Information and Policies
Introduction
The Bachelor of Arts in Biotechnology is intended for students who plan to be involved in the biotechnology industry as writers, artists, ethicists, executives, sales force, regulators, lawyers, politicians, and other roles that require an understanding of the technology, but not the intensive training needed for technicians, research scientists, engineers, and bioinformaticians. (For those more technical roles, the biomolecular engineering and bioinformatics major or the molecular, cell, and developmental biology major is recommended.)
The major is deliberately designed to be suitable as a double major for students in the humanities or social sciences.
Program Learning Outcomes
A biotechnology student completing the program should:
- have familiarity with several different biotechnologies;
- be able to find and use information from a variety of sources, including books, journal articles, and online encyclopedias;
- be able to write programs in Python;
- be able to communicate clearly in writing, orally, and as posters; and
- be able to apply ethical reasoning to make decisions about biotechnology in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.
Academic Advising for the Program
The Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Advising office offers general advising for prospective and declared undergraduates majoring in Baskin Engineering programs. The office handles major declarations, transfer credits, course substitutions, articulations, and degree certifications. Undergraduate students obtain and submit all paperwork requiring departmental approval to the undergraduate advising office. Transfer students should also refer to the Transfer Information and Policy section.
Baskin Engineering Building, Room 225
bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu
(831) 459-5840
Getting Started in the Major: Frosh
Any UC-eligible student with a strong interest in biotechnology is welcome in the program. This major is not highly sequential or course intensive. Although it is advisable to begin taking courses toward the major in the first year, it is not required.
Transfer Information and Policy
Transfer Admission Screening Policy
Transfer students need to have completed the following three courses:
Both of these courses
| BIOL 20A | Cell and Molecular Biology | 5 |
| CSE 20 | Beginning Programming in Python | 5 |
And
Statistics
| | Either this course | |
| STAT 5 | Statistics | 5 |
| or these courses | | |
| STAT 7 | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences | 5 |
| STAT 7L | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences Laboratory | 2 |
Students with a different introductory programming course can still be accepted. Any course with C-ID COMP 112 or C-ID COMP 122 is acceptable. A course teaching Python is preferred even if it does not match either of these C-IDs.
CSE 20 can be waived for students who have already completed an upper-division Python programming course.
Getting Started in the Major: Transfer Students
Successful transition to UC Santa Cruz happens with early advisor contact, preparing and submitting course descriptions for articulation purposes, and taking summer session courses prior to their first fall quarter. Specific information for transfer students is available online. Transfer students should declare their major during their first quarter at UC Santa Cruz; instructions for declaring a major at Baskin Engineering are available here.
Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process
Major Qualification
Transfer students should refer to the Transfer Information and Policy section.
To qualify for the biotechnology major, students must have completed four of the following lower-division courses:
| CHEM 1A | General Chemistry | 5 |
| BIOL 20A | Cell and Molecular Biology | 5 |
| BME 5 | Introduction to Biotechnology | 5 |
| BME 18 | Scientific Principles of Life | 5 |
| BME 80G
/PHIL 80G
| Bioethics in the 21st Century: Science, Business, and Society | 5 |
| BME 80H | The Human Genome | 5 |
| CSE 20 | Beginning Programming in Python | 5 |
| ECE 80B | Engineering Innovations for Medicine and Natural Sciences | 5 |
| | Either this course | |
| STAT 5 | Statistics | 5 |
| or these courses | | |
| STAT 7 | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences | 5 |
| STAT 7L | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences Laboratory | 2 |
Appeal Process
Students may appeal a major qualification decision by filing a petition with Baskin Engineering Advising. The appeal process is described at the Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Affairs website.
If you have further questions concerning the appeal process, please contact the Undergraduate Advising office at (831) 459-5840 or email bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu.
How to Declare a Major
Instructions for declaring a major with Baskin Engineering are on the Undergraduate Affairs website.
Students should submit a petition to declare as soon as they complete the
major qualification requirements or reach their declaration deadline
quarter (whichever comes first).
Students petitioning when the campus declaration deadline is imminent (i.e.,
in their sixth quarter, for students admitted as frosh), will either be
approved, denied, or provided with conditions (e.g., completion of some
courses with certain grades) that will be resolved within at most one more
enrolled quarter, even if they have not completed major qualification
courses.
Letter Grade Policy
Baskin Engineering requires letter grades for all courses in a major.
Course Substitution Policy
Please refer to the Undergraduate Affairs course substitution website for Baskin Engineering course substitution policies and about taking courses at other institutions after enrolling at UCSC.
Double Majors and Major/Minor Combinations Policy
Double majoring with humanities or social science majors is encouraged. Double majoring with other biology-related majors is permitted, except for the Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics major.
Honors
Students with a GPA of 3.3 or higher in the major courses will receive Honors in the Major, unless they have been found guilty of academic misconduct.
Requirements and Planners
Course Requirements
Lower-Division Courses
| CHEM 1A | General Chemistry | 5 |
| BIOL 20A | Cell and Molecular Biology | 5 |
| BME 5 | Introduction to Biotechnology | 5 |
| CSE 20 | Beginning Programming in Python | 5 |
CHEM 1A is waived for students transferring in credit for BIOL 20A.
Students with a different introductory programming course can still be accepted. Any course with C-ID COMP 112 or C-ID COMP 122 is acceptable. A course teaching Python is preferred even if it does not match either of these C-IDs. CSE 20 is waived for students who have already completed an upper division Python programming course, such as BME 160.
For students intending to migrate from the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Department (MCDB), the program will consider appropriate MCDB courses to substitute for specific biotechnology electives.
Statistics
Biotechnology and Society
Either
| BME 18 | Scientific Principles of Life | 5 |
| | OR | |
| BME 80G
/PHIL 80G
| Bioethics in the 21st Century: Science, Business, and Society | 5 |
And
| BME 80H | The Human Genome | 5 |
| | OR | |
| ECE 80B | Engineering Innovations for Medicine and Natural Sciences | 5 |
Upper-Division Courses
| BME 105 | Genetics in the Genomics Era | 5 |
| BME 110 | Computational Biology Tools | 5 |
| BME 160 | Research Programming in the Life Sciences | 6 |
Electives
Three of the following courses, at least two of which are from the Biomolecular Engineering Department:
| BME 122H | Extreme Environmental Virology | 5 |
| BME 128 | Protein Engineering | 5 |
| BME 130 | Genomes | 5 |
| BME 132 | Evolutionary Genomics | 5 |
| BME 140 | Bioinstrumentation | 5 |
| BME 177 | Engineering Stem Cells | 5 |
| BME 178 | Stem Cell Biology | 5 |
| ECE 104 | Bioelectronics | 5 |
| FMST 124 | Technology, Science, and Race Across the Americas | 5 |
| FMST 133 | Science and the Body | 5 |
| METX 100 | Introduction to Microbiology | 5 |
| SOCY 121 | Sociology of Health and Medicine | 5 |
| SOCY 123 | Global and Transnational Perspectives in Science and Technology Studies | 5 |
| SOCY 127P | Sociology of Drugs, Botanicals and Pharmaceuticals | 5 |
Students may petition to have one upper-division biology course count as an elective, but most such courses have prerequisites that are not required for the major.
Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement
| BME 185 | Technical Writing for Biomolecular Engineers | 5 |
Comprehensive Requirement
The comprehensive requirement is covered by the project in the entrepreneurship course:
| BME 175 | Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology | 5 |
Exit Requirements
Students are required to submit a portfolio and exit survey, and they must attend an exit interview.
The portfolios must be turned in electronically as PDF files by the last day of the quarter of graduation, and will be reviewed quarterly by the undergraduate director.
Portfolios must contain the following:
- A substantial written report on a project. This is typically satisfied by the capstone project report.
- Slides from a substantial verbal presentation.
- A poster. This is typically satisfied by a capstone design project poster, presented at the undergraduate poster symposium.
The three parts of the portfolio should represent at least two different projects. At least one of the submissions must be from the capstone course.
Exit interviews are scheduled during the last week of the quarter by the Baskin Engineering advising office, generally as small group interviews.
Planners
The tables below are for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.
Sample Plan for Incoming Frosh
*These are elective courses. Other elective courses may have prerequisites.
General education requirements:
C is not met by courses in the program, but is a prerequisite for the required BME 185 course.
CC, ER, and IM are not met by any courses in the program.
SR and PE are met by required courses.
SI can be met by BME 18.
TA can be met by several electives: BME 122H, BME 132, BME 177, or BME 178.
Sample Plan for Transfer Students
*These are elective courses. Other elective courses may have prerequisites.