The Biomedical Sciences degree is designed to prepare students who have the goal of admission to post-graduate health professional schools. The degree is designed to fulfill the prerequisites required for students pursuing advanced degrees in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician assistant, biomedical sciences, etc. 

A minimum grade of "C-" or better required in all courses in the program. Biology Program minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation.

General Education

In addition to the General Education requirements listed on this page, students must satisfy all additional University requirements, including the College-Level Communication and Computation, Multicultural, and Foreign Language requirements. With appropriate planning and coordination with an academic advisor, students may satisfy some of the general University requirements through the General Education curriculum. For a complete listing of general degree requirements, refer to the State University Requirements section of this catalog.

General Education Curriculum:

Students should discuss their professional goals with their advisor before selecting general education courses. The following general education courses are recommended.

For Pharmacy School, select the following:

For Medical School, select the following:

Multicultural Requirement

Civic Literacy Requirement

The 2017 Florida Legislature amended Section 1007.25, Florida Statutes, to require students initially entering a State University System (SUS) and/or Florida College System (FCS) institution in 2018-2019 and thereafter to demonstrate competency in civic literacy. The 2021 Legislature further amended Florida Statutes, requiring students to complete both a civic literacy course and an exam. As a result, there are three cohorts of students currently matriculating at Florida public institutions subject to varying requirements. As demonstrated in the table below, the exact civic literacy requirements are based on the academic term in which a student first enrolled in a Florida public institution.

Additionally, the 2021 Legislature made two additional exceptions: approving the use of accelerated mechanisms for meeting the course competency requirement and exempting high school students who pass the Florida Civic Literacy Exam in high school from the postsecondary exam requirement. These two changes are in effect for Cohort 3.

There are multiple ways to satisfy this requirement. Students should work with their academic advisor to determine which option is best for their degree requirements/degree plan. 

Additional information can be found on our Civic Literacy website, SUS regulation BOG 8.006 and Florida Statute s.1007.25(4,a-b).

Mathematics Pathway

Students are advised to complete the following courses to fulfill the mathematics pathway that aligns with the mathematics skills needed for success in their program and their career goals. Students should refer to their academic advisor for questions about the math pathway for their program. For information about this requirement, refer to the catalog page for Mathematics Pathways. These courses may also fulfill requirements for General Education and Common Prerequisites. 

Common Prerequisites

State-mandated common prerequisites must be completed prior to graduation, but are not required for admission to the program. See the Common Prerequisite Manual for course substitutions from Florida colleges and universities.

A grade of “C-” or better is required in each of the Common Prerequisite courses.

*

Common prerequisites should be used to satisfy 9 credits of Natural Sciences and 6 credits of Mathematics for General Education Course requirements.

Major Required Courses

Major GPA Calculation

The upper-division courses (3000-4000 level) with the following prefixes will be used in calculating the major grade point average: BCH, BOT, BSC, HSA, HSC, MCB, MLS, PCB, and ZOO.

Upper-Division Electives

9 semester hours must come from Area 1.
9 semester hours must come from Area 2.
Must select 2 labs from any area part of the upper-division electives requirement.

*

Indicates lecture is a concurrent prerequisite.

1-3 credits of directed independent study (DIS) may count towards any area electives and lab requirement.

Accelerated Bachelor's (BS) in Biomedical Sciences /Master's (MS) in Biology Option

Minimum Requirements For Admission

• Overall undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or better
• Undergraduate Major GPA of 3.5 or better
• A grade of "B" (3.0) or better in each Bachelor of Sciences in Biomedical Sciences core courses
• Two letters of recommendation 

Process

A prospective student who meets the minimum requirements for admission for the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (BS/MS) program must schedule a meeting with their undergraduate advisor and the Biology graduate coordinator to discuss and develop a degree plan for the student's Accelerated BS/MS program. The student must then submit an application for the Accelerated BS/MS Biology Program and two letters of recommendation to the Biology graduate coordinator.

Program Requirements

Students must have completed 75 undergraduate credit hours, including credits earned from advanced placement, prior to applying to the Accelerated BS/MS program in Biology. Transfer students must have completed a minimum of two semesters and at least 24 credit hours at the University of West Florida prior to application to the Accelerated BS/MS program. Admission into the Accelerated BS/MS program does not guarantee admission into the Biology MS program upon completion of the Biology BS undergraduate degree. Students must still submit an Express Admission application for the Biology MS program. Students who are a part of the BS/MS program cannot be provisionally or conditionally admitted into the Biology MS program. 

Upon admission into the Master’s in Biology program, 12 graduate credit hours completed as an undergraduate student will count for 12 semester hours of coursework for the Master’s program. Students in the Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program in Biology must earn a grade of "B" (3.0/4.0) or better in each of the graduate-level courses that are being applied to both degrees. Courses completed with a grade of "B-" or below cannot be applied to the Master’s degree. Any dual-listed 4000/5000 level Biology courses are permitted. The student must take the class at the 5000 level to count for accelerated credit. 

If a student in the program completes the Bachelor’s degree requirements with an overall GPA of less than 3.25/4.0, the student is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours to both degrees. A student who becomes ineligible to continue participating in or withdraws from the Accelerated BS/MS program cannot apply any graduate credit hours toward both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the credit hours towards completion of the BS degree or toward a future Master’s degree).

Students who are enrolled in the program are eligible for graduate assistantship positions only after completing the Bachelor’s degree. 

Biomedical Sciences Program Requirements

General Education

In addition to the General Education requirements listed on this page, students must satisfy all additional University requirements, including the College-Level Communication and Computation, Multicultural, and Foreign Language requirements. With appropriate planning and coordination with an academic advisor, students may satisfy some of the general University requirements through the General Education curriculum. For a complete listing of general degree requirements, refer to the State University Requirements section of this catalog.

General Education Curriculum:

Multicultural Requirement 

Civic Literacy Requirement

The 2017 Florida Legislature amended Section 1007.25, Florida Statutes, to require students initially entering a State University System (SUS) and/or Florida College System (FCS) institution in 2018-2019 and thereafter to demonstrate competency in civic literacy. The 2021 Legislature further amended Florida Statutes, requiring students to complete both a civic literacy course and an exam. As a result, there are three cohorts of students currently matriculating at Florida public institutions subject to varying requirements. As demonstrated in the table below, the exact civic literacy requirements are based on the academic term in which a student first enrolled in a Florida public institution.

Additionally, the 2021 Legislature made two additional exceptions: approving the use of accelerated mechanisms for meeting the course competency requirement and exempting high school students who pass the Florida Civic Literacy Exam in high school from the postsecondary exam requirement. These two changes are in effect for Cohort 3.

There are multiple ways to satisfy this requirement. Students should work with their academic advisor to determine which option is best for their degree requirements/degree plan. 

Additional information can be found on our Civic Literacy website, SUS regulation BOG 8.006 and Florida Statute s.1007.25(4,a-b).

Mathematics Pathway

Students are advised to complete the following courses to fulfill the mathematics pathway that aligns with the mathematics skills needed for success in their program and their career goals. Students should refer to their academic advisor for questions about the math pathway for their program. For information about this requirement, refer to the catalog page for Mathematics Pathways. These courses may also fulfill requirements for General Education and Common Prerequisites. 

Common Prerequisites

State-mandated common prerequisites must be completed prior to graduation, but are not required for admission to the program. See the Common Prerequisite Manual for course substitutions from Florida colleges and universities.

A grade of "C-" or better is required in each of the common prerequisite courses.

*

Common prerequisites that should be used to satisfy 9 hours of Natural Sciences and 6 hours of Mathematics for General Education course requirements. 

Major Required Courses

Major GPA Calculation

The upper-division courses (3000-4000 level) with the following prefixes will be used in calculating the major grade point average: BCH, BOT, BSC, HSA, HSC, MCB, MLS, PCB, and ZOO.

Graduate Level Courses

*

Indicates the lecture is a concurrent prerequisite.

+

1-3 semester hours of directed independent study at the 5000-level may be applied to electives for any area and will count towards the lab requirement. Students should confer with an advisor when selecting electives.