home > undergraduate programs > requirements > BA requirements

THE BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE

The Bachelor of Arts Degree

The B.A. program provides the intellectual discipline of biophysics and biochemistry for students who wish to have sufficient time for in-depth studies outside the major or who are interested in molecular biology as part of a liberal education and may not wish to go on to graduate work in any of the natural sciences. B.A. program majors have an opportunity to carry out research in faculty laboratories after they have completed their required MB&B laboratory course.

In the absence of Advanced Placement in any of the natural sciences or mathematics, completion of at least 20 of science courses are required for the B.A. major.

Requirements for the B.A. program in the MB&B Major

The table shows the MB&B course requirements in the Basic Sciences (Part A) and in the Advanced Sciences (Part B) for the B.A. degree. Courses prefixed with a star (*) may be waived by receiving scores on Advanced Placement tests sufficient to earn acceleration credits in the particular subjects (see chapter II in the Yale College Programs of Study), even if the student does not choose to accelerate.

Bold letters after the number of credits indicate footnotes.

a: It should be remembered that only students having Advanced Placement for Chemistry 113 are eligible for Chemistry 118 or 125. By taking freshman organic chemistry (CHEM 125) or advanced freshman chemistry (CHEM 118), a student is able to take MB&B 300a/301b in the Sophomore rather than the Junior year. By taking 118a a student can begin the organic series (CHEM 225b) in the second semester of their freshman year and take the second term of organic chemistry (CHEM 227a) concurrently with the first term of Biochemistry (MB&B 300a) in the first semester of their sophomore year.

b: Courses that fulfill this requirement include: Math 120 or above, ENAS 151a, ENAS 194, PHYS 301a, Computer Science 201, 202, or above or Introduction to Statistics - Medicine 105 or above. Others with permission from DUS. AP credit cannot be applied towards the quantitative reasoning elective.

c: MB&B 490b, Senior Requirement. This course will confer course credit for completion of the senior project in the department.

The MB&B senior requirement for both BS and BA is fulfilled by participation in the MB&B senior project course during the second semester of the senior year. Students prepare a written report and make an oral presentation on recent advances in research on a topic of their choice within biochemistry and biophysics. Students will meet with faculty in charge of the course during the first two weeks of the spring term to agree upon a topic and approach.

Written presentation. The paper is expected to be 15-25 pages in length, and should critically review the literature on a scientific topic within biochemistry and biophysics.  A first draft of the paper is due two weeks prior to the date of the oral presentation. It is inappropriate for students to resubmit a paper prepared for another course in fulfillment of the senior requirement.  The literature project must be original new work approved by the faculty member overseeing the senior project.  It is recommended that students who took research for credit earlier in their training write a new 15-25 page literature review on the topic of their research, and append to it the research report they previously completed for the research course.  Faculty in charge of the program will provide suggestions for the paper and return it to the student. A final draft of the paper is due the first day of the reading period of the student's final term.

Oral presentation. Students will make a 15-minute oral presentation during the last three weeks of the student's final term in a general scientific format open to the public. Other students in the senior course project are expected to attend the presentations.

Possible Course Programs for B.A. MB&B Majors Entering Yale Without Any Advanced Placement

This B.A. program provides the minimal number of science and non-science courses required of all MB&B majors. It earns a total of 36 course credits and assumes no advance placement credit. (Credits indicated in parenthesis.) Students having Advanced Placement in science are urged to replace introductory science courses by more advanced ones in their freshman year.

Notes:

1. Majors who must begin their study of a foreign language after entering Yale are urged to do so in their Freshman year. The foreign language requirement should be completed by the end of the Junior year.

2. MB&B 251La per se earns no course credit; one credit is awarded following completion of MB&B 251La and a similar one-day per week lab course offered by the MCDB, Chemistry, Computer Science, Psychology, or Physics.