Minor in Biology
Minor Requirements
To minor in Biology, students must take each of the following:
- One year of introductory biology (BIOL BC1500, BIOL BC1501, BIOL BC1502, and BIOL BC1503 or the equivalent).
- Three biology lecture courses at the 2100-level or higher.
- Two biology laboratory courses. These lab courses may be replaced by two semesters of Guided Research and Seminar (BIOL BC3591 and BIOL BC3592)*.
*Chemistry, environmental science, physics, and psychology majors need to take only one advanced laboratory instead of two. However, students should check with their major advisors in order to determine whether a guided research and seminar course is a suitable selection for your major's lab requirements.
FAQ
To declare a minor, submit The Minor Election Form to the Registrar using Slate. Students may file the Minor Elective form at any time, but the minor will not be recorded until you have completed all required courses with grades of C- or higher. Minors are welcome to contact the department administrator, Sylvia Niemann (sniemann@barnard.edu), as soon as possible to be added to the departmental listserv.
Courses for your major may not overlap with courses for the Biology Minor (except by petition from the Associate Chair, in cases where the minor will require more than 18 points, your major requires more than 40 points, the overlapping courses are required for both major and minor, and the request is for no more than two overlapping courses).
To qualify for the minor, a course must be letter-graded A+ to C-. Any previous P's in courses required for the minor will be converted when the minor is put on your transcript. Courses for your minor may also be used for general education requirements.
Equivalent courses (e.g. Physiology) at Columbia may count toward the minor with permission from the Associate Chair.