In the combined biology and English degree , science courses lay the groundwork for strong basic training in mathematics, chemistry, and physics that are relevant to biology. In biology courses, students broadly explore the organization and processes of life—from molecules and cells through organs and organ systems to populations, ecosystems, and evolution. In English courses, students study the diverse historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts of English, American, and other Anglophone literatures; analyze writing practices and related media; and practice a variety of approaches to the study of language, rhetoric, writing, and literature. The fields of biology and English are bridged with course work in different forms of science writing , as well as psychology and sociology courses exploring the acquisition of language and reading; the sociology of health and illness; and the environment, technology, and society.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Biology Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Introduction to College | ||
BIOL 1000 | Biology at Northeastern | 1 |
or ENGL 1000 | English at Northeastern | |
or INSC 1000 | Science at Northeastern | |
Experiential Learning Introduction | ||
EESC 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op | 1 |
Required Biology | ||
Foundations | ||
BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | Foundations of Biology and Lab for BIOL 1107 | 5 |
Inquiries | ||
BIOL 2299 | Inquiries in Biological Sciences | 4 |
Genetics | ||
BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | Genetics and Molecular Biology and Lab for BIOL 2301 | 5 |
Project Lab | ||
BIOL 2309 | Biology Project Lab | 4 |
Biochemistry | ||
BIOL 3611 and BIOL 3612 | Biochemistry and Lab for BIOL 3611 | 5 |
Biology Elective
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Intermediate/Advanced Biology | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
BIOL 2327 to BIOL 3999 | ||
BIOL 4705 to BIOL 5999 | ||
Organismal and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
Human Parasitology | ||
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
Current Topics in Organismal and Population Biology | ||
Ecology and Lab for EEMB 2302 | ||
Introduction to Evolution | ||
Marine Biology and Lab for EEMB 2700 | ||
Conservation Biology | ||
Disease Ecology | ||
Animal Behavior |
Supporting Courses for Biology
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Mathematics | ||
MATH 1341 | Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering | 4 |
Statistics | ||
ENVR 2500 and ENVR 2501 | Biostatistics and Lab for ENVR 2500 | 5 |
Chemistry | ||
General Chemistry | ||
CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | General Chemistry for Science Majors and Lab for CHEM 1161 and Recitation for CHEM 1161 | 5 |
Organic Chemistry | ||
CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab for CHEM 2311 | 5 |
CHEM 2313 and CHEM 2314 | Organic Chemistry 2 and Lab for CHEM 2313 | 5 |
Physics | ||
Physics 1 | ||
Complete one of the following lecture/lab pairs. PHYS 1145/PHYS 1146 is recommended: | 5 | |
Physics for Life Sciences 1 and Lab for PHYS 1145 | ||
Physics for Engineering 1 and Lab for PHYS 1151 and Interactive Learning Seminar for PHYS 1151 | ||
Physics 1 and Lab for PHYS 1161 | ||
Physics 2 | ||
Complete one of the following lecture/lab pairs. PHYS 1147/PHYS 1148 is recommended: | 5 | |
Physics for Life Sciences 2 and Lab for PHYS 1147 | ||
Physics for Engineering 2 and Lab for PHYS 1155 and Interactive Learning Seminar for PHYS 1155 | ||
Physics 2 and Lab for PHYS 1165 |
English Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Foundational Courses | ||
ENGL 1400 | Introduction to Literary Studies | 4 |
ENGL 1160 | Introduction to Rhetoric | 4 |
or ENGL 1410 | Introduction to Research on Writing | |
ENGL 1700 | Global Literatures 1 | 4 |
or ENGL 1701 | Global Literatures 2 |
English Electives
Two of the courses chosen from the lists below must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Diversity | ||
Complete one course from the following. You may reuse this course to fulfill an additional English requirement below. | 4 | |
Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
Early African-American Literature | ||
Postcolonial Literature | ||
American Women Writers | ||
Asian-American Literature | ||
Writing in Global Contexts | ||
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | ||
Literary Periods | ||
Pre-19th Century Literature | ||
Complete one course from the following: | 4 | |
Introduction to Shakespeare | ||
Early African-American Literature | ||
Early Literatures | ||
17th- and 18th-Century Literatures | ||
Milton | ||
Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | ||
or JWSS 3678 | Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity | |
19th/20th/21st Century Literature | ||
Complete one of the following courses: | 4 | |
19th Century | ||
The American Renaissance | ||
19th-Century Literatures | ||
Topics in 19th-Century American Literature | ||
Emerson and Thoreau | ||
19th-Century Major Figure | ||
20th/21st Century | ||
The Graphic Novel | ||
The Modern Bestseller | ||
Irish Literary Culture (Abroad) | ||
20th- and 21st-Century Literatures | ||
Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | ||
or JWSS 3685 | Modern and Contemporary Jewish Literature | |
20th- and 21st-Century Major Figure | ||
Theories and Methods | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
Grammar: The Architecture of English | ||
Introduction to Rhetoric | ||
Introduction to Research on Writing | ||
Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
Rhetoric of Law | ||
The Practice and Theory of Teaching Writing | ||
Opening the Archive | ||
Narrative Medicine | ||
Introduction to Language and Linguistics | ||
Linguistic Analysis | ||
Syntax | ||
Semantics | ||
History of English | ||
Language and Gender | ||
Topics in Linguistics | ||
Comparative Course | ||
Complete one of the following courses: | 4 | |
Reading and Writing in the Digital Age | ||
British Literature to 1800 | ||
American Literature to 1865 | ||
Literature and Digital Diversity | ||
Contemporary Poetry | ||
Contemporary Fiction | ||
American Women Writers | ||
Asian-American Literature | ||
Horror Fiction | ||
Science Fiction | ||
Irish Literary Culture (Abroad) | ||
What Is Nature? | ||
Boston in Literature | ||
Film and Text (Abroad) | ||
Writing | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
Creative Writing | ||
Style and Editing | ||
Digital Writing | ||
Writing and Community Engagement | ||
Writing in Global Contexts | ||
Writing to Heal | ||
Writing for Social Media: Theory and Practice | ||
Writing Boston | ||
Creative Nonfiction | ||
Poetry Workshop | ||
Fiction Workshop | ||
Writing Seminar | ||
The Writer’s Marketplace | ||
English Electives | ||
Complete any two ENGL courses that have not already been used to fulfill another requirement. | 8 |
Integrative Courses
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Integrative English Course | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
What Is Nature? | ||
Science Writing: Origins, Ethics, and Emerging Genres | ||
Writing to Heal | ||
Technologies of Text | ||
Integrative General Biological Sciences Course | ||
Complete the following: | 4 | |
Psychology of Language |
Capstone Requirement
Complete one of the following capstone options:
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Biology Capstone | ||
Complete one of the options to fulfill the capstone requirement in biology: | 1-4 | |
Biology Capstone | ||
Biology Research Capstone (concurrent with BIOL 4991 or BIOL 4994, which may be used toward Intermediate/Advanced Biology) | ||
Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
English Capstone | ||
ENGL 4710 | Capstone Seminar | 4 |
or ENGL 4720 | Capstone Project |
Biology and English Combined Major GPA Requirement
Minimum 2.000 GPA required in all BIOL courses
Minimum 2.000 GPA required in all ENGL courses
Program Requirement
128 total semester hours required
Sample Plan of Study
Year 1 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
BIOL 1000 or ENGL 1000 | 1 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | Vacation | |
BIOL 1107 | 4 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | ||||
English Writing Elective | 4 | ||||||
CHEM 1161 | 4 | ENGL 1160 or 1410 | 4 | ||||
ENGL 1400 | 4 | ||||||
ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||||
MATH 1341 | 4 | ||||||
17 | 16 | 8 | 0 | ||||
Year 2 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
BIOL 2309 | 4 | BIOL 3611 | 4 | Intermediate/Advanced BIOL Elective with Lab | 5 | Co-op | |
CHEM 2313 | 4 | General Elective | 4 | ||||
PHYS 1145 | 4 | ||||||
EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||||
ENGL 1700 or 1701 | 4 | Literary Period 1 | 4 | ||||
English Diversity Elective | 4 | Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Elective | 4 | ||||
17 | 16 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Year 3 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
Co-op | PHYS 1147 | 4 | ENGW 3307 | 4 | Co-op | ||
English Comparative Course | 4 | PHYS 1148 | 1 | English Theories and Methods Elective | 4 | ||
Integrative Biology Course | 4 | ||||||
Literary Period 2 | 4 | ||||||
English Elective | 4 | ||||||
4 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
Year 4 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
Co-op | ENVR 2500 | 4 | |||||
ENVR 2501 | 1 | ||||||
ENVR 2502 | 0 | ||||||
BIOL or ENGL Capstone | 4 | ||||||
Integrative English Course | 4 | ||||||
English Elective | 4 | ||||||
0 | 17 | ||||||
Total Hours: 129 |