Biology-Teacher Education Program (Grades 9-12), B.S.

Major Requirements

Credit Hours: 58+

In addition to completing the requirements for this major, students must also complete the degree requirements specified in the Academic Regulations  section of this catalog.

Courses within this major may also satisfy general education requirements. Please consult the Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Requirements  for more information.

Biology Teacher Education Program (Grades 9-12)

Students interested in teacher licensure in biology must complete the following courses and the secondary education cognate major requirements. See the School of Education, Health and Human Performance section of this catalog for a listing of the required secondary education cognate major courses. Students should apply for acceptance to this program no later than the second semester of their sophomore year. Requirements for this include admission to and successful completion of the approved teacher education program. Students must successfully complete all requirements for licensure in secondary education.

When declaring teacher licensure in biology through the Program of Study Management System (POSM), students must first select “Declare or Add a Major” and then “Secondary Education Cognate” from the major list. Once this selection is made, a second menu box will appear with a list of the associated majors. Select the biology major and follow the on-screen instructions.

• You should apply for admission (this is NOT declaring your major) to the Teacher Education Program the semester you are enrolled in EDFS 201 Foundations of Education. Requirements for admission:
  • Minimum overall GPA of 2.750 and 60 earned credit hours.
  • Passing scores on Praxis Core: Academic Skills for Educators designed by the South Carolina Department of Education OR qualifying SAT or ACT scores. Scores must be sent to the College of Charleston (Code R5113) and the SCDE (Code R8108).
  • Completing the application process during EDFS 201 .
  • If a student has transfer credit for a course that is equivalent to EDFS 201 , they must meet with the Teacher Education department chair and complete 1 hour of work.
  • A grade of C or better in EDFS 201 Foundations of Education (3) . 
• Your admission process must be completed before taking EDFS 460 .
• You must complete a major in the content area and the cognate major (see Secondary Education Cognate, B.S. ) to be forwarded to the State Department of Education for certification.
• Minimum Biology GPA of 2.500.
• Minimum education GPA of 3.000.

Biology Core Courses

• BIOL 111 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3)
• BIOL 111L Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab (1)

• OR

• HONS 151 Honors Biology I (3)
• HONS 151L Honors Biology I Lab (1)

•  

• BIOL 112 Evolution, Form, and Function of Organisms (3)
• BIOL 112L Evolution, Form, and Function of Organisms Lab (1)

• OR

• HONS 152 Honors Biology II (3)
• HONS 152L Honors Biology II Lab (1)

•  

• BIOL 211 Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Biology (4)

• OR

• BIOL 213 Marine Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Biology (4)

•  

• BIOL 305 Genetics (3)

19 additional credit hours in courses at the 300-level or above including:

Mathematics Requirement

• MATH 120 Introductory Calculus (4)
• MATH 250 Statistical Methods I (3)

Physics Requirement

• PHYS 101 Introductory Physics I (3)
• PHYS 101L Introductory Physics Laboratory (1)

• AND

• PHYS 102 Introductory Physics II (3)
• PHYS 102L Introductory Physics Laboratory (1)

• OR

• PHYS 111 General Physics I (3)
• PHYS 111L General Physics I Lab (1)

• AND

• PHYS 112 General Physics II (3)
• PHYS 112L General Physics II Lab (1)

Chemistry Requirement

• CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry (3)
• CHEM 111L Principles of Chemistry Laboratory (1)

• AND

• CHEM 112 Principles of Chemistry (3)
• CHEM 112L Principles of Chemistry Laboratory (1)

• AND

• CHEM 102 Organic and Biological Chemistry (3)
• CHEM 102L Organic and Biological Chemistry Laboratory (1)

• OR

• CHEM 231 Organic Chemistry (3)
• CHEM 231L Introduction to Organic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques (1)

Notes:

• MATH 250  is a prerequisite for all 300-level BIOL courses.
• CHEM 220  and CHEM 220L  are recommended.
• Honors students can take the alternative course of HONS 190 /HONS 190L  in lieu of CHEM 111 /CHEM 111L  and CHEM 112 /CHEM 112L . 
• Honors students can take the alternative sequence of HONS 192 /HONS 192L  and HONS 293 /HONS 293L  in lieu of  CHEM 231 /CHEM 231L  and CHEM 232 /CHEM 232L . 
• Honors students can take the alternative sequence of HONS 157 /HONS 157L  and HONS 158 /HONS 158L  in lieu of PHYS 111 /PHYS 111L  and PHYS 112 /PHYS 112L .
• Students are not permitted to double major in Biology and Marine Biology.
• Credit cannot be applied for both BIOL 211  and BIOL 213  towards the program requirements.
• Credit cannot be applied for both BIOL 312L  and BIOL 412  towards the program requirements.
• No more than 3 credit hours from BIOL 399  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 12 credit hours from BIOL 450  may be applied towards the program requirements.
• No more than 12 credit hours from BIOL 451  may be applied towards the program requirements.

Coursework Meeting Major Requirements Excluded from the Major GPA Calculation

The following courses are excluded: CHEM 102 , CHEM 102L , CHEM 111 , CHEM 111L , CHEM 112 , CHEM 112L , CHEM 231 , CHEM 231L , CHEM 232 , CHEM 232L , MATH 120 , MATH 250 , PHYS 101 , PHYS 101L , PHYS 102 , PHYS 102L , PHYS 111 , PHYS 111L , PHYS 112 , PHYS 112L