The Bachelor of Science in Toxicology degree is comprised of three tiers of biological and toxicological study.
Tier I is a three-semester introductory Biological Systems course that is the foundation of the toxicology major and includes topics in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, evolution, organism diversity, the structure and foundation of multicellular organisms, and populations, community, and ecosystem ecology.
Tier II centers on the three major levels of toxicological investigation: the cell, the organism, and the environment. Students take three advanced toxicology courses, one at each level of investigation, beginning with Principles of Toxicology (organismal) and proceeding to Analysis and Remediation of Environmental Problems (environmental) and Cellular Toxicology (cellular).
Tier III focuses on the selection of one of these three investigation levels as a track in which to specialize. Students select two additional advanced biology and/or chemistry electives within their track.
Interwoven throughout the curriculum is a two-semester course sequence focusing on scientific communication. The final course in the sequence, Advanced Scientific Communication, serves as a capstone in which students demonstrate integration of their learning. It is highly recommended that students take at least one semester of research (SCI 250) as well.
All biology courses, toxicology courses and courses with a prefix of “SCI” for the major programs must be completed with a grade of C- or better to satisfy the program requirements. Similarly, all courses within each track must also be completed with a minimum grade of C-.