Just What Exactly Will You Be Learning from Your Biology Degree Online?

What Classes Will Be Required for a Biology Degree Online?

In English class you study the English language. In math class you study numbers. But what do study when you pursue a biology degree online?

Since there are few biology programs offered at the associate degree level, I will use a bachelor degree as a reference. For a bachelor biology degree online you can expect to take classes that fall within the following three areas:

· General Courses

· Required Courses

· Elective Courses

Whats the Smatter? (General Courses)
If you think that when getting your biology degree online you will get to study biology 24/7? Think again. If you are working toward a bachelor degree, you will learn a lot more than biology. You will get a smattering of many different subjects. As with any 4-year degree, your first two years (approximately 50 credit hours) are mainly spent studying general education such as the following courses:

· English

· Government

· Sociology

· Humanities

· Psychology

· Business

But why you ask? Although getting your biology degree online will prepare you for the tasks that surround biology specifically, it will also prepare you for a general work environment. The general coursework that you will study to earn your bachelor degree will give you a broad array of information that you will take with you into any environment in which you work, biology or not.

Moving On to the Heart of the Matter (Required Courses)
Once you have cleared those general course hurdles, get ready for the good stuff. So what exactly is the good stuff you ask? As a biology major, the good stuff falls into the category of required courses. These courses may or may not require prerequisites. (Prerequisites are classes that you need to have taken before you can register for a particular class. For example, Math 550 might have a prerequisite of Math 100. You will need to have passed Math 100 in order to take Math 550.)

Here is a sample of what you will be taking for your biology degree online program:

· 19 credit hours of general biology courses including introductory classes and upper level classes

· 9 credit hours of math

· 15 credits hours of chemistry

· 9 credit hours of physics

When getting an online degree you are able to choose electives. These are courses that are generally related to the program, in your case biology, but focus on a narrow topic within the field. As you complete your required classes, you will probably develop an interest in some particular areas. You will able to get a more in-depth look into those areas by taking elective courses that focus on those topics.

Here are some examples of the approximately 20 credit hours required as elective courses:

· Cellular Biology

· Molecular Biology

· Ecology

· Physiology

· Environmental Science

· Zoology

· Wildlife

· Marine Biology

The amount of credit hours you will be required to take and the variation of classes will depend on the school that you attend. Additionally, some schools require more than one type of biology degree. For example, a school might offer a Bachelor of Science in Biology as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Biology.

Since the subject of biology covers a lot of areas some schools might not have the concentration areas that you desire. The best way to pick a school would be to learn more about the career you would like to have, and then find a school that offers a biology degree online for that area of interest.