Marine Biology, B.S.
Marine biology is the study of the biology and ecology of organisms found in the ocean. This degree provides a base to pursue graduate school, along with a variety of careers in environmental consulting, government, teaching, and public aquaria. This major requires approximately 79-86 units in the major, of which 39-45 are in lower division and 41 are in upper division. All students must achieve at least a 2.0 grade-point average in each of the following: 1. the entire college record, 2. all units attempted at CSULB, and 3. all courses in the major. In addition, students must receive a “C” or better in all upper division major courses.
Admission Under Impaction
Degree Progress
Pre-Marine Biology majors must complete the following requirements within the specified time of declaring the pre-major. Some students may need to take courses during Summer Session to meet these requirements. Students who have not met the requirements by the required semester must either declare another major or meet with an Academic Advisor to determine if the student’s performance in the courses merits an additional semester to complete.
Freshman:
A grade “C” or better must be achieved within one calendar year.
- CHEM 111A - General Chemistry (5 units)
- MATH 119A - Survey of Calculus I (3 units)
- or
- MATH 122 - Calculus I (4 units)
Lower Division:
Take all of the following courses:
- BIOL 153 - Introduction to Marine Biology (3 units)
- BIOL 211 - Introduction to Evolution and Diversity (5 units)
- BIOL 212 - Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (4 units)
- BIOL 213 - Introduction to Ecology and Physiology (4 units)
- BIOL 260 - Biostatistics (3 units)
- CHEM 111A - General Chemistry (5 units)
- CHEM 111B - General Chemistry (5 units)
Note(s):
BIOL 111, BIOL 111L, BIOL 212 , BIOL 212L , BIOL 213 , BIOL 213L are required if courses were taken prior to catalog year 2010-11. CHEM 112A and CHEM 112B may be substituted for CHEM 111A and CHEM 111B with advisor substitution request.
Take one of the following courses:
- PHYS 100A - General Physics (4 units)
- PHYS 151 - Mechanics and Heat (4 units)
Take one of the following courses:
- MATH 119A - Survey of Calculus I (3 units)
- MATH 122 - Calculus I (4 units)
These courses do not meet any specific or elective requirements for this major:
- BIOL 101 - Introduction to Human Disease (3 units)
- BIOL 200 - General Biology (4 units)
- BIOL 200L - General Biology Laboratory (1 Unit)
- BIOL 201 - General Microbiology for Health Professionals (4 Units)
- BIOL 205 - Human Biology (4 units)
- BIOL 205L - Human Biology Laboratory (1 unit)
- BIOL 207 - Human Physiology (4 units)
- BIOL 208 - Human Anatomy (4 units)
Take either:
- CHEM 227 - Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (3 units)
or all four of the following courses lower-division courses:
- CHEM 220A - Organic Chemistry I (3 units)
- CHEM 220B - Organic Chemistry II (3 units)
- CHEM 223A - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I (1 unit)
- CHEM 223B - Organic Chemistry Laboratory II (1 unit)