Specific courses must be passed with at least a C- by each benchmark review AND while meeting all requirements for the Biological Sciences Limited Enrollment Program (LEP).
Students who were directly admitted and fail to meet the performance review criteria will be dismissed from the major and may not reapply.
HAVE A QUESTION? FIND AN ANSWER:
⮑ Go-to section ⓔ of Answers-FAQ
Benchmark ONE «
DIRECTLY ADMITTED STUDENTS
Benchmark review end of 3rd semester or 45 degree credits (whichever comes second)
TRANSFER STUDENTS (& internal UMD major changes)
Benchmark review before entry into program (see bsci.umd.edu/declare for more information)
MATH135 (OR) MATH140 [Discrete Math or Calculus I]
BSCI160 + BSCI161 [Ecology & Evolution w/ lab]
BSCI170 + BSCI171 [Molecular & Cell Biology w/ lab]
CHEM131 + CHEM132 [General Chemistry I w/ lab]
CHEM231 + CHEM232 [Organic Chemistry I w/ lab]
Benchmark TWO ««
DIRECTLY ADMITTED STUDENTS
Benchmark review end of 5th semester or 75 degree credits (whichever comes second)
TRANSFER STUDENTS (& internal UMD major changes)
Benchmark review end of 2nd semester in program or 75 degree credits (whichever comes second)
MATH135 + MATH136 (OR) MATH140 + MATH141 (OR) MATH140 + MATH135 [2 semesters of Math]
BSCI160 + BSCI161 [Ecology & Evolution w/ lab]
BSCI170 + BSCI171 [Molecular & Cell Biology w/ lab]
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BSCI207 [Principles of Bio III, Organismal Biology]
BSCI222 [Principles of Genetics w/ lab]
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CHEM131 + CHEM132 (AND) CHEM231 + CHEM232 (AND) CHEM241 + CHEM242 (AND) CHEM271 + CHEM272 [4 semesters of Chemistry w/ labs]
Limited Enrollment Program (LEP)
ACADEMIC POLICIES
1. Only one course from benchmark one may be repeated to earn the required grade (of C- or better) and that course may only be repeated once.
2. When more than one course can satisfy a benchmark requirement, taking a second course from the list will count as a repeat. Please note that a grade of "W" is considered an attempt and must be repeated.
3. Students may apply once to an LEP.
4. Students who were directly admitted and fail to meet the performance review criteria will be dismissed from the major and may not reapply.
5. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 after admission to an LEP. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the major.
6. Any student denied admission or dismissed from the major may appeal in writing to the individual LEP.
Degree requirements that were attempted at UMD must be completed at UMD.*
APPLICABLE TO MAJOR BSCI, CHEM, MATH, PHYS, and BCHM COURSES:
* Requests for Permission to Enroll (PTE) at another institution are processed and ultimately decided by the College of CMNS, not the Biological Sciences Program.
CMNS PTE POLICY #4 - Requests to repeat a course at another institution once it has been attempted at UMD will be automatically denied. If a student wishes to do this, then they may email the Office of Student Services at cmnsque@umd.edu to request an appeal form.
The appeal form is a second request. It does not guarantee permission to enroll.
Repeat Course Guidelines
Apply to all courses that may not be repeated for additional credit. These policies can also be found in the Academic Catalog.
1. The following students are required to follow the repeat guidelines effective Fall 1990:
All new freshmen who began at University of Maryland, College Park Fall 1990 and after AND Transfer students from schools other than Maryland community colleges who began at University of Maryland, College Park, Fall 1990 and after. This includes transfer students from another University of Maryland institution.
2. There is a limit to the number of times a student may repeat a course. Students may have one repeat of any course in which they earned an A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F, P, S, W, NG or Audit; they cannot be registered (after the schedule adjustment period) for any given course more than twice. A student’s dean’s office may grant an exception allowing an additional course repeat. In this case, students must present a plan for successfully completing the course. All attempts will be counted toward the total limit for repeatable credits. Students may not choose the Pass-Fail option when re-registering for a course in which a grade of I has been noted.
3. Students may repeat no more than 18 credits. Additionally, if a student withdraws from all courses during a semester, those courses are not included in this limit.
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FRESHMAN FORGIVENESS POLICY
4. The grade point average will include all attempts at a given course that result in a grade of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, or F. However, to help freshmen and transfer students adjust to the University of Maryland, College Park, the following two exceptions allow for the cumulative GPA to be calculated so that only the higher grade is included:
When the repeated course was taken within the student's first semester at the University of Maryland, College Park,
OR
When the repeated course was taken within the student's first 24 credit hours attempted (including transfer credits earned after high school) or within the semester during which the student reached the 24th credit hour attempted. Advanced Placement (AP) Exam credits do not count toward the 24-credit count. Read more under the section titled New Student Provision on this University Policies webpage.
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5. Any grade earned in prior attempts of a repeated course will appear on the student's transcript, regardless of whether the grade is dropped from, or included in, the cumulative grade point average.
6. Repeat by transfer: If a student repeats by transfer a course that was taken before or during the semester in which the student reached 24 credits attempted (including transfer credits) and the transfer grade is higher, then the original grade in the course will be excluded from the GPA calculation.
If the course was taken after the semester in which the student reached 24 credits attempted, the original grade remains in the GPA calculation.
CMNS PTE POLICY #4 - Requests to repeat a course at another institution once it has been attempted at UMD will be automatically denied. If a student wishes to do this, then they may email the Office of Student Services at cmnsque@umd.edu to request an appeal form.
The appeal form is a second request. It does not guarantee permission to enroll.
