Biology Major

Student Learning Outcomes

Learning Objectives for Core Concepts for Biological Literacy 

After completing the program, BSU Biology graduates will be able to:

  1. Explain how phylogenetic relationships demonstrate relatedness and ancestry of living things.
  2. Explain how species evolve over time by processes of mutation, selection, and genetic change.
  3. Explain how basic units of structure define the function of all living things.
  4. Explain how inherited genetic and epigenetic information influences the location, timing, and intensity of gene expression.
  5. Explain how living things have multiple mechanisms to perceive and respond to changing environmental conditions.
  6. Explain how the growth and behavior of organisms are activated through the expression of genetic information in context
  7. Explain how a structure’s chemical and physical characteristics influence its interactions with other structures, and therefore its function
  8. Explain how natural selection leads to the evolution of structures that tend to increase fitness within the context of evolutionary, developmental, and environmental constraints.
  9. Explain how biological systems grow and change by processes based upon chemical transformation pathways and are governed by the laws of thermodynamics.
  10. Explain how biological molecules, genes, cells, tissues, organs, individuals, and ecosystems interact to form complex networks where changes in one component can impact other components.
  11. Explain how organisms have complex systems that integrate internal and external information, incorporate feedback control, and allow them to respond to changes in the environment.

Learning Objectives for Core Competencies and Disciplinary Practices

After completing the program, BSU Biology graduates will be able to:

  1. Apply the process of science to biological questions.
  2. Use quantitative reasoning including basic mathematics, graphing, and statistics to analyze biological data.
  3. Use modeling and simulation to predict, make inferences about, solve problems, and communicate scientific data.
  4. Apply biological knowledge to problems in other STEM disciplines and multiple fields of biology.
  5. Communicate and collaborate with others who may have diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and perspectives within and external to biological disciplines.
  6. Use scientific reasoning to critically analyze the impact of historical, cultural, political, ethical, and technological factors on the practice and conduct of science.