are not required to do so. Students are encouraged to select any eligible upper-division courses of interest.

SAMPLE #1: Lower Division UCSD or Transfer Credit

Sample Application with Lower Division UCSD or Transfer Credit
Subject Code Course No. Title Institution Units Grade Options
BILD 1 The Cell UCSD 4.00 Letter
BILD 3 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology UCSD 4.00 Letter
BICD 100 Genetics UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIMM 101 Recombinant DNA Lab UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIBC 102 Metabolic Biochemistry UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIPN 100 Human Physiology I UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIPN 108 Physiology of Exercise UCSD 4.00 Letter

SAMPLE #2: Advanced Placement Credit

Sample application with AP Credit
Subject Code Course No. Title Institution Units Grade Options
BILD 1 The Cell Advanced Placement Credit 2.00 Pass/Fail
BILD 2* Multicellular Life Advanced Placement Credit 2.00 Pass/Fail
BILD 3 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Advanced Placement Credit 4.00 Pass/Fail
BICD 100 Genetics UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIMM 101 Recombinant DNA Lab UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIBC 102 Metabolic Biochemistry UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIPN 100 Human Physiology I UCSD 4.00 Letter
BIPN 108 Physiology of Exercise UCSD 4.00 Letter

Quarter-by-Quarter Plan

Students who meet any of the following criteria must complete a quarter by quarter plan within the minor application tool, and obtain both department and college permission to declare a minor:

  • Students who have completed 150 or more units
  • Students who are not in good academic standing
  • Students who are attempting to declare a second minor

The comprehensive plan must start with the current quarter and go until the student's final quarter at UCSD, and must include all courses required for graduation (e.g. major, minor, GE, university – DEI, AHI, etc.).

Questions? Contact Student & Instructional Services (Pacific Hall 1128) through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) or by phone at 858-534-0557