Bachelor in Biology & Biochemistry

Our Focus

The structure, function, and evolution of organisms, concentrating on their interrelationships, development, and genetics as well as characteristics of plants and habits of animals.

Our program prepares students for a variety of careers in the life sciences including medical, veterinary, nursing, physical therapy.

Your Talents

You should consider Abbey’s Biology & Biochemistry degree programs if you:

• have strong science and math skills
• enjoy lab work
• have a desire to understand the structure and function of living organisms

Our Approach

Our rigorous Biology & Biochemistry programs will challenge and prepare you:

• Study Biology & Biochemistry in a department with an outstanding record of acceptance into medical, veterinary medical, and graduate schools.
• Build practical experience with in-depth labs and excellent internship opportunities.

Students pursuing a Biology & Biochemistry bachelor's degree at Belmont Abbey College are strongly encouraged to pursue summer internships and research opportunities to broaden their base of knowledge and experience.

Your Purpose

With a bachelors degree from Belmont Abbey College, you will be able to pursue a variety of opportunities, including:

• medical school
• veterinary school
• dental school
• physical therapy
• teaching biology
• environmental protection
• forensic medicine
• other allied medical professions
• pursue graduate studies in biology

An accredited B.A. or B.S. degree from Belmont Abbey College demonstrates the ability to craft oral and written presentations backed by rigorous in-class study. Here we will help you cultivate the skills necessary to enter into graduate and professional programs or the workplace.

The Abbey Difference

“Fitness for the world”

The Biology & Biochemistry Department educates students in the discipline within the context of the Catholic Benedictine Liberal Arts tradition. In doing so, we understand biology as the study of life and life processes. Such knowledge constitutes a vital part of that liberal learning whose goal, as John Henry Newman noted, is “fitness for the world”. We aim for the study of Biology to help students assess the many issues that face today’s world, enabling them to become responsible citizens and to promote the common good.

Scientific grounding in ethical issues

The department provides students with an appreciation of the organization, evolution, and interrelationships of organisms, an understanding of the techniques, goals, and limits of science as a process, and valuable laboratory experience. We hope this study will help students become good citizens who can effectively participate in society. Increasingly, the ethical questions that society is debating are rooted in science, so that to participate in the debate and to make informed decisions, students must first understand the underlying science.

Program Requirements

B.A. in Biology

In addition to the other Core Curriculum requirements, the following are  specific core requirements:

• BI 101 General Biology
• MA 151 College Algebra
• PY 201 Physics I

Major requirements:

• BI 201 Cell Biology
• BI 215 Research Methods in Biology
• BI 231 Organismal Diversity
• BI 300 Genetics
• BI 310 Animal Physiology  or BI 361 Human Physiology
• BI 326 Plant Ecology  or  BI 403 Ecology
• BI 407  and 408 Coordinating Seminars I, II
• CH 105  and  106 General Chemistry I, II

Other courses:

• 300-400 level Biology electives (excluding internships, if taken) – 12 hours
• General elective hours – 20-23 hours

B.S. in Biology

In addition to the other Core Curriculum requirements, the following are specific core requirements:

• BI 101 General Biology (required)
• MA 151 College Algebra (required)
• PY 201 Physics I (required)

Major requirements:

• BI 201 Cell Biology
• BI 215 Research Methods in Biology
• BI 231 Organismal Diversity
• BI 300 Genetics
• BI 310 Animal Physiology  or  BI 361 – Human Physiology
• BI 407  and BI 408 Coordinating Seminars I and II
• BI 326 Plant Ecology  or  BI 403 Ecology
• CH 105  and CH 106 General Chemistry I and II
• CH 221  and 222 Organic Chemistry I and II
• MA 208 Statistics
• PY 102 Physics II

Electives:

• 300-400 level biology electives (excluding internships, if taken) – 12 hours
• General elective hours – 0-2 hours

B.S. in Biochemistry

In addition to the other Core Curriculum requirements, the following are specific core requirements:

• BI 101 General Biology (required)
• MA 201 Calculus I (required)
• CH 105 General Chemistry I (required)

Major requirements:

• BI 201 Cell Biology
• BI 215 Research Methods in Biology
• BI 300 Genetics
• BI 308 or  BI 422 Microbiology or Molecular
• BI 407  and BI 408 Coordinating Seminars I and II
• CH 106 General Chemistry II
• CH 221  and 222 Organic Chemistry I and II
• CH 317 Analytical Chemistry
• BC 316 Biochemistry
• MA 202 Calculus II
• PY 201  and 202 Physics I, II

Other Courses:

• TH 332 Bioethics in Catholic Tradition
• General elective hours – 6 hours

Home to more than 1,400 students

Belmont Abbey College is a small, Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts institution. We find our center in Jesus Christ and believe in the development of the whole person—in mind, body, and spirit.

Our mission is to provide an education that will enable our students to lead lives of integrity, succeed professionally, become responsible citizens, and be a blessing to themselves and others.

A 1,500 year old tradition

Founded in 1876 by Benedictine monks we continue to celebrate the 1,500-year-old Benedictine monastic tradition of prayer and learning. Though we are founded on our Catholic, Benedictine traditions we welcome a diverse body of students regardless of religious affiliation.

Experience Southern hospitality

Located just 10 miles west of Charlotte, NC, Belmont Abbey College is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Abbey is the only Catholic college between northern Virginia and Florida.

We invite you to explore our website, visit our campus and join the Belmont Abbey College family.

2020 Best Southeastern colleges - the Princeton Review

The Cardinal Newman Society calls Belmont Abbey College one of the top Catholic colleges in America for faithfulness and affordability, and First Things Magazine recently named the Abbey America’s #1 “School on the Rise, Filled with Excitement.” In addition, we have received a “Top-Tier Ranking” by U.S. News and World Report and recently named “A best Southeastern College” by The Princeton Review.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences so that in all things God may be glorified. In this endeavor, we are guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae , and the Benedictine spirit of prayer and learning. Exemplifying Benedictine hospitality, we welcome a diverse body of students and provide them with an education that will enable them to lead lives of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become responsible citizens, and to be a blessing to themselves and to others.

Vision Statement

Belmont Abbey College finds its center in Jesus Christ. By his light, we grasp the true image and likeness of God which every human person is called to live out. We aim to renew that likeness in all dimensions of life for our students and members of our community through curricular and co-curricular programs of excellence and virtue-based in the liberal arts as practiced in the Catholic and Benedictine intellectual traditions.

By excellence and virtue, we mean the skills, attitudes, and stable dispositions of character that make possible the consistent practice of the good throughout the full range of human pursuits (scholarly, professional, community, personal). Recognizing that each field has its own standards of excellence, we strive to achieve them, led by St. Benedict’s desire “that in all things God may be glorified.”

As a Benedictine institution, we find this glory especially revealed in the development of the whole person, guided by the liberal arts, as a responsible steward of the true, the beautiful, and the good. We welcome the talents of everyone, from any background and tradition, who are committed to fostering that development and contributing to the mission of the college. To the members of the Belmont Abbey College community, we offer an environment and community animated by this vision where they may work towards their own full potential.