Pre-Education Biology Option
This option is available within the Biology major at the following location:
- Corvallis
The Biology major Pre-Education option is designed to complete the requirements for the Science Education option in the OSU Education master's degree and other U.S. graduate licensure programs for secondary education. Students should consult the requirements for specific schools before they apply because requirements can change and vary some between institutions. The option couples the strong background of the Biology major with core science education and science electives, as well as a required practicum experience. Students receive specific education advising to integrate teaching and other essential professional experiences during their time at OSU.
Option Code: 226
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Explain and apply the fundamental concepts of the biological sciences, including biochemistry, cell and molecular biology and genetics; physiology and organismal biology; and ecology and evolution.
- Identify and access information (from primary literature and other relevant works) for a particular topic and evaluate the scientific content and context of these sources.
- Generate relevant and testable scientific questions, formulate testable hypotheses, and identify measurable predictions based on observations or previous research.
- Design and implement observational or experimental investigations to collect relevant data, and employ appropriate analytical methods to analyze that data.
- Interpret data and/or observations to support or refute hypotheses, draw conclusions, put findings in the context of current scientific knowledge and literature, and/or suggest future avenues of research.
- Use effective formal and informal communication (i.e., written, oral, graphical, multimedia) to convey scientific information in ways that are appropriate for scientific and non-scientific audiences for a particular topic and evaluating the scientific content and context of these sources.
- Integrate and analyze information within and across spatial and temporal scales as well as levels of biological organization.
- Identify, reflect upon, and evaluate assumptions, biases, and alternative hypotheses or interpretations for their own scientific claims or those of others.
- Justify the importance of science and science literacy for individuals and society.
- Integrate biology with other disciplines to make evidence-based decisions on socio-scientific issues.
- Explain how biases and societal factors affect the processes of science (and vice versa), access to participation in science, and the differential outcomes and impacts (both positive and negative) of science on individuals.
- Explain and justify the ethical standards of their discipline, evaluate the ethics of published science, and articulate their personal code of ethics.
- Use effective and appropriate forms of collaboration.
- Produce a self-assessment of interpersonal and academic behaviors needed to achieve their individual career goals.
Options in the Biology major require 20 or fewer additional credits beyond the basic Biology major, and most students can complete the additional Pre-Education option coursework in four years. Courses used to satisfy the Pre-Education option requirements also satisfy the Physics or Computational and Quantitative Electives and Experiential Learning or Integrative Biology Elective requirements in the Biology major.
For further information, see MyDegrees or the Integrative Biology website.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Science Education Core | ||
| ED 472 | FOUNDATIONS OF ESOL EDUCATION | 3 |
| HDFS 313 | ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT | 4 |
| SED 413 | INQUIRY IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE EDUCATION | 3 |
| PH 201 & PH 202 & PH 203 | *GENERAL PHYSICS and *GENERAL PHYSICS and *GENERAL PHYSICS | 15 |
| Electives | ||
| Select a minimum of three courses from the following: 1 | 9-15 | |
| OSU Chemistry Endorsement | ||
| QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY | ||
| INORGANIC CHEMISTRY | ||
| OSU Integrated Science Endorsement | ||
| +*CLIMATE SCIENCE | ||
| METEOROLOGY | ||
| *PHYSICAL GEOLOGY | ||
| *EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE | ||
| *EVOLUTION OF PLANET EARTH | ||
| *ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY | ||
| *LIVING WITH ACTIVE CASCADE VOLCANOES | ||
| *MINERALS, ENERGY, WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| *NATIONAL PARK GEOLOGY AND PRESERVATION | ||
| *GLOBAL CHANGE AND EARTH SCIENCES | ||
| *OCEANOGRAPHY | ||
| COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY | ||
| +*DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY | ||
| Integrative Biology Electives (not for endorsement) 2 | ||
| ADVANCED HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY and ADVANCED HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY | ||
| MARINE ECOLOGY | ||
| PACIFIC NORTHWEST COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS (taught at Hatfield Marine Science Center) | ||
| SYMBIOSES AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| FIELD METHODS IN ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION (taught at OSU Cascades) | ||
| PALEOBIOLOGY | ||
| PHYLOGENETICS | ||
| BIOGEOGRAPHY | ||
| POPULATION BIOLOGY | ||
| MONSTER BIOLOGY | ||
| DISEASE ECOLOGY | ||
| ANIMAL BEHAVIOR | ||
| INVERTEBRATE BIOLOGY and INVERTEBRATE BIOLOGY LABORATORY 3 | ||
or Z 461 | MARINE AND ESTUARINE INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY | |
| BIOLOGY OF INSECTS | ||
| VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY and VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY LABORATORY | ||
| GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT | ||
| VERTEBRATE PHYSIOLOGY II and VERTEBRATE PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY | ||
| BEHAVIORAL NEUROBIOLOGY | ||
| HERPETOLOGY | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Select any combination of three credits from the following: | ||
| TEACHING PRACTICUM (by approval) | ||
| RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP (by approval) | ||
| PROJECTS: CURATORIAL ASSISTANT (by approval) | ||
| ADVANCED TEACHING PRACTICUM (by approval) | ||
| INTERNSHIP (by approval) | ||
| FIELD PRACTICUM (if you have not met the teaching experience for admission to the MS program) | ||
| Total Credits | 34-40 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)
- ^
Writing Intensive Course (WIC)
- +
Core Education course. Applies only to students admitted to an OSU undergraduate degree from Summer 2025 onwards
- 1
Students work with the Biology Pre-Education option advisor to select a minimum of three elective courses, two of which must be upper-division
- 2
Cannot be shared with Biology major requirements
- 3
BI 450 (taught at Hatfield Marine Science Center) is by application only and may count for other major requirements
Option Code: 226