Bachelor of Arts in Biological and Physical Sciences

This program is recommended for students wishing to satisfy the pre-professional requirements for the Masters in Occupational Therapy and the Doctor of Physical Therapy Degrees.

If you're interested in a broad-based science program that will enable you to pursue a variety of careers or prepare for graduate school, Indiana University Kokomo's program in biological and physical sciences is one you'll want to consider.

The IU Kokomo Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Biological and Physical Sciences is centered around a traditional core of courses in the humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and the natural sciences. The program is designed to enable you to tailor your studies to specific career goals. For example, you might choose a curriculum designed to provide the essential knowledge base for a career in psychiatry. In this case, you would want to take courses in anatomy, biology, physics and chemistry as well as sociology, psychology, and communications, and then apply to medical school. On the other hand, if you want to pursue a career in agricultural or industrial research, you'll want to elect a different combination of courses. To earn the B.A. in biological and physical sciences, you'll need a minimum of 120 credit hours. Of these, at least 33 hours will be in required science courses; 75 will be in general education courses; and the remainder will be in electives. If you're planning to enter graduate school after earning a B.A. degree, you'll want to inquire about IU Kokomo's pre-professional tracks in biology, pre-medicine, and pre-dentistry. Graduates who have followed these tracks have been accepted into advanced programs in medical, dental, optometry and chiropractic schools throughout the country. The degree program also offers tracks in pre-Doctor of Physical Therapy and pre-Master of Occupational Therapy which allow students to fulfill all prerequisites for these professional programs while at the same time earning a bachelor's degree.

Internship and Research Opportunities

In addition to the extensive laboratory and classroom experiences offered through the biology program, internship opportunities also are available through IU Kokomo's Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI). Biology majors also may engage in individual study, which involves selecting a research area of interest, developing that research, and then presenting their findings both in writing and in an oral presentation. Such research can count for up to 12 credit hours towards your degree. IU Kokomo students have assisted with research in aquatic physiology, ecological physiology, ecology, microbiology, electrochemistry, and laser physics.

CURRICULUM

Arts & Science and Campus-wide General Education Requirements

(GPA of at least 2.0 required for general education courses)

Title	Course	Credits
Elementary Composition I	ENG-W 131	3
Elementary Composition II	ENG-W 132	3
Public Speaking	SPCH-S 121	3
Computing Tools	CSCI-C 100	1
Foreign Language at the 200 level	Various	6
Mathematics	Various	3
Statistics (for students beginning fall 2009)	MATH-K 310	3
Literature	Various	3
Performance	Various	2 - 3
Ethics	Various	3
Biological Science with Lab	BIOL-L 105	5
Physical Science with Lab	Various	5
Non-Lab course in the sciences	Various	3
History of Western Civilization I	HIST-H 113	3
History of Western Civilization II	HIST-H 114	3
Social/Behavioral Science Electives (from 3 different disciplines)	Various	9

Major (30 cr hours)

200-level courses in any Natural, Information or Mathematics Courses	Various	no more than 10
300-400-level courses selected from the Natural, Information or Mathematical Sciences	Various	20 - 30

Electives (to total a minimum of 120 cr. hr.)

Pre-occupational therapy and pre-physical therapy students must include specific courses as part of their curriculum. These include Human anatomy, ANAT-A 215, Human physiology, PHSL-P 215, Statistics, PSY-K 300 or STAT 301 and Psychology, PSY-P 103. Pre-occupational therapy also requires life span psychology, PSY-P 216 and medical terminology, CLAS-C 209. Additionally, pre-physical therapy requires general chemistry, CHEM-C105 and lab CHEM-C 125.

What Can I Do With a Biological and Physical Sciences Degree?

As a general rule, a college major does not prepare you for one specific job. Instead, it allows you to develop skills and abilities in your area of interest that can be applied to a broad range of occupations in that field. This is particularly true in biology, which combines a strong foundation in the biological sciences with studies in other fields as well. As you progress toward your educational and professional goals, IU Kokomo's Office of Career Services, located in the Kelley Student Center, can assist you with aptitude and interest assessments and help you prepare for the job search and interview process. The occupations listed below represent only a few of many career tracks open to biological and physical science graduates:
Agriculture
Business and Industry
Dentistry
Chiropractic
Disease Prevention and Control
Education
Environmental Testing
Governmental Research Labs
Health Care Agencies
Horticulture
Hospitals
Marine Biology and Aquatic Research
Medical Laboratories
Medicine
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Podiatry
Veterinary Medicine

Reading about a university is quite different from seeing it for yourself. If you haven't visited the IU Kokomo campus, we invite you to come talk with our faculty, observe our classes, ask questions of our students, and feel the warmth and hospitality of a campus that is large enough to serve your needs but small enough to care about you individually.

Contact

For an application, more information, or to schedule a visit, contact:

Office of Admissions
Indiana University Kokomo
2300 S. Washington Street, P.O. Box 9003
Kokomo, IN 46904-9003
(765) 455-9216
E-mail