Biochemistry and Biophysics Undergraduate Major (BS, HBS)
This program is available at the following location:
- Corvallis
Options available:
Administered by the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics under the School of Life Sciences.
Accredited by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
The BS degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics provides a degree path centered on the chemistry and physics of life processes with training that integrates the principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and biological sequence analysis. Biochemists explore the chemical structure of living matter and the chemical reactions occurring in living cells. Biophysicists use the methods of physical science to study the structure and functions of macromolecules. Biochemistry and Biophysics majors receive excellent training for careers in medicine and related health professions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, or for graduate study in biochemistry and biophysics. Training in biophysics is especially valuable for students who are interested in drug design. Majors must select an option either in Advanced Biophysics, Neuroscience, or Pre-Medicine/Biochemistry and Biophysics. The first two options are designed for students interested in careers in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries or graduate work in biochemistry and biophysics, with the second especially well-suited for students interested in neuroscience. The third option is ideal for students interested in careers in medicine and related health professions.
Major Code: 506
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Demonstrate a core knowledge base in the theory and practice of modern Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Demonstrate experimental design and laboratory skills relevant to biochemistry and molecular biology, including preparation, experimental design, evaluation of data, and safe laboratory practices.
- Critically evaluate data and design experiments to test hypotheses relevant to the practice of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Read and evaluate primary literature in the discipline.
- Effectively communicate scientific data and ideas, using various formats appropriate for different target audiences.
- Use databases, computational tools and other online resources effectively.
- Demonstrate awareness of ethical issues in the practice of science.
Students majoring in Biochemistry and Biophysics cannot seek a double major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology, BioHealth Sciences, Botany, Microbiology or Zoology.
The major sections and courses within them are arranged in the order they are generally completed. Students are required to declare one of three options in Advanced Biophysics, Neuroscience, or Pre-Medicine/Biochemistry and Biophysics. For further information, see MyDegrees or the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics website.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Students in the Biochemistry and Biophysics major must complete the following biology courses (or their honors counterparts) with a C- or better to continue on to upper division Biology (BI), Zoology (Z), and Biochemistry-Biophysics (BB) coursework: | ||
| BI 221 & BI 222 & BI 223 | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS and *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ORGANISMS and *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: POPULATIONS | 12 |
| Students must also complete the following chemistry courses (or their honors counterparts) with a C- or better to continue on to upper division Chemistry (CH) and Biochemistry-Biophysics (BB) coursework: | ||
| CH 231 & CH 261 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY and *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 231 | 5 |
| CH 232 & CH 262 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY and *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 232 | 5 |
| CH 233 & CH 263 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY and *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 233 | 5 |
| CH 334 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| CH 335 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| CH 336 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| Students must also complete the following biochemistry and biophysics courses (or their honors counterparts) with a C- or better to continue on to upper division Biochemistry-Biophysics (BB) coursework: | ||
| BB 314 | CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 4 |
| Students must also complete the following mathematics courses (or their honors counterparts) with a C- or better to continue on to upper division Mathematics (MTH) coursework: | ||
| MTH 251 | *DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS | 4 |
| MTH 252 | INTEGRAL CALCULUS | 4 |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Biochemistry and Biophysics Core | ||
| BB 111 | INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS RESEARCH | 1 |
| BB 211 | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT II: MOLECULAR, MICROBIAL, BIOHEALTH (not required but strongly recommended) | 1 |
| Biological Sciences | ||
| BI 221 & BI 222 & BI 223 | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS and *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ORGANISMS and *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: POPULATIONS | 12 |
| Mathematics and Statistics | ||
| MTH 251 | *DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS | 4 |
| MTH 252 | INTEGRAL CALCULUS | 4 |
| MTH 254 | VECTOR CALCULUS I | 4 |
| ST 351 | INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL METHODS | 4 |
| Chemistry | ||
| CH 231 & CH 261 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY and *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 231 | 5 |
| CH 232 & CH 262 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY and *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 232 | 5 |
| CH 233 & CH 263 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY and *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 233 | 5 |
| CH 334 & CH 335 & CH 336 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 9 |
| CH 361 & CH 362 | EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY I and EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY I | 6 |
| CH 440 | PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| Physical Sciences | ||
| PH 211 & PH 212 & PH 213 | *GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS and *GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS and *GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS | 12 |
| Biochemistry and Biophysics | ||
| BB 317 | ^SCIENTIFIC THEORY AND PRACTICE | 3 |
| BB 314 | CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 4 |
| BB 315 | MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY | 3 |
| or BB 493 | BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES 1 | |
| BB 345 | PYTHON FOR MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS | 3 |
| BB 490 | BIOCHEMISTRY 1: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION | 3 |
| BB 491 | BIOCHEMISTRY 2: METABOLISM | 3 |
| BB 492 | BIOCHEMISTRY 3: GENETIC BIOCHEMISTRY | 3 |
| BB 481 | MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURE | 3 |
| BB 482 | BIOPHYSICS | 3 |
| BB 483 | ADVANCED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS: CAPSTONE | 3 |
| BB 494 | BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES 2 | 3 |
| BB 498 | ASBMB CERTIFICATION EXAM | 0 |
| Required Option | ||
| Complete one of three options in Advanced Biophysics, Neuroscience, or Pre-Medicine/Biochemistry and Biophysics | 21-26 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Remaining Bacc Core and Electives | 45-50 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)
- ^
Writing Intensive Course (WIC)
Major Code: 506
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 | |
| BB 111 | INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS RESEARCH | 1 |
| CH 231 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY | 4 |
| CH 261 | *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 231 | 1 |
| MTH 251 | *DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS | 4 |
| COMM 114 | *ARGUMENT AND CRITICAL DISCOURSE or +*PUBLIC SPEAKING or +*INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION | 3 |
| Bacc Core or Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| CH 232 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY | 4 |
| CH 262 | *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 232 | 1 |
| MTH 252 | INTEGRAL CALCULUS | 4 |
| WR 121Z | *COMPOSITION I | 4 |
| Bacc Core or Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| CH 233 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY | 4 |
| CH 263 | *LABORATORY FOR CHEMISTRY 233 | 1 |
| HHS 231 | *LIFETIME FITNESS FOR HEALTH | 2 |
| MTH 254 | VECTOR CALCULUS I | 4 |
| Bacc Core: PAC | 1 | |
| Bacc Core or Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BI 221 | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: CELLS | 4 |
| CH 334 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| PH 211 | *GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS | 4 |
| Bacc Core or Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| BI 222 | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: ORGANISMS | 4 |
| CH 335 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| PH 212 | *GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS | 4 |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| BI 223 | *PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY: POPULATIONS | 4 |
| CH 336 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| PH 213 | *GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS | 4 |
| Bacc Core | 3 | |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BB 345 | PYTHON FOR MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS | 3 |
| BB 490 | BIOCHEMISTRY 1: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION | 3 |
| CH 361 | EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY I 1 | 3 |
| CH 440 | PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY | 3 |
| Option Course | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| BB 317 | ^SCIENTIFIC THEORY AND PRACTICE | 3 |
| BB 491 | BIOCHEMISTRY 2: METABOLISM | 3 |
| CH 362 | EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY I 1 | 3 |
| Bacc Core or Elective | 3 | |
| Option Course | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| BB 314 | CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 4 |
| BB 492 | BIOCHEMISTRY 3: GENETIC BIOCHEMISTRY | 3 |
| ST 351 | INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL METHODS | 4 |
| Option Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BB 481 | MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURE | 3 |
| BB 315 or BB 493 | MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY or BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES 1 | 3 |
| Option Course | 4 | |
| Bacc Core or Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| BB 482 | BIOPHYSICS | 3 |
| BB 494 | BIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES 2 | 3 |
| BB 498 | ASBMB CERTIFICATION EXAM | 0 |
| Electives | 8 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| BB 483 | ADVANCED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS: CAPSTONE | 3 |
| Bacc Core or Electives | 11 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)
- ^
Writing Intensive Course (WIC)