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Learning Outcomes

Upon graduation from Dickinson, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology majors will be able to:

• apply and integrate the fundamental concepts of biology and chemistry to explain the key principles of and solve problems in biochemistry & molecular biology;
• perform and analyze experiments using modern chemical and biological techniques;
• communicate scientific concepts, experimental results, and current literature in biochemistry and molecular biology

Major

Biology: 131 and 132, 216, and one of the following: 416, 417, 418, 419, 425 or 433

Chemistry: 131, 132, 241, and 242 (OR 141, 241, 242); Elective: 490
Biology 343, Chemistry 342; Elective: Biology 313 or 326 OR Chemistry 243 or 244

Mathematics: 170; a second course in Mathematics (except 151); a Special Topics course (MATH 201, 202, 301, 302, 401, 402) requires the approval of the BCMB Program.

Physics: 131 or 141, 132 or 142

In addition to the required course work, a number of other relevant courses are taught by the Biology and Chemistry departments, and it is recommended that students explore these offerings in order to broaden their expertise and investigate specific topics appropriate to their own interests.

Suggested curricular flow through the major

There are several approaches for completion of the major; the flexibility is provided to enable students to study abroad. That being said, it is very important to start Chemistry during the first semester (based on placement scores in Chemistry and in Math). In addition to CHEM 131 or 141, interested students should take either a Math class or a Biology 130-level course.

If starting Chemistry during the first semester of college is not recommended (based on Math placement), then interested students should take MATH 151 during the first year (first semester if possible, so MATH 170 could be taken in Spring of the first year). Students also should complete the BIOL 130-level coursework during the first year (one BIOL class in each semester).

Therefore, during the first year, students are encouraged to complete four science/math courses towards the major; as noted above, initiating Chemistry during the Fall semester of the first year is the best approach (depending on the Math and Chemistry placement test results).

For more details in terms of planning the academic program after the first semester, it is helpful to get advice from BCMB faculty following arrival to Campus.

Honors

The BCMB faculty will award honors to a BCMB major based on the entirety of the candidate’s BCMB program. This includes grades in all courses required for the major (and related additional courses in Biology and/or Chemistry) and successful completion of a two semester (or summer and one semester) research experience. A minimum GPA of 3.20 is required in courses counting towards the BCMB major, including transfer (and study abroad) courses that receive BCMB credit.  The Honors research project should be distinguished by the originality and definition of the research problem, the sophistication of the experimental design and its execution, and the analysis and presentation (written and oral) of the results. Generally, Honors reports should be of publishable or near-publishable quality. The Honors Committee will consider all these factors in its recommendation to the Program faculty, and the Program faculty should be cognizant of all these factors when voting on Honors.

For specific guidelines and procedures see the .

Courses