Major in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics
All students are required to complete 43 units of required courses offered by the MB3 Program or by the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Computer and Information Sciences, and an additional 27-35 units within one of the three concentrations.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| BIOL 200 & 200L | INTRODUCTION TO CELLULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS [LECTURE] and INTRODUCTION TO CELLULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS [LAB] | 4 |
| BIOL 309 | GENETICS | 4 |
| BIOL 409 | MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 4 |
| CHEM 131 & 131L | GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LECTURE and GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY | 4 |
| CHEM 132 & 132L | GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LECTURE and GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY | 4 |
| CHEM 351 | BIOCHEMISTRY I | 3 |
| MATH 237 | ELEMENTARY BIOSTATISTICS | 4 |
| MATH 273 | CALCULUS I | 4 |
| MBBB 201 | PROGRAMMING FOR BIOLOGISTS | 4 |
| or COSC 175 | GEN COMPUTER SCI | |
| MBBB 301 | INTRO TO BIOINFORMATICS | 4 |
| MBBB 493 | SEMINAR IN BIOETHICS | 1 |
| Select one of the following (courses may be repeated for a total of 6 units toward the major): 1 | 3 | |
| CAPSTONE PROJECT IN MBBB | ||
| ELECTIVE IN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN CHEMISTRY I | ||
| INDEPENDENT STUDY | ||
| Total Units | 43 | |
| 1 | Or an approved elective in BIOL, CHEM, COSC, CIS or MBBB 3XX, 4XX |
Students must select one of the following Concentrations:
Molecular Biology Concentration (27-28 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 408 | CELL BIOLOGY | 4 |
| Choose one of the following laboratory courses | 2 | |
| GENETICS LABORATORY | ||
| MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY | ||
| CELL BIOLOGY LABORATORY | ||
| Required Chemistry and Physics courses | ||
| CHEM 331 & CHEM 332 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II | 10 |
| PHYS 211 & PHYS 212 | GENERAL PHYSICS I; NON CALCULUS-BASED and GENERAL PHYSICS II; NON CALCULUS-BASED | 8 |
| Biology upper-level elective | 3-4 | |
| Total Units | 27-28 | |
Biochemistry Concentration (33 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 210 | ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY | 5 |
| CHEM 331 & CHEM 332 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II | 10 |
| CHEM 345 | PRINCIPLES PHYSICAL CHEM | 3 |
| CHEM 356 | BIOCHEMISTRY LAB | 2 |
| CHEM 357 | BIOCHEMISTRY II | 3 |
| or BIOL/CHEM 450 | ECOLOGICAL BIOCHEMISTRY | |
| CHEM 372 | PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY | 2 |
| PHYS 211 & PHYS 212 | GENERAL PHYSICS I; NON CALCULUS-BASED and GENERAL PHYSICS II; NON CALCULUS-BASED | 8 |
| or PHYS 241 & PHYS 242 | GENERAL PHYSICS I CALCULUS-BASED and GENERAL PHYSICS II CALCULUS-BASED | |
| Total Units | 33 | |
Bioinformatics Concentration (30–35 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 330 | ESSENTIALS OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 1 | 5-10 |
| or CHEM 331 & CHEM 332 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II | |
| COSC 236 & COSC 237 | INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I and INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE II | 8 |
| COSC 336 | DATA STRUCTURES AND ALGORITHM ANALYSIS | 4 |
| COSC 457 | DATABSE MNGT SYS | 3 |
| or CIS 458 | ORGANIZATIONAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT | |
| MATH 263 | DISCRETE MATHEMATICS | 3 |
| or MBBB 315 | GENOMICS | |
| MATH 274 | CALCULUS II | 4 |
| MBBB 401 | ADVANCED BIOINFORMATICS | 3 |
| Total Units | 30-35 | |
| 1 | Note: Many graduate and professional programs require two terms of physics and two terms of organic chemistry and/or calculus. Students who are contemplating education beyond the undergraduate level (graduate school, medical school, etc.) need to talk with an adviser. |
Note: Below are idealized plans of study for each of the three concentrations within the MB3 major. Actual plans of study will vary significantly between students depending on high school preparation, performance in classes, additional commitments and career goals.
Biochemistry Concentration Suggested Four-Year Plan
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| MATH 273 | 4 | BIOL 200 & 200L | 4 |
| CHEM 131 & 131L | 4 | CHEM 132 & 132L | 4 |
| TSEM 102 or ENGL 102 (Core 1 or Core 2) | 3 | TSEM 102 or ENGL 102 (Core 1 or Core 2) | 3 |
| Core 4, 5 or 6 | 3 | Core 4, 5 or 6 (do not repeat from Term 1) | 3 |
| 14 | 14 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 331 | 5 | CHEM 332 | 5 |
| BIOL 309 | 4 | MATH 274 or 237 | 4 |
| Core | 3 | MBBB 493 | 1 |
| Core | 3 | Core | 3 |
| Core | 3 | ||
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 210 | 5 | CHEM 351 | 3 |
| BIOL 409 or MBBB 301 | 4 | CHEM 356 | 2 |
| PHYS 211 or 241 | 4 | BIOL 409 or MBBB 301 | 4 |
| Core | 3 | PHYS 212 or 242 | 4 |
| Core | 3 | ||
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 357 | 3 | CHEM 345 | 3 |
| Research in Chemistry | 3 | CHEM 372 | 2 |
| Elective | 3-4 | Elective | 3-4 |
| Elective | 3-4 | Elective | 3-4 |
| Core | 3 | Core | 3 |
| 15-17 | 14-16 | ||
| Total Units 120-124 | |||
Moleculary Biology Concentration Suggested Four-Year Plan
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| BIOL 200 & 200L | 4 | CHEM 131 & 131L | 4 |
| MATH 273 or 211 | 4 | BIOL 202 | 4 |
| TSEM 102 or ENGL 102 (Core 1 or Core 2) | 3 | TSEM 102 or ENGL 102 (Core 1 or Core 2) | 3 |
| Core 4, 5 or 6 | 3 | Core 4, 5 or 6 (do not repeat from Term 1) | 3 |
| 14 | 14 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 132 & 132L | 4 | CHEM 210 | 5 |
| BIOL 309 | 4 | MBBB 493 | 1 |
| Core | 3 | PHYS 211 or 241 | 4 |
| Core | 3 | Core | 3 |
| Core | 3 | ||
| 14 | 16 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 331 | 5 | CHEM 332 | 5 |
| PHYS 241 or 242 | 4 | BIOL 409 or MBBB 301 | 4 |
| Core | 3 | BIOL 410 | 2 |
| Elective | 3-4 | Elective | 3-4 |
| 15-16 | 14-15 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 351 | 3 | BIOL 409 or MBBB 301 | 4 |
| BIOL 409 or MBBB 301 | 4 | Core | 3 |
| Research in Biology | 3 | Elective | 3-4 |
| Core | 3 | Elective | 3-4 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 13-15 | ||
| Total Units 116-120 | |||
Bioinformatics Concentration Suggested Four-Year Plan
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| MATH 273 | 4 | MATH 274 | 4 |
| COSC 236 | 4 | COSC 237 | 4 |
| TSEM 102 or ENGL 102 (Core 1 or Core 2) | 3 | TSEM 102 or ENGL 102 (Core 1 or Core 2) | 3 |
| Core 4, 5 or 6 | 3 | Core 4, 5 or 6 (do not repeat from Term 1) | 3 |
| 14 | 14 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| BIOL 200 & 200L | 4 | CHEM 132 & 132L | 4 |
| Core | 3 | BIOL 309 | 4 |
| CHEM 131 & 131L | 4 | Core | 3 |
| Core | 3 | Core | 3 |
| Core | 3 | ||
| 17 | 14 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 331 | 5 | CHEM 332 | 5 |
| COSC 336 | 4 | CIS 458 or COSC 457 | 3 |
| MBBB 301 | 4 | BIOL 409 or MATH 330 | 4 |
| Core | 3 | MBBB 315 or MATH 263 | 3 |
| MBBB 493 | 1 | ||
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| CHEM 351 | 3 | MBBB 401 | 3 |
| Research in Computer Science | 3 | BIOL 409 or MATH 330 | 4 |
| Elective | 3-4 | Elective | 3-4 |
| Elective | 3-4 | Elective | 3-4 |
| Core | 3 | Core | 3 |
| 15-17 | 16-18 | ||
| Total Units 122-126 | |||
1. Demonstrate mastery of content in the disciplines of Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Bioinformatics
Ability to solve problems by the application of relevant concepts and analytical tools.
2. Demonstrate a working knowledge of the scientific method. Ability to formulate a testable hypothesis, design a controlled experiment to test that hypothesis, collect data and analyze results.
3. Be able to read and understand current literature in the field.
Ability to correctly summarize and critically analyze new scientific information in the literature.
