Step 1) Fill out the New Student Questionnaire

Step 2) Understand the term "liberal arts" and the umw degree requirements

Step 3) Understand AP, IB, Dual Enrollment, and Cambridge Credit

Step 4) Understand Prerequisites & Vertically Building Coursework

Step 5) Consider Pre-Professional Interests

Step 6) Tips and other considerations when planning a schedule

Step 7) First-Year Seminar

Step 8) Choose Possible Courses

Step 9) Fill Out the Course Registration Request Form

Step 10) Video Guides & How to Register

Step 8) Choose Possible Courses

biology

Please refer to the current University Catalog to see the course descriptions and a major description with requirements for biology.

New students considering a major in biology should first complete BOTH BIOL 121-122 (or BIOL 125-126) and CHEM 111-112.  Both of these year-long sequences (BIOL and CHEM) are prerequisites for Cellular Biology, Introduction to Ecology, and General Genetics, which should be taken in the sophomore year.  These latter courses are in turn prerequisites (in some combination) for all other upper-level biology courses.  BIOL 121, BIOL 125 and CHEM 111 are offered in the Fall semester only and BIOL 122, BIOL 126 and CHEM 112 are offered in the Spring semester only. BIOL 121-122 and CHEM 111-112 are also offered during the summer. Please view this recommended timetable for biology majors.

Below please find some examples of first semester schedules for a biology major. There are many variations of a first semester schedule; the examples are just meant to help you see that there are many ways to reach the same goals.

Example 1:

Course (credits)	Requirement(s) Met
MATH 200 - Intro to Statistic (3) ENGL 202D - Writing About Medicine (3) LATN 102 (if have exp.)** - Elementary Latin (3) HIST 122 - Western Civ II (3) FSEM 100EE - Biology and Culture (3)	QR ALPP, WI* FL GI FSEM

Example 2:

Course	Requirement(s) Met
CLAS 110 - Grk & Roman Mythology Art & Lit (3) GEOG 101 - World Regional Geog (3) MATH 200 - Intro to Statistic (3) FSEM 100D8 - Radical Environmentalism (3)	ALPA GI QR FSEM

Please note that certain sequence courses begin in the fall. Examples of this can be found in all of the sciences and some of the foreign languages. If you are unable to start at the correct place in the sequence, we recommend that you try to do so in the following fall semester.

*Please note that not all sections of a course may have the Across-the-Curriculum (ATC) attribute(s). Across-the-Curriculum designations for a course are dependent on instructor and semester. ATC designations for each course are listed in the Banner description for the semester in which you are registering.
**This particular course is in a discipline that allows students with demonstrated competence upon admission to UMW (such as AP/IB credit, dual enrollment, etc.) to begin courses at a higher level. Please read the Academic Planning Guide carefully to see if you meet the requirements. For example: students may begin at any level language course for which they feel prepared (101, 102, 201, or 202), but must then complete the rest of the sequence in order without skipping any levels.