Bioresource Research Undergraduate Major (BS, HBS)
This program is available at the following location:
- Corvallis
Options available:
- Animal Reproduction and Development
- Applied Genetics
- Bioproducts and Bioenergy
- Biotechnology
- Climate and Biosystems Modeling
- Environmental Chemistry
- Food Quality
- Genomics/Bioinformatics
- Pest Biology and Management
- Plant Growth and Development
- Sustainable Ecosystems
- Toxicology
- Water Resources
BioResource Research (BRR) is an interdisciplinary biosciences major centered around research aimed at understanding and protecting the planet's biological resources and exploring their novel and sustainable uses. BRR students complete a comprehensive mentored research experience, in a cutting-edge area of agricultural, biological, chemical, environmental, food, or health science. BRR faculty research mentors come from across OSU, as well as from extension stations and state and federal agencies. Each student’s upper-division curriculum is individualized based on choice of option and research project. In addition to research expertise, BRR students graduate with a strong background in biosciences, job training, and problem-solving and communication skills. These skills lead to careers in industrial or academic research, natural resource management, and graduate and professional programs in the life sciences and medicine.
Major Code: 113
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Apply the fundamental concepts of biosciences and bioresource sciences, and of the physical and mathematical sciences that support these fields.
- Design an experiment, collect, analyze, and interpret data.
- Create written and oral research presentations.
- Analyze and defend research results to both professionals and the general public.
- Evaluate research results in relation to important contemporary scientific issues.
- Demonstrate personal responsibility, research and work ethics, and the ability to contribute to a team.
The BRR curriculum requires biology, chemistry, physics, calculus, statistics, organic chemistry and biochemistry. Students must take an ethics class and a technical writing class. Each student chooses an option (area of concentration) and takes 27 credits of upper-division interdisciplinary coursework based on the option. In addition, students complete 14 credits of mentored research, write a thesis, and give a seminar for course credit.
Completion of one option is required to earn a degree in BRR; more may be possible. Coursework for each option must total 27 credits.
| First Year | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| BI 221Z & BI 222Z & BI 223Z | +*PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS and *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ORGANISMS and *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION | 15 |
| BRR 100 | GREAT EXPERIMENTS IN BIORESOURCE SCIENCES | 2 |
| CH 221Z & CH 227Z | GENERAL CHEMISTRY I and +*GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY 1 | 5 |
| CH 222Z & CH 228Z | GENERAL CHEMISTRY II and *GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY 1 | 5 |
| CH 223Z & CH 229Z | GENERAL CHEMISTRY III and *GENERAL CHEMISTRY III LABORATORY 1 | 5 |
| LEAD 242 | +PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT 2 or +REFLECT ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES or +LEVERAGING YOUR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING or +CAREER SKILLS IN FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, AND CONSERVATION SCIENCES | 1-3 |
| WR 121Z | +*COMPOSITION I | 4 |
| Core Education and unrestricted electives | 6-8 | |
| Credits | 45 | |
| Second Year | ||
| BRR 200 | SCIENCE AND RESEARCH | 2 |
| PHL 205 | +*INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS | 4 |
| CH 331 & CH 332 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 8 |
| CH 337 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY | 4 |
| PH 201 & PH 202 & PH 203 | +*GENERAL PHYSICS and *GENERAL PHYSICS and *GENERAL PHYSICS | 15 |
| ST 351 | INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL METHODS | 4 |
| Core Education and unrestricted electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 46 | |
| Third Year | ||
| AG 311 | +*INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURE AND SUBSISTENCE or +*MOLECULAR MEDICINE or +*DNA, IDENTITIES, AND SOCIETIES or +*POWER AND JUSTICE IN U.S. NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT or +*ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE or +*SUSTAINABILITY, JUSTICE, AND ENGAGEMENT | 3 |
| BI 311 | GENETICS | 4 |
| BRR 401 | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP | 8 |
| COMM 111Z | +*PUBLIC SPEAKING | 4 |
| MTH 251Z or MTH 227 | +*DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS or +*CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES I | 4 |
| MTH 252Z or MTH 228 | INTEGRAL CALCULUS or CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES II | 4 |
| Unrestricted electives | 4 | |
| Selected courses to meet BRR option requirement | 13 | |
| Credits | 44 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| BB 350 | ELEMENTARY BIOCHEMISTRY or GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY or BIOCHEMISTRY 1: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION | 3-4 |
| BRR 401 | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP | 6 |
| BRR 403 | ^THESIS | 4 |
| BRR 406 | PROJECTS-DATA PRESENTATIONS | 1 |
| BRR 407 | SEMINAR | 1 |
| BRR 409 | PRACTICUM: TEACHING AND PEER MENTORING | 2 |
| WR 227Z or WR 362 | +*TECHNICAL WRITING or +*SCIENCE WRITING | 3-4 |
| Core Education and unrestricted electives | 9 | |
| Selected courses to meet BRR option requirement | 14 | |
| Credits | 45 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in a catalog year up to 2024-2025
- +
Core Education course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in catalog year 2025-2026 and beyond
- ^
Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) course
- 1
The BRR core typically requires CH 221Z/CH 227Z, CH 222Z/CH 228Z and CH 223Z/CH 229Z, but CH 121, CH 122 and CH 123 will be accepted for students with lower math scores or those without high school chemistry. A grade of B- or above is required for each course in the CH 12x series; a grade of C- or above is required for each course in the CH 22x series
- 2
Students should check with their advisor regarding the timing of their Beyond OSU course. Some courses listed are recommended for first year while others should generally be taken in a student's final year
Major Code: 113
Degree plans are subject to change and the following is only an example of how students may complete their degree in four years. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best degree plan for them. Contact details for advisors can be found on the Academic Advising page.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| BI 221Z | +*PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS | 5 |
| BRR 100 | GREAT EXPERIMENTS IN BIORESOURCE SCIENCES | 2 |
| CH 221Z & CH 227Z | GENERAL CHEMISTRY I and +*GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY | 5 |
| Core Ed: Transitions | 2 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| BI 222Z | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ORGANISMS | 5 |
| CH 222Z & CH 228Z | GENERAL CHEMISTRY II and *GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY | 5 |
| Approved Beyond OSU Course | 1-3 | |
| Core Ed: Arts & Humanities Global | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| BI 223Z | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION | 5 |
| CH 223Z & CH 229Z | GENERAL CHEMISTRY III and *GENERAL CHEMISTRY III LABORATORY | 5 |
| WR 121Z | +*COMPOSITION I | 4 |
| Elective | 2 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| CH 331 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 4 |
| PH 201 | +*GENERAL PHYSICS | 5 |
| PHL 205 | +*INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS | 4 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| BRR 200 | SCIENCE AND RESEARCH | 2 |
| CH 332 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 4 |
| PH 202 | *GENERAL PHYSICS | 5 |
| Core Ed: Social Science | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| CH 337 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY | 4 |
| PH 203 | *GENERAL PHYSICS | 5 |
| ST 351 | INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL METHODS | 4 |
| Core Ed: Difference, Power & Oppression Foundations | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BI 311 | GENETICS | 4 |
| MTH 251Z or MTH 227 | +*DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS or +*CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES I | 4 |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| BRR 401 | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP | 8 |
| MTH 252Z or MTH 228 | INTEGRAL CALCULUS or CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES II | 4 |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BB 332 | +*MOLECULAR MEDICINE or +*INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURE AND SUBSISTENCE or +*DNA, IDENTITIES, AND SOCIETIES or +*POWER AND JUSTICE IN U.S. NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT or +*ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE or +*SUSTAINABILITY, JUSTICE, AND ENGAGEMENT | 3 |
| COMM 111Z | +*PUBLIC SPEAKING | 4 |
| Option Course | 4 | |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BRR 401 | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP | 6 |
| BRR 409 | PRACTICUM: TEACHING AND PEER MENTORING | 2 |
| Option Course | 4 | |
| Core Ed: Seeking Solutions | 3-4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Winter | ||
| BRR 406 | PROJECTS-DATA PRESENTATIONS | 1 |
| WR 227Z or WR 362 | +*TECHNICAL WRITING or +*SCIENCE WRITING | 3-4 |
| Option Course | 4 | |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BB 350 | ELEMENTARY BIOCHEMISTRY or GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY or BIOCHEMISTRY 1: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION | 4 |
| BRR 403 | ^THESIS | 4 |
| BRR 407 | SEMINAR | 1 |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in a catalog year up to 2024-2025
- +
Core Education course. Applies to general education requirements for undergraduate students in catalog year 2025-2026 and beyond
- ^
Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) course