The BS in cell and molecular biology curriculum lays the groundwork for strong scientific training with basic course work in mathematics, chemistry, and physics, relevant to biology. Students pursue a focused program of study emphasizing processes operating at the cellular and molecular levels of biological systems, including specialty courses in molecular cell biology and advanced genomics. Students choose from a range of advanced electives that delve deeply into molecular aspects of biology.
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.
University-Wide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the University-Wide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Cell and Molecular Biology Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to College | ||
| BIOL 1000 | Biology at Northeastern | 1 |
| Introduction to Experiential Learning | ||
| 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 |
| Genetics | ||
| BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | Genetics and Molecular Biology and Lab for BIOL 2301 | 5 |
| Project Lab | ||
| BIOL 2309 | Biology Project Lab | 4 |
| Inquiries | ||
| BIOL 2299 | Inquiries in Biological Sciences | 4 |
| Biochemistry | ||
| BIOL 3611 and BIOL 3612 | Biochemistry and Lab for BIOL 3611 | 5 |
| Molecular Biology | ||
| BIOL 4707 | Cell and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 5591 | Advanced Genomics | 4 |
| Intermediate/Advanced Cell and Molecular Biology Electives | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8-9 | |
| Current Topics in Cell and Molecular Biology | ||
| Microbiology and Lab for BIOL 3421 | ||
| Bioethics | ||
| Neural Systems and Behavior | ||
| Mammalian Systems Physiology | ||
| Developmental Neurobiology | ||
| Biological Clocks | ||
| Biological Electron Microscopy | ||
| Endocrinology | ||
| Stem Cells and Regeneration | ||
| Inventions in Microbial Biotechnology | ||
| Advanced Microbiology | ||
| Medical Microbiology | ||
| Biological Imaging | ||
| Immunology | ||
| Evolution | ||
| Comparative Neurobiology | ||
| Cell and Molecular Biology of Aging | ||
| Immunotherapies of Cancer and Infectious Disease | ||
| Genetics and Evolution in Action | ||
Research | ||
One of the two Intermediate/Advanced Electives can be a research course: | ||
| Research | ||
| Internship | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
Biology Capstone
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Please complete one of the following options to fulfill the capstone requirement: | 1-4 | |
| Biology Capstone | ||
| Biology Research Capstone (concurrent with BIOL 4991, which may be used toward Intermediate/Advanced Cell and Molecular Biology Electives) | ||
| Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
Supporting Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | ||
| MATH 1251 | Calculus and Differential Equations for Biology 1 | 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 | ||
| Intermediate or Advanced Science | ||
| Complete one course from the following: | 4-5 | |
BIOL 2301 to BIOL 5999 | ||
CHEM 2311 to CHEM 5999 | ||
EEMB 2290 to EEMB 5999 | ||
ENVR 2310 to ENVR 5999 | ||
MATH 2280 to MATH 5999 | ||
PHYS 2303 to PHYS 5999 | ||
PSYC 2290 to PSYC 5999 | ||
Cell and Molecular Biology Major Credit/GPA Requirement
Complete 79 semester hours in the major with a cumulative GPA of 2.000.
Due to overlap in course content, double majoring in cell and molecular biology and biology, biochemistry, marine biology or behavioral neuroscience is not permitted.
Program Requirement
136 total semester hours required
Please note that these are sample plans of study. While the requirements are the same for all students, individual schedules may vary.
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 1107 | 4 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | Vacation | |
| BIOL 1108 | 1 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | ||
| CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| CHEM 1162 | 1 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| MATH 1251 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| BIOL 1000 | 1 | ||||||
| 19 | 17 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENVR 2500 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | BIOL 3611 | 4 | Co-op | |
| ENVR 2501 | 1 | PHYS 1145 | 4 | BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||
| CHEM 2313 | 4 | PHYS 1146 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| CHEM 2314 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 18 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | BIOL 4707 | 4 | Co-op | ||
| Elective | 4 | (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| PHYS 1147 | 4 | ||||||
| PHYS 1148 | 1 | ||||||
| ENGW 3307 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | 18 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Co-op | BIOL 5591 | 4 | |||||
| BIOL 4701 | 4 | ||||||
| Intermediate/advanced science elective | 4 | ||||||
| (Intermediate/advanced science elective lab) | 1 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 17 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 138 | |||||||
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| AP credit for biology | 5 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | Vacation | |
| BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 1162 | 1 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | ||||
| MATH 1251 | 4 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| BIOL 1000 | 1 | ||||||
| 23 | 18 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENVR 2500 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | BIOL 3611 | 4 | ||
| ENVR 2501 | 1 | Elective | 4 | BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||
| CHEM 2313 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 2314 | 1 | ||||||
| PHYS 1145 | 4 | ||||||
| PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||||
| EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 4707 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Intermediate/advanced science elective | 4 | ||
| PHYS 1147 | 4 | (Intermediate/advanced science elective lab) | 1 | ||||
| PHYS 1148 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| ENGW 3307 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| BIOL 5591 | 4 | BIOL 4701 | 4 | ||||
| Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | ||||
| (Intermediate/advanced science elective lab) | 1 | (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 17 | 17 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 138 | |||||||
Five Years, Three Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 1107 | 4 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | Vacation | |
| BIOL 1108 | 1 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | ||
| CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| CHEM 1162 | 1 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| MATH 1251 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| BIOL 1000 | 1 | ||||||
| 19 | 17 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENVR 2500 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | BIOL 3611 | 4 | Co-op | |
| ENVR 2501 | 1 | PHYS 1145 | 4 | BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||
| CHEM 2313 | 4 | PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||
| CHEM 2314 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||
| 18 | 18 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | BIOL 4707 | 4 | Vacation | Co-op | |||
| PHYS 1147 | 4 | ||||||
| PHYS 1148 | 1 | ||||||
| ENGW 3307 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | Vacation | Co-op | |||
| (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | ||||||
| Intermediate/advanced science elective | 4 | ||||||
| Intermediate/advanced science elective lab) | 1 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 5 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| Co-op | BIOL 5591 | 4 | |||||
| BIOL 4701 | 4 | ||||||
| Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | ||||||
| (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 17 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 138 | |||||||
Five Years, Three Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| AP credit for biology | 5 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | Vacation | |
| BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
| CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 1162 | 1 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | ||||
| MATH 1251 | 4 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| BIOL 1000 | 1 | ||||||
| 23 | 18 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ENVR 2500 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | BIOL 3611 | 4 | ||
| ENVR 2501 | 1 | BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||||
| CHEM 2313 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| CHEM 2314 | 1 | ||||||
| PHYS 1145 | 4 | ||||||
| PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||||
| EESC 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 4707 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Vacation | |||
| PHYS 1147 | 4 | ||||||
| PHYS 1148 | 1 | ||||||
| ENGW 3307 | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| BIOL 5591 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Vacation | |||
| Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | ||||||
| (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Year 5 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| BIOL 4701 | 4 | Intermediate/advanced science elective | 4 | ||||
| Intermediate/advanced CMB elective | 4 | (Intermediate/advanced science elective lab) | 1 | ||||
| (Intermediate/advanced CMB elective lab) | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 13 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 138 | |||||||