Bioscience

Bachelor of Science Degree

The Biology Department offers a baccalaureate in Bioscience designed to produce versatile graduates prepared for a wide range of positions in the rapidly developing bioscience field or for entry into graduate or professional programs in the life and health sciences. This program combines a strong foundation in the biological sciences and supporting subjects (emphasizing both theoretical concepts and hands-on laboratory methods) with sequences of Technical Electives that enable the student to acquire advanced preparation in one or more applications of bioscience. Technical Electives are selected with advisement according to the objectives of the individual student, and can be drawn from higher level Biology courses or from other academic majors at the College, thus providing the opportunity to gain breadth and depth in a variety of disciplines.

The Biology faculty are committed to supporting student learning in the classroom and laboratory, and to fostering student scholarly activity. Recommended students in Bioscience have the opportunity to gain work experience in an elective credit-bearing internship. This can be through placement into a pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, or cosmetic manufacturing facility, forensic laboratory, genetic testing laboratory, veterinary facility, research laboratory, or other bioscience-related institution off campus, or by invitation into an on-campus credit-bearing research internship under the mentorship of a Biology faculty member.

Typical Employment Opportunities and Graduate/Professional School Options

Examples of career paths and graduate/professional school opportunities for which this program can provide preparation are presented below, with sequences of Technical Electives that are recommended to provide the background necessary to pursue these career or postgraduate career goals:

Bioinformatics

(computer-based mapping and comparison of genomic and other biologically-derived data, with applications such as predicting the function of gene products and developing pharmacogenomic treatments of disease): job titles include Scientific Curator, Gene Analyst, Protein Analyst, Structural Analyst, Molecular Modeler, Biostatistician, Pharmacogenetician. Recommended Technical Electives: Computer Concepts/Problem Solving, Foundations of Computer Programming I & II, UNIX Operating System, Database, Perl Programming

Biopharmaceutical

(pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical production, ranging from fermentation and raw material extraction to processing and finishing): job titles include Compounding Supervisor, Process Development Associate, Production Planning Scheduler, Quality Assurance Auditor, Quality Control Analyst, Regulatory Affairs Specialist. Recommended Technical Electives: Management Theory & Practices, Contemporary Business Communications, Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Biopharmaceutical Regulation, Validation & Regulatory Affairs

Bioscience Laboratory Research & Analysis

(life sciences research support, biotechnology research & development, FDA regulated industry production): job titles include Bioscience Laboratory Associate, Bioscience Laboratory Technician, Food Quality Laboratory Technician, Microbiologist, Development Technician, Quality Control Receiving Inspector. Recommended Technical Electives: Organic Chemistry I & II, Biochemistry, Lab Management & Informatics, Laboratory Research/Education

Graduate/Professional School Admissions:

for those students specifically seeking entry into graduate programs in the life sciences or into professional programs in the health sciences, a sequence of Technical Electives can be chosen to earn the academic credentials necessary to meet admissions requirements of such programs. Recommended Technical Electives: Calculus I with Applications, College Physics I & II, Organic Chemistry I & II, Biochemistry. (See Pre-Health Professions Advisement on the Farmingdale State College website.)

For incoming freshman, an average of 87 and an 80 or higher on Living Environment/Biology Regents, 75 or higher on Chemistry Regents, and 75 or higher on Algebra II Regents. For transfer students, a GPA of 3.0 and a C or better in College Algebra (or Algebra 2 from high school) and a B- or better in all science courses, which must include at least one college level biology and one college level chemistry or at least two semesters of college level biology.

Note that training and licensure in Molecular Diagnostics (Molecular Pathology) is available through the BS in Medical Laboratory Science rather than through Bioscience.

Bioscience (BS) Program Outcomes:

Graduates will be knowledgeable in the biological fields relevant to biotechnology, including genetics, cell biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology and microbiology, as well as organismal biology, ecology, or evolution.
Graduates will meet the prerequisite requirements to enter various health professions and biology related graduate programs.
Graduates will demonstrate mastery of basic laboratory skills, familiarity with the operation of modern instrumentation and adherence to laboratory safety standards.
Graduates will be able to apply the scientific method, design controlled experiments, and analyze experimentally derived data.
Graduates will have the ability to effectively seek out and evaluate scientific information.
Graduates will be able communicate scientific information effectively by written, graphical, and verbal means.

Admission to Farmingdale State College - State University of New York is based on the qualifications of the applicant without regard to age, sex, marital or military status, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.

Biology | Dr. Lauren Price | bioscience@farmingdale.edu | 934-420-2175

Fall 2026

Subject to revision

College Requirement	(1 credit)
FYE 101 First Year Experience*	1

Liberal Arts and Sciences	35 credits
EGL 101 Composition I: College Writing (GE)	3
EGL 102 Composition II: Writing About Literature	3
CHM 152 General Chemistry Principles I (GE)	4
CHM 153 General Chemistry Principles II (GE)	4
MTH 110 Statistics (GE)	3
Humanities (GE)	3
The Arts (GE)	3
US History and Civic Engagement/World History and Global Awareness (GE)	3
World Languages (GE)	3
Social and Behavioral Science (GE)	3
Oral Communication	3

Bioscience Core	36-37 credits
BIO 130 Biological Principles I	4
BIO 131 Biological Principles II	4
BIO 210 Introduction to Bioscience	3
BIO 212 Bioscience Laboratory Practices	2
300-level Ecology or Evolution or Organismal Biology core course. (Chosen from Approved Technical Electives by advisement)	3 - 4
BIO 316 General Microbiology or BIO 318 Medical Microbiology	4
BIO 343 Principles of Genetics	3
BIO 344L Principles of Genetics Lab	1
BIO 345 Introduction to Bioinformatics	3
BIO 348 Cell Biology	3
BIO 349L Cell Biology Lab	1
BIO 441 Molecular Biology	5

Support Courses	11-12 credits
BCS 102 Computer Concepts/Applications OR BCS 160 Computers, Society and Technology	3
CHM 260 Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry OR CHM 270 Organic Chemistry	4-5
MTH 117 Precalculus with Applications OR MTH 129 Precalculus or higher	4

Technical Electives**	25-35 credits
Free Electives (300-level or higher)	12 credits

Curriculum Summary

*FYE 101 First Year Experience is required for all first time full time students

**Technical Electives must include at least 1 course at the 400-level earning at least 3 credits, and 2-3 courses at the 300-level or above earning a total of at least 7 credits (with all appropriate prerequisites satisfied); the remaining 15-25 credits can be at any level, although additional upper division courses may be selected to fulfill 45 upper division credit SUNY requirement)

All required courses in the Bioscience program are eligible to be satisfied by transfer credits. The courses must be deemed equivalent by the department Chair (refer to the course equivalency chart on the Transfer Services website).

At this time PLA (Prior Learning Assessment) does not satisfy any courses offered by the Biology Department.

Degree Type: BS
Total Required Credits: 120-132

Please refer to the General Education, Applied Learning, and Writing Intensive requirement sections of the College Catalog and consult with your advisor to ensure that graduation requirements are satisfied.

As a part of the SUNY General Education Framework, all first-time full time Freshman at Farmingdale State College (FSC) beginning Fall 2023, are required to develop knowledge and skills in Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ). Students will be able to fulfill this requirement at FSC by taking a specially designated DEISJ course that has been developed by faculty and approved by the DEISJ Review Board. DEISJ-approved courses may meet other General Education Knowledge and Skills areas and/or core competencies and thus be dually designated. DEISJ-approved courses may also earn other special designations such as those for Applied Learning or Writing Intensive.

Notes:
1. One Writing Intensive course and one Applied Learning course in any of the above courses is required for graduation.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 45 credits of 300- or 400- level courses to graduate.
3. Technical Electives may be chosen from selected courses in the departments of Anthropology (ANT), Biology (BIO), Business (BUS), Chemistry (CHM), Computer Systems (BCS), Horticulture (HOR), Industrial Technology (IND), Mathematics (MTH), Medical Laboratory Science (MLS), Physics (PHY), and Psychology (PSY). Courses which satisfy technical elective requirements are listed in the Bioscience Student Advisement Sheet.
4. To continue in the Bioscience BS degree program, a grade of C- or better must be maintained in every Biology and Chemistry course that serve as prerequisites for other courses in the Bioscience major. Earning a grade of less than C- in two required Biology and/or Chemistry courses will result in suspension from the Bioscience curriculum for at least one year. If a student fails to attend the first three laboratory sessions in a course, they may be disenrolled from the course (both lecture and lab, as applicable). Exceptions to these policies can only be made by the Chair of the Biology Department when extenuating circumstances exist.