Dec 05, 2025  
2025-2027 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2025-2027 Undergraduate Catalog

Biology, Biotechnology Concentration, B.S.


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Biotechnology is a collection of techniques that uses living organisms or substances from those organisms for specific applications. Individuals with training in biotechnology can work in a variety of jobs in industrial, government, and academic settings. These careers may be in research, product development, production, quality control, technical writing, sales, education, or administration. Students in the biology program at Shippensburg University may choose the concentration in biotechnology. Students enrolled in this program will obtain a broad background in biology, chemistry, and physics as well as gain substantial biotechnology laboratory experience that includes the cloning and manipulation of DNA, immunochemical analyses, and cell culture. Students interested in pre-forensics should take 7-8 credits of suggested Criminal Justice courses.

Students in the biotechnology concentration must maintain at least a 2.5 QPA in their major and overall program through graduation. Students who are withdrawn from this concentration because their QPA has fallen below the minimum 2.5 may reapply when they reattain the minimum QPA.

Credit Requirements*


  • General Education: 47 credits
  • Major Requirements: 59-61 credits
  • Free Electives: 12-14 credits
  • Total Credits to Graduate: 120 credits

* All undergraduate degree programs require a minimum of 120 credits.  Some courses meet multiple requirements, but are only counted once toward the 120 credit total required to graduate.

Upper Division Electives (10 crs.)


Experiential Elective (3 crs.)


Please note only 3 credits of research or internship may count as biology electives. Credits in excess of that number count as free electives.

Additional Biology Electives (3 crs.)


Electives should be selected with advisement. Biology credits should total at least 32.

Allied Fields (27-29 crs.)


General Education


General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements Specific for this major:

Advising Notes:


  1. Students should begin either their math sequence or chemistry coursework in their 1st year, in addition to taking BIOL161 and BIOL162.
  2. Physics often fits in best during the junior year.
  3. Students lacking strong chemistry/math backgrounds could consider taking CHEM105 before CHEM121.

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