Physiology is the study of function of living organisms, primarily plants and animals. The field studies cells, tissues, organs, and the whole organism. To understand function, a mechanistic approach is used to integrate the cell level to the whole organism. The study of animal behavior and physiology go hand and hand in addressing the functional mechanisms which regulate behavior. This track will prepare preprofessionals in health science areas (MD, DO, DDS, and PT), researchers in the function of animals and plants (MS /PhD), and ecologists.
12 upper-level guided elective hours out of the required 13-15 hours of guided electives must be completed from the courses listed below. Of those 12 hours, a maximum of 3 hours can be independent research (BIO 394 /BIO 395 /BIO 397 ). The remaining 1-3 credit hours may come from the list of approved electives for the general biology track, which may include an additional 3 hours of independent research (BIO 394 /BIO 395 /BIO 397 ). A maximum of 6 credit hours of independent research can be counted toward the Biology degree. Of the 13-15 hours of total upper-level electives required, 9 credit hours must have a BIO prefix.