The Biological Sciences major is a Limited Enrollment Program (LEP), meaning there are gateway requirements that students need to complete BEFORE they can apply and become admitted into the major. 

Learn how to switch to the Biological Sciences major at bsci.umd.edu/switch

NOTE: If you are a high school student or a student with fewer than 12 semester hours or 18 quarter hours of university-level credit beyond secondary school, you should start by applying to the University as a Freshman Applicant. Learn more through UMD’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Get started on bsci.umd.edu/research-credit

Get started on bsci.umd.edu/chem-prep

NONE of the specializations for the Biological Sciences major can be combined with the Neuroscience (NEUR) major due to a significant overlap in the requirements for both programs.

However, the Neuroscience minor can be combined with any of the BSCI specializations (except PHNB: Physiology & Neurobiology).

Students can use the Advanced Placement Exams for GenEd Guide to assess how incoming AP ccores may be marked as academic credit. 

If a student has already sent their AP exam scores from the College Board to the University Registrar, then those credits will be processed and posted to their unofficial transcript, usually during the month of July. Students may review their unofficial transcript in Testudo.

—Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) are hired for some lower-level and upper-level biological sciences (BSCI) classes. Each UTA works under the supervision of the lab/discussion coordinator or class instructor.

UTA work varies depending on the course assignments. Duties include teaching lab or discussion sections, facilitating in-class learning activities, holding review sessions, and grading exams, papers, worksheets, and problem sets. UTAs are expected to be mature, responsible, and attentive to requirements.

UTA work requires an average of 10 hours per week, depending on the course. New UTAs will also be required to attend a weekly 1-credit teaching seminar. The stipend is determined by the current minimum wage policy at UMD and is paid as an hourly wage for 150 hours per semester. Application information is available on Canvas.

If you have questions, email DR. DANIELLE ADAMS at dadams37@umd.edu.

For other UTA opportunities in the College of CMNS, go to this webpage.

All students in the Biological Sciences major are matched with an academic advisor around mid-October or after Spring Break during their first Fall or Spring semester at the University.

Students may log in to TerpEngage—Maryland’s central advising portal—to review their matched advisor under Success Team.

If a student has yet to be matched with an academic advisor (no advisor is listed under Success Team), then they’re instructed to email any question(s) to Biological Sciences central office at bscique@umd.edu until they are matched to an academic advisor.

Students are matched with a staff advisor while working on the major’s basic program (typically first-years and sophomores), and are later reassigned to a faculty advisor based on their declared major specialization and as they begin to register for upper-level courses in the advanced program.

Current students can expect a response time of 1-3 business days (or less) for questions sent to their academic advisor via email. Please mind that University staff are not expected to work and respond to student emails during the weekends or holidays.

If it has been longer than 3 business days, and the student is still without a response, then they are instructed to:

1. Send their academic advisor another message (a follow-up in the same thread) to raise the query in their Inbox.

2. If the student is still without a response after the second attempt, then they’re advised to copy (CC) the undergraduate director of the advisor’s department on any subsequent follow-up. Refer to the Biological Sciences Directory to find the appropriate undergraduate director to copy.

—All students who are completing the major’s basic program, students with a GPA below 2.5, university athletes, and students in their first semester assigned to a faculty advisor must meet with their academic advisor for mandatory advising before they can register for upcoming courses.

Students who do not meet this criteria may not be required to meet with their academic advisor, but are encouraged to do so. Students should refer to any notes sent by their academic advisor via TerpMail or TerpEngage to confirm whether advising for the semester is mandatory.

After mandatory advising for Biological Sciences has been fulfilled, a registration block is removed from the student’s account on Testudo, allowing them to register for courses during their University-assigned registration appointment.

If TerpEngage shows your academic advisor as Not Available:

—This means that EITHER:

Your advisor has yet to set up appointment scheduling on TerpEngage.

OR

Your advisor books sessions using another platform that is NOT TerpEngage.

• Refer to any messages delivered by your academic advisor via TerpEngage Advising Note OR TerpMail to learn what to expect for academic advising.

Get started on bsci.umd.edu/register

At this time, 15-Minute drop-in advising is only offered on select dates during the Fall and Spring schedule adjustment period.

After the schedule adjustment period has ended, students are instructed to send questions to their academic advisor by email.

If the student has yet to be matched with an academic advisor (no advisor is listed under Success Team) and they cannot attend a drop-in session, then they’re instructed to email any question(s) to Biological Sciences central office at bscique@umd.edu until they are matched to an academic advisor.

For more information about 15-minute drop-in advising, go to bsci.umd.edu/advising

Current and future students get started on bsci.umd.edu/gradplan

Students may take a maximum of 17 credits per fall or spring semester, 4 credits per winter semester, and 8 credits in a single summer session under the College of CMNS Maximum Credit Limit.

A request for high credit load (credit overload) is an exception to policy that is ruled on by the College of CMNS. Exceptions to policy are only granted to students for rare and extenuating circumstances.

Students are instructed to discuss any requests for credit overload with their academic advisor during mandatory advising or via email BEFORE submitting any forms to the College of CMNS.

After the student has shared a list of specific courses with the total number of credits requested, the academic advisor will evaluate their case and then elect either of the two options below (once elected, the decision by the program is final, and students shall continue submitting the College’s petition form to process the request):

A note signed on behalf of the program in support of the student’s request for credit overload

OR

A note signed on behalf of the program that objects to the student’s request for credit overload

The student’s academic advisor is expected to document whether the Biological Sciences Program supports or objects to the request in TerpEngage.

Factors considered by the program when evaluating support or objection for a credit overload exception:

• NECESSITY OF THE EXCEPTION

• THE COMBINATION OF STEM COURSES REQUESTED

• WHETHER LEP-BENCHMARK REQUIREMENTS ARE OUTSTANDING

• STUDENTS’ FLEXIBILITY TO REPRIORITIZE COURSES IN GRAD PLAN

• ACADEMIC STANDING AND PERFORMANCE

Students are responsible for filing their request with the College of CMNS to process the petition, and the College ultimately rules on the exception.

Students who have received a note of objection from the Biological Sciences Program may still submit their request to the College using the petition form on their website. Students retain the option to appeal a request that has been denied by the College, but may only appeal once.

• Refer to this webpage to access the petition form for credit overload.

• MATH135 (Discrete Mathematics for Life Sciences) and MATH136 [Calculus for Life Sciences]. This is the preferred sequence for students who do not have MATH140 and MATH141

• MATH140 [Calculus 1] and MATH141 [Calculus 2]

• MATH140 and MATH135

• MATH130 [Calculus 1 for Life Sciences] and MATH131 [Calculus 2 for Life Sciences] (both courses are discontinued)

• MATH130 and MATH135, for students who took MATH130 before it was discontinued, but have not completed MATH131

  MATH120, MATH121, MATH220, or MATH221 do NOT count towards the Biological Sciences degree.

The PHYS131/132 requirement is effective Fall 2013.

If the student completed PHYS121 before Fall 2013, then they may complete the physics sequence by taking PHYS122.

Any student who did not start their physics sequence before Fall 2013 must take PHYS131 and PHYS132 or a more advanced physics to fulfill the degree requirement.

Students who study abroad for a Fall or Spring semester, or who are away from the University for a semester are eligible for an extension to their benchmark reviews.

If a course required for Biological Sciences has already been attempted at the University, then it needs to be completed at the University.*

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.

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.

All attempts of a course that was repeated [and the letter grade(s) earned] would remain on the student’s transcript.

If a benchmark course has not been passed with at least a C-, and the academic requirements cannot be met by the deadlines posted through Fall or Spring registration, then the student is expected to register and attempt any available repeat during a Winter or Summer Session to meet the major’s academic requirements on time.

Students are encouraged to discuss any course attempts during the Summer or Winter sessions with their academic advisor.