OSU Navigation Bar

The Ohio State University

Department of Microbiology

 
OSU Department of Microbiology
Spacer
Home
Contact Us
About Us What's New Faculty Bios Undergraduate Programs Graduate Programs Directory Applications & Admissions
Research Opportunities Facilities and Resources Course Material & Schedules Links & Information Columbus Area Information
The Ohio State University
Undergraduate Programs
Microbiology Major Handout

Undergraduate Programs | Requirements | Sample Curriculum

MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR
Department of Microbiology

376 Biological Sciences Building
484 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Tel: (614) 292-2301; Fax: (614) 292-8120

Coordinating Advisor:
Ms. Linda Saville-Rath
280 Biosciences Bldg.
(614) 292-0509
saville-rath.1@osu.edu		 Honors Advisor:
Dr. Olli Tuovinen
452 BioSci. Bldg.
614-292-3379
Tuovinen.1@osu.edu		 Department Chair:
Dr. Tina Henkin
376 Biosciences Bldg.
(614) 292-2301
henkin.3@osu.edu

Coordinator of Undergraduate Research

Dr. Kurt Fredrick
559A Biosciences Bldg.
(614) 292-6679
fredrick.5@osu.edu


REQUIRED PREREQUISITES TO MAJOR

  • Mathematics 152 or equivalent (Note: For B.A. degree, Math 151 or equivalent)
  • Biology 113 and 114; or H115 and H116
  • Chemistry 121, 122, 123; 251, 252; 245 or 254
  • Physics 111, 112 and 113; or 131, 132, and 133

 

REQUIRED MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR COURSES

The Microbiology Major consists of a minimum of 40 credit hours. All students must complete Microbiology 520, 521, and 581 and Biochemistry 511, plus at least 20 credit hours of elective courses (see below). Five credit hours graded S/U, usually earned through Individual Study, Undergraduate Research, or Honors Research (Microbiology 693, 699, or H783) may be counted toward the Microbiology Major. These courses may be scheduled by contacting any faculty member in the department. You may also discuss your options with the Coordinator of Undergraduate Research.
Required Courses Course Title (Quarter taught) Prerequisites Hours
Biochemistry 511 Introduction to Biological Chemistry
(Su, Au, Wi, Sp)
 Biology 114 or H116, Chemistry 252 5
Microbiology 520 General Microbiology I (Au, Sp)
 Biology 114 or H116
 5
Microbiology 581.01 Microbial Genetics Lecture (Au, Sp)
 Microbiology 520 (C- or better) or Molecular Genetics 500 3

Microbiology
581.02

 Microbial Genetics Lab (Au, Wi, Sp) Microbiology 581.01 (C- or better) 3
Microbiology 521 General Microbiology II (Wi, Su) Microbiology 520 (C- or better) and Chemistry 252 5

NOTE 1: Students must receive a C- or better in Microbiology 520 to use it as a prerequisite for other courses.

NOTE 2: Students may take Microbiology 509 as an introduction to Microbiology, but credit gained for Microbiology 509 does not count toward the 40 credit hours required for the Microbiology Major.

ELECTIVE COURSES THAT MAY BE TAKEN FOR CREDIT TOWARD THE MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR

To complete the minimum 40 credit hour requirement for the Microbiology Major, students must choose courses from those listed below in Group I, or Group II. At least 10 hours must be from Group I. (Students are NOT required to take Group 2 courses.)

Group 1 Courses:  Take 10-19 hrs. from this list
(updated Sept. 2009)

Microbiology Course No. Course Description
(Quarter taught)
 Prerequisites Credit Hours
522.01 Immunobiology Lecture (Wi, Su 2010) C- or better in either Microbiology 520 or 509 3
522.02 Immunobiology Laboratory (Wi, Su) Microbiology 522.01 (or concurrent with) 3
524.01 Microbial Diseases (Sp) Microbiology 522 4
591 DNA Fingerprinting Workshps in Columbus Public Schools (Sp)

Service learning course, Permission of instructor; Graded S/U

(please see NOTE below table)

 2*
H610 Bioinformatics and Molecular Microbiology (Au/infrequently)) Microbiology 581 or Molecular Genetics 605, and Biochemistry 511; or permission of instructor 5
629 Parasitology (Sp) Microbiology 522 or permission of instructor 5
636.01

Food Microbiology lecture (Au, Sp)

 C- or better in either Microbiology 509 or 520

3
636.02 Food Microbiology Laboratory (Au, Sp) Microbiology 636.01 (or concurrent with) 3
647 Eukaryotic Pathogens (Au) Microbiology 520 (C- or better) or 524, Molecular Genetics 500 or 605, Biochemistry 511 3
649 Introductory Virology (Wi) Microbiology 520 (C- or better) 5
661 General Microbial Physiology (Au) Microbiology 521 and Biochemistry 511 5
664 Microbial Ecology (Au/2010) Microbiology 509 (C- or better) or equivalent 3
665 Environmental Microbiology (Au/2011) Microbiology 509 (C- or better) or equivalent 3
H669 Microbial Evolution (Au) 10 credit hours of biological sciences course work 5
680 Advanced Microbial Genetics (Wi) Microbiology 581(C- or better), or Molecular Genetics 500 or 605, or equivalent 3
694

Microbial Physiology Meets Pathogenesis
(Wi 2010)

Advanced undergraduates, permission of instructor 3

693

699

Individual Study

Undergraduate Research

(both: Su, Au, Wi, Sp)

 Declared Microbiology Major and permission of instructor. Maximum of 5 credit hours can be counted toward the Major. Graded S/U 1-5*
  700 Level courses are GRADUATE courses and should be taken ONLY by advanced (senior year) undergraduates  (Exceptions: Micro H783 and 799)  
701 Cellular and Molecular Immunology (Au) Biochemistry 613, Molecular Genetics 500 or 605 5
724 Molecular Biology of Bacterial Pathogens (Au) Permission of instructor 5
736 Advanced Food Microbiology (Wi 2009) Microbiology 636.01 and Chemistry 123 3
760

Advanced Bacterial Physiology

(Sp 2010)

 Microbiology 661 or permission of instructor 5
H783 Undergraduate Honors Research
(Su, Au, Wi, Sp)		 For microbiology major honors with distinction students. Maximum of 5 credit hours can be counted toward the Major. Graded S/U 3-5*

799

 

 Microbiology Colloquium (Au, Wi, Sp)

 Repeatable for maximum of 2 credit hours. Graded S/U 1*

*Note: Only 5 hours of courses graded S/U can count toward the major. This includes TOTAL hours of Micro 591, 693, 699, H783, and 799

Group 2 Courses:  NOT required…Take 0-9 hrs. from this list
Discuss with your major advisor any courses NOT listed  below that you would like to include in your major. Please consult an ASC academic advisor concerning pre-professional requirements.


Course No Department Course Description
(Quarters taught)
 Prerequisites Credit Hours
301N Microbiology The Biology of Pollution (Au 2008) 5 credit hours of biology 2
521 Biochemistry Introduction to Biological Chemistry - Laboratory (Wi,Sp) Biochemistry 511 or 613 or equivalent 5
500 Molecular Genetics General Genetics
(Su,Au,Wi,Sp) 		Biology 113 or H115, an additional 5 hours in biological sciences
 5
605 Molecular Genetics Molecular Genetics I (Wi) Biochemistry 511 and Mathematics 152 4
606 Molecular Genetics Molecular Genetics II (Sp) Molecular Genetics 605 4
600 MVIMG Evolution of Emerging Viruses (Sp) 2 years course work in biological sciences suggested 2

600

 

  • 600.01
  • 600.02
 Plant Pathology

Introduction to Bacterial and Viral Pathogens of Plants; quarter divided into two 5 week classes shown below (Au)

  • Phytobacteriology
  • Plant Virology
 Plant Pathology 401 or Microbiology 521, or permission of instructor

6

(3 for each 5 wks.)
602 Plant Pathology Plant-Microbe Interactions (Sp) Plant Pathology 401, Biochemistry 511, or Microbiology 509 or permission of instructor 3
660 Plant Pathology Mycology (Wi) Biology 114 or Plant Pathology 300 or 401 5
690 Animal Science Anaerobic Microbiology (Sp) Microbiology 520 and Biochemistry 511 5

 

back to top

  
Department of Microbiology; The Ohio State University; 376 Bioscience Building; 484 West 12th Ave.; Columbus, Ohio USA; 43210-1292; Phone: 614-292-2301; Fax: 614-292-8120
Riffe Research Center