New BIOS majors

By Ly Hoang     10/8/09 7:00pm

Bioscience majors may soon find themselves with a few more options, as both the departments of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology have begun collaborating to propose a new plan that will expand the number of majors and minors offered at Rice as early as next fall. "This is the biggest revision [to the departments] for more than a decade," Professor Evan Siemann, chair of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department, said.

Currently, the biochemistry department offers both a Bachelors of Science and a Bachelors of Arts as its major distinctions, while the ecology department offers just a B.S. There is also a comprehensive major offered, a B.A. in biological science, which encompasses aspects from the ecology and biochemistry departments.

With the proposed plan, the departments will keep the current majors and add minors in both biochemistry and ecology. A B.A. in ecology will be offered, as the B.S. requires 26 credit hours to graduate. Compared to a B.A. in biochemistry, which requires 20 hours, students who wish to major in ecology without the rigorous requirements would now be able to do so.

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A B.S. will also be offered as a broader degree for the biosciences.

Siemann said the other B.S., slated in ecology, has been well-received.

Martel College senior Celine Santiago, a biochemistry and cell biology major, said these changes - notably the addition of a minor to BCB - will make it easier for those who lack the time to complete the B.A. and B.S. requirements.

"[Major requirements] can be overwhelming if you don't come in with AP credit," Santiago said.

Another change the proposal suggests is to clarify the course codes for each department. Currently, biochemistry and ecology are both listed as general biosciences courses in the course catalog.

According to Siemann, this has resulted in confusion for both new students and the registrar, who must decipher which course is accredited with which department. The departments are proposing to have all biochemistry courses listed as BIOC and ecology courses listed as EBIO. Their hope is to uncomplicate the bookkeeping and administrative issues, making clear to students which courses fall under which departments.

"This will make things more transparent for advising," he said.

According to Siemann, there are several advantages to this new system.

"Students will have more options so that if they are interested [in biochemistry or ecology] but don't want to major, they are able to do so," Siemann said. "There will also be more structure to the departments that will be beneficial to both the administration and student body."

Currently, both departments are working to form a joint proposal that will be submitted to the Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum for review. They hope to have the proposal completed within a few months. Once the proposal is approved by the CUC, the faculty senate will review it. If approved, the proposal will be implemented in the next academic year.

Sarah Rutledge contributed to this article.

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