College Degree Requirements

The B. S. degree in this major is offered through the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, CALS, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, CLAS. Students often ask what the differences are for the colleges. The Department requires all major to complete identical prerequisites and core and required department electives for the degree. However, the colleges differ in university and college requirements such as foreign language proficiency, communication skills, and a few general education requirements.

CALS requires majors to complete 6 credit hours in oral and written communication and 3-4 credits in economics.

CLAS requires majors to show proficiency in a foreign language through completion of 10 credits of foreign language at the college level or through proof of proficiency. They also require an additional 3 credits in Composition and Social Behavioral skills.

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences College and University Requirements

  • Minimum of 120 credit hours. 
  • Minimum 2.5 math/science grade point average in all required math and science sequences.
  • C or higher required in all microbiology core and elective courses.
  • Minimum 2.0 grade point average overall in all work attempted at the University of Florida.  In addition, students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA for all work attempted in upper division which encompasses all courses completed after 60 hours. 
  • The last 30 hours applied to the degree must be completed at the University of Florida. 
  • Fulfillment of all university/college general education, Gordon Rule, etc. requirements. 
  • The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences requires six (6) credits in communication course work (3 credits in oral communication and 3 credits in  written communication) and a course in economics. The following courses offered at  the University of Florida can be utilized to satisfy the college requirements. 

College Requirements (CALS)

Communication Requirement - Oral , 3 credits required  (select one)

  •  AEE 3030C    Effective Oral Communication, 3 credits
  •  SPC 2608       Introduction to Public Speaking, 3 credits

Communication Requirement - Written, 3 credits required (select one)

  • AEE3033C    Research and Business Writing in Agricultural and Natural Resources
  • ENC2210      Technical Writing and Business Communication
  • ENC3254      Professional Communication/Writing for the Professions
  • ENC3310      Advanced Exposition
  • ENC3312      Advanced Argumentative Writing
  • MMC2100     Writing for Mass Communications

Economics Requirement , 3 credit required (select one )

  • AEB 3103        Principles of Food Resource Economics, 4 credits
  • AEB 2014     Current Economic Issues, Food and You, 3 credits
  • ECO 2013     Macroeconomics, 4 credits
  • ECO 2023     Microeconomics, 4 credits

Any course offered in another college or department, and at any level, will fulfill the general elective credit hour requirements.  Course selection is determined by the student's goals.  Inquiries pertaining to AP or IB credit, and substitution of courses taken at other institutions to satisfy general education and/or college requirements should be  referred to: James Fant jfant@ufl.edu.

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General Education Requirement - 36 credit hours

  • Composition - C - 3 credit hours
  • Humanities - H - 9 credit hours and Social Behavioral Sciences - S - 6 credit  hours
    Or
    Humanities H - 6 hours or Social Behavioral Sciences- S - 9 credit hours
  • Mathematical Sciences - M - 6  credit hours
    4 of these credits will be fulfilled with MAC 2311 - Calculus I
    with the natural progression through the Microbiology curriculum.
    Precalculus, College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus II or Statistics can be utilized to 
    fulfill the remaining credits.
  • Physical and Biological Sciences - P/B - 12  credit hours
    These credits will be fulfilled with the natural progression through 
    the Microbiology curriculum.

NOTE: Courses which  indicate fulfillment of more than one general education requirement can only be utilized to fulfill one of the requirements.  Example:  3 credits ENC 1101 Expos. and Argumentative Writing  fulfills 6,000 words  of Gordon Rule - Communication and either 3 credits of a composition C or 3 credits of humanities H -  NOT a C and an   H.

International/Diversity Focus - 6 credit hour to include 3 hours of international focus and 3 hours of diversity focus.

Gordon Rule Communication - 24,000 words. Students must complete designated Gordon rule course work with a grade of C or better as well as fulfill a minimum of 24,000 words.   The Schedule of Courses will identify courses, sections and the amount of Gordon Rule words awarded (2,000-4,000-6,000).  Gordon  Rule courses taken to fulfill a Gordon Rule requirement cannot  be taken with the S/U option.

Gordon Rule Computation, 6 credits
Students must complete designated Gordon rule computation course work  with  a grade of C or better.  4 of  these credits will be fulfilled with MAC 2311 - Calculus I with the natural progression through the Microbiology curriculum.    Precalculus, College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus II or Statistics can be utilized  to fulfill the remaining credits.

Students transferring to the University of Florida with an AA degree will have satisfied all university requirements.  A maximum of 60 credit hours can be attributed toward fulfillment of the 120 credit hour degree requirement from a community or junior college.

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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences College and University Requirements

  • Minimum 120 credit hours.  No more than four credit hours of activity courses offered by the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences and 12 hours of military science courses may be counted toward the 120 hour requirement. 
  • Minimum 2.0 grade point average overall in all work attempted at the University of Florida. 
  • Minimum 2.5 math/science grade point average in all required math and science sequences. 
  • "C" or higher in all required microbiology core and elective courses. 
  • Maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA for all work attempted in upper division which encompasses ALL courses completed after 60 credit hours. 
  • The last 30 hours applied to the degree must be completed at the University of Florida. 
  • Fulfillment of all university/college general education, Gordon Rule, etc. requirement.
 

College Requirements

  • Foreign language requirement.  Please refer to the Undergraduate Catalog or contact an academic advisor at the Academic Advising Center for detailed information concerning fulfillment of this requirement. 
  • College electives are defined as courses taken in departments other than Microbiology and Cell Science.  A student's program must include 18 credit hours of electives at the 3000  level or above outside of  the Microbiology and Cell Science department.  The following course work microbiology majors will enroll in to satisfy their degree requirements will assist in fulfilling the College of  Liberal Arts and Science 3000 level  elective credits. Please note that this requirement is almost always met without taking any additional 3000 level courses or higher outside the prescribed microbiology curriculum.
PHY 2054 Physics II 4 credits
PHY 2054 Lab Physics II Lab 1 credit
CHM 2211
or CHM 3217		 Organic Chemistry II
One Semester Organic Chemistry		 3 credits
4 credits
CHM 2211 Lab Organic Chemistry II Lab 2 credits
CHM 3218 Bioorganic Chemistry 4 credits
CHM 3120 Analytical Chemistry 3 credits
CHM 3120 Lab Analytical Chemistry Lab 1 credit

 

Students should note that Physics II  and Lab and Organic Chemistry II and Lab are  in fact 2000 level courses and not 3000 level.  The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, however,  recognizes these courses and accepts them as fulfillment of  3000 level elective course work. Inquiries pertaining to AP or IB credit, substitution of courses taken at other institutions to satisfy general education and /or college requirements, or the college foreign language requirement, should  be referred to an academic adviser located at: 

The Office of Academic Advising
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 
100 Academic Advising Center, Room 100 
Phone - 352 - 392-1521 

Refer to the Undergraduate Catalog for additional information on University or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements.

General Education Requirements - 39 credit hours

Composition -  C - 6 credit hours

Humanities - H - 9 credit hours

Social and Behavioral Sciences - S - 9 credit hours

Mathematical Studies - M - 6 credit hours 4 of these credits will be fulfilled with MAC 2311 - Calculus I with the natural progression through the Microbiology curriculum. Precalculus, College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus II or Statistics can be utilized to fulfill the remaining credits.

Physical and Biological Sciences - P/ B -  12  credit hours
These credits will be fulfilled with the natural progression through 
the Microbiology curriculum.
 

NOTE: Courses which indicate fulfillment of more than one general  education   requirement can only be utilized to fulfill one of  the requirements.    Example:credits ENC 1101 Expos. and  Argumentative Writing fulfills  6,000 words of Gordon Rule - Communication  and either 3 credits of a composition C or 3 credits of humanities H,   NOT a C and an H.

International/Diversity Focus - 6 credit hour to include 3 hours of international focus and 3 hours of diversity focus.

Gordon Rule Communication - 24,000 Words
Students must complete designated  Gordon rule course work with a grade of C or better.  Students must fulfill a minimum of 24,000 words.  The Schedule of Courses will identify courses, sections and the amount of Gordon Rule words awarded (2,000-4,000-6,000).   Gordon Rule courses taken to fulfill a Gordon Rule requirement cannot be taken with the S/U option.

Gordon Rule Computation - 6 credits
4 of these credits will be fulfilled with MAC 2311 - Calculus I with the natural progression through the Microbiology curriculum. Precalculus, College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus II or Statistics    can  be utilized to fulfill the remaining credits.  Students must complete designated Gordon rule computation courses with a grade of C or better.

Students transferring to the University of Florida with an AA degree will have satisfied all university requirements.  A maximum of 60 credit hours can be attributed toward fulfillment of the 120 credit hour degree requirement from a community or junior college.

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