Degree: B.S.

Coordinator: Barbara A. Zilinskas (zilinskas@aesop.rutgers.edu)

The field of biotechnology has emerged as a major contributor to the advancement of agriculture, medicine, and environmental sciences. Recent developments in biotechnology, particularly molecular biology, promise major improvements in agricultural productivity, breakthroughs in human health care, and new solutions to environmental problems.

The biotechnology curriculum is designed to provide students with fundamental knowledge and laboratory skills in biotechnology, including molecular biology, and a firm foundation in biology and the physical sciences. The primary objectives of the program are to broadly educate students for positions in the rapidly developing biotech-nology industry and to prepare students for graduate and graduate/professional study in the life sciences. The strong life and physical sciences foundation of the curriculum involves extensive laboratory and course work and research experience, as well as specializations in the following fields: applied microbiology and microbial technology, animal biotechnology, plant biotechnology, and bioinformatics.

Graduation Requirements for the Major

To enter biotechnology (11:126) courses, students must have completed 01:119:101 General Biology and 01:160:161 General Chemistry with grades of C or better and achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or higher. Students whose cumulative grade-point average falls below 2.0 will be allowed one term to restore the average to 2.0 or higher.

Please see the Programs of Study Summary on page 272 for information regarding changes in degree requirements.

I. Interdisciplinary/Ethical Analysis (5 credits)

  11:015:101  Perspectives on Agriculture and the Environment (2)

  11:015:400  Junior/Senior Colloquium (3)

II. Introductory Life and Physical Sciences

Specific courses that meet the introductory life and physical sciences requirement are listed under VIII A, required courses for competence in biotechnology.

III. The Arts (6 credits)

See suggested courses in the Degree Requirements chapter.

IV. Human Diversity (6 credits)

See suggested courses in the Degree Requirements chapter.

V. Economic and Political Systems

A. Economic Systems (3 credits)

  11:373:101  Economics, People, and Environment (3) or equivalent

B. Political Systems (3 credits)

See suggested courses in the Degree Requirements chapter.

VI. Oral and Written Communication (7 credits)

See suggested courses in the Degree Requirements chapter. 01:355:302 Scientific and Technical Writing (3) is strongly recommended.

  11:126:401  Seminar in Biotechnology (1)

VII. Experience-Based Education (0-3 credits)

  11:126:497,498Research in Biotechnology (BA,BA) or equivalent independent research project in biotechnology or appropriate cooperative education placement or appropriate non-credit bearing internship approved by the curriculum coordinator

VIII. Competence in Biotechnology (87.5- 94.5 credits)

A. REQUIRED COURSES (72.5-74.5)

Quantitative Methods (8)

  01:640:1__-1__   CALC1 and CALC2 (4,4)

Computer Competence (3)

  11:126:483  Nucleotide Sequence Analysis (3)

Professional Ethics (1.5)

  11:126:110  Concepts and Issues in Biotechnology (1.5)

Other Required Courses (60-62)

  11:115:403-404  General Biochemistry (3,3)

  11:115:413  Experimental Biochemistry (2.5) or 11:115: 313 Introductory Biochemistry Laboratory (1)

  01:119:101-102  General Biology (4,4)

  11:126:427  Methods in Recombinant DNA Technology (4)

  11:126:481  Molecular Genetics (3)

  11:126:482  Molecular Genetics Laboratory (3)

  01:160:161-162  General Chemistry (4,4)

  01:160:171  Introduction to Experimentation (1)

  01:160:311  Organic Chemistry Laboratory (2) or 01: 160:251 Analytical  Chemistry Laboratory (2.5)*

  01:160:307-308  Organic Chemistry (4,4)

  01:447:380  Genetics (4) or 11:776:305 Plant Genetics (4) (Plant Biotechnology Option)

  01:447:390  General Microbiology (4)

  01:750:193-194  Physics for the Sciences (4,4) or equivalent*

B. OPTIONS (16-19)

1. Animal Biotechnology (18-19)

Required courses (9-10)

At least three of the following courses:

  11:067:430  Animal Microtechniques and Tissue Culture (4)

  01:146:474  Immunology (3)

  11:709:400  Advanced Nutrition I (3)

  11:709:401  Advanced Nutrition II (3)

Electives (9)

  11:067:327  Animal Reproduction (3)

  11:115:412  Protein and Enzyme Chemistry (3)

  11:115:452  Biochemical Separations (3)

  11:126:407  Comparative Virology (3)

  11:126:410  Process Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:420  Trends in Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:484  Biotechnology Robotics (3)

  01:447:480  Topics in Molecular Genetics (3)

  01:447:481  Topics in Human Genetics (3)

  01:447:495  Cancer (3)

  01:694:492  Molecular Biology of Gene Regulation and Development (3)

  01:960:401  Basic Statistics for Research (3)

One to three additional credits of research in biotechnology may be substituted for an equal number of credits of elective course work.

2. Applied Microbiology and Microbial Technology (16)

Required courses (7)

  11:126:394  Applied Microbiology (4)

  11:126:405  Microbial Technology (3)

Electives (9)

  11:067:430  Animal Microtechniques and Tissue Culture (4) or  11:126:406  Plant Gene Transfer (4)

  11:115:412  Protein and Enzyme Chemistry (3)

  11:115:452  Biochemical Separations (3)

  11:126:407  Comparative Virology (3)

  11:126:410  Process Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:420  Trends in Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:484  Biotechnology Robotics (3)

  11:126:486  Analytical Microbiology (4)

  11:126:491  Microbial Ecology and Diversity (4)

  01:146:474  Immunology (3)

  01:146:475  Laboratory in Immunology (1)

  11:375:411  Pollution Microbiology (3)

  11:400:416  Food Biotechnology Topics (1)

  11:400:419  Food Physical Systems (3)

  11:400:423  Food Microbiology (3)

  11:400:424  Food Microbiology Laboratory (1)

  01:447:392  Pathogenic Microbiology (3)

  01:447:480  Topics in Molecular Genetics (3)

  01:447:495  Cancer (3)

  01:447:498  Bacterial Physiology (3)

  11:628:418  Marine Microbiology (4)

  01:694:492  Molecular Biology of Gene Regulation and Development (3)

One to three additional credits of research in biotechnology may be substituted for an equal number of credits of elective course work.

3. Bioinformatics (18)

Required Courses (11)

  01:198:111  Introduction to Computer Science (4) or equivalent

  01:198:112  Data Structures (4)

  01:960:379  Basic Probability and Statistics (3)

One of the following:

  11:115:428  Homology Modeling of Proteins (3)

  11:126:410  Process Biotechnology (3)

  01:160:410  Introduction to Molecular Modeling (3)

  01:160:438  Introduction to Computational Chemistry (3)

  01:447:486  Evolutionary Genetics (3)

At least one of the following:

  01:198:205  Introduction to Discrete Structures (4)

  01:198:211  Computer Architecture (4)

  01:198:230  Introduction to Information Systems (4)

  01:198:314  Principles of Programming Languages (4)

  01:198:336  Principles of Database Management Systems (4)

4. General Biotechnology (15-20)

Required courses (6-8)

  11:067:430  Animal Microtechniques and Tissue Culture (4) or 11:126:406 Plant Gene Transfer (4) or 11: 776:452 Plant Tissue Culture (3)

One of the following courses:

  11:115:412  Protein and Enzyme Chemistry (3)

  11:115:452  Biochemical Separations (3)

  11:126:407  Comparative Virology (3)

  11:126:410  Process Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:420  Trends in Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:484  Biotechnology Robotics (3)

  11:126:486  Analytical Microbiology (4)

  01:146:474  Immunology (3)

Electives (9-12)

Three additional courses from the required and elective courses listed in the other four biotechnology curriculum options.

One to three additional credits of research in biotechnology may be substituted for an equal number of credits of elective course work.

5. Plant Biotechnology (15-16)

Required courses (6-7)

  11:126:406  Plant Gene Transfer (4) or 11:776:452 Plant Tissue Culture (3)

  11:776:242  Plant Science (3)

Electives (9)

  11:115:412  Protein and Enzyme Chemistry (3)

  11:115:452  Biochemical Separations (3)

  11:126:407  Comparative Virology (3)

  11:126:410  Process Biotechnology (3)

  11:126:413  Plant Molecular Biology (3)

  11:126:484  Biotechnology Robotics (3)

  11:126:486  Analytical Microbiology (4)

  11:400:416  Food Biotechnology Topics (1)

  11:400:419  Food Physical Systems (3)

  01:447:480  Topics in Molecular Genetics (3)

  01:694:492  Molecular Biology of Gene Regulation and Development (3)

  11:704:351  Principles of Applied Ecology (4) or 11:126: 491 Microbial  Ecology and Diversity (4) or 11:704:332 Plant Ecology (4)

  11:770:301  General Plant Pathology (3)

  11:776:210  Principles of Botany (4) or 11:704:411 Taxonomy of the Vascular Plants (4)

  11:776:312  Medicinal Plants (3)

  11:776:382  Plant Physiology (4)

  11:776:406  Plant Breeding (3)

  01:960:401  Basic Statistics for Research (3)

One to three additional credits of research in biotechnology may be substituted for an equal number of credits of elective course work.

IX. Unspecified Electives (0.5-10.5 credits)