Freshman Guide to Fields of Concentration

Most medical schools do not insist on an undergraduate major in Biology, nevertheless future doctors cram into the field as the best preparation for a medical career.

The student interested in getting a more liberal education can still concentrate to Biology and find enough leeway over the regular six course requirement to taste many other fields.

Within the field itself however the restrictions are rigid. Biology I remains the foundation. The necessary courses in physics and chemistry are somewhat compensated by the omission of a mathematics requirement. Variety is also a requisite: the student must offer one half course in botany, zoology, and physiology.

A Biology concentrator is wise to tuck away as many of the basic courses as possible in his first two years, since almost all of the advanced courses are bound by chains of prerequisites.

Once the regular requirements are completed, only one and one-half additional courses in Biology or Paleontology are necessary. Honors candidates must offer one and one-half courses over the quota. No tutorial is available in the field, but an introduction to Research course under individual instruction prepares the candidate with a basis for his thesis work.

There are no general or divisional examinations for honors or non-honors Bio concentrators. However, an honors candidate may be required to take an oral examination should the quality of his thesis or general course work be in doubt.

Long afternoons in the laboratories are ameliorated by the knowledge that the University laboratories are among the most modern in the world