Undergraduate Program :: Requirements

Note that information on this page does not supersede the authority of your catalog year or of your academic advisor.

Zoology Departmental Requirements

You must complete at least 32 credits in zoology (and other biological sciences, all passed with C or better), plus two semesters each of mathematics (calclulus or calculus plus statistics), physics with lab, general chemistry with lab, and organic chemistry with lab.

The 32-credit zoology requirement must include core biology lecture and lab (BSC2010/L and BSC2011/L, for a total of 8 credits), genetics (4 credits) and three other Zoology Department courses (9-15 credits, including most PCB-prefix courses and any ZOO-prefix courses except 4905 and 4940). Together these 8 courses total 21-27 credits. To reach 32 credits, you may select from among other Zoology courses (including up to 6 credits of ZOO4905) and a number of approved life science courses from other departments.

• Core biology: BSC 2010/BSC 2010L & BSC 2011/BSC 2011L Integrated Principles of Biology/Integrated Principles of Biology Laboratory [8]

and

• PCB 3063 Genetics [4]

At least three other courses from the Zoology Department (excluding ZOO 4905 and ZOO 4940). Appropriate courses include:

• BSC 3402 Theory and Practice in the Biological Sciences [2]
• PCB 4044C General Ecology [4]
• PCB 4674 Evolution [4]
• PCB 4723C Physiology and Molecular Biology of Animals [5]
• ZOO 2203C Invertebrate Zoology [4]
• ZOO 2303C Vertebrate Zoology [4]
• ZOO 3513C Animal Behavior [4]
• ZOO 3603C Evolutionary Developmental Biology
• ZOO 3713C Functional Vertebrate Anatomy [4]
• ZOO 4403C Field Problems in Marine Biology [6]
• ZOO 4435 Comparative Biology of Birds and Mammals [3]
• ZOO 4472C Avian Biology [4]
• ZOO 4926 Special Topics [maximum of 8 credits with change of topic]
• ZOO 4950 Writing in Biological Sciences [3]

Independent Study

• ZOO 4905 Individual Studies in Zoology [1-6]
A maximum of 6 credits may be applied towards the 32 credit requirement for the major, but this does not count toward the requirement to take three Zoology Department courses.

Courses from other departments

Up to two courses offered by departments other than Zoology may count toward the 32 credit Zoology requirement if these courses are 3000-level or higher life science courses that have been approved by the Zoology Department. The following link contains the current list of Approved Life Sciences Courses.

Calculus or Calculus plus statistics

• MAC2311 Analytical Geometry and Calculus 1 [4]
and
• MAC2312 Analytical Geometry and Calculus 2 [4]
OR
• MAC2311 Analytical Geometry and Calculus 1 [4]
and
• STA2023 Statistics [3]
Note that Zoology recommends MAC2311, MAC2312 and STA 2023.

General Chemistry
A full sequence of general chemistry, such as

• CHM2045/CHM2045L General Chemistry & Lab [3 + 1 = 4]
and
• CHM2046/CHM2046L General Chemistry and Qualitative Analysis & Lab [3 + 1 = 4]

Organic chemistry
One-year sequence or equivalent of organic chemistry, such as

• CHM2210 Organic Chemistry [3]
with
• CHM2211/CHM2211L Organic Chemistry & Lab [3 + 2 = 5]
OR
• CHM3217 Organic Chemistry / Biochemistry 1 [4]
and
• CHM2211L Organic Chemistry Laboratory [2]

Physics
One-year sequence or equivalent of physics with laboratories

• PHY2053/PHY2053L Physics I & Lab [4 + 1 = 5]
and
• PHY2054/ PHY2054L Physics 2 & lab [4 + 1 = 5]
OR
• PHY2048/PHY2048L Physics with Calculus 1 & Lab [3 + 1 = 4]
and
• PHY2049/PHY2049L Physics with Calculus 2 & Lab [3 + 1 = 4]

Junior Standing
Zoology majors should have completed core biology, general chemistry, and one semester of calculus (or statistics) by the time they are juniors (60 hours) with a minimum of C in each and at least two Bs among the five or six courses.

Note for Pre-veterinary students
Student who intend to apply to the UF Veterinary School should integrate ANS 3006C and ANS 3440 into the biology major. Admissions requirements for other veterinary schools can be found here.

UF and CLAS Requirements

UF General Education Requirements
All students must complete 36 hours of General Education (“Gen. Ed.”), including:

• Composition (C) (3 credits)
• Social sciences (S) (9 credits)
• Math (M) (6 credits)
• Biological and/or physical sciences (B/P) (9 credits)
• Humanities (H) (9 credits)
• International or diversity (I) (6 credits) These may simultaneously satisfy H, S, or B/P.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) distribution requirements do not allow wild-card substitution. AP/IB credits or high-school dual-enrollment courses may satisfy Gen. Ed. requirements. An AA degree from a Florida community college signifies the student has satisfied the general education
requirements.

UF Gordon-Rule Requirements

• 24,000 words in communications (writing) (E) with a C or higher grade. May be 2,000-, 4,000-, or 6,000-word courses.
• 6 credits in computation (math) (M) with a C or higher grade
• AP/IB credits or high-school dual-enrolment courses may satisfy Gordon-Rule requirements. An AA degree from a Florida community college signifies the student has satisfied the Gordon Rule requirement.

UF CLAST (College Level Academic Skills Test)

• Administered 3 times a year
• You must pass both writing and math by the end of the term in which you earn 60 hours, but there must remain at least 18 credits to take.
• You may not have to take the CLAST communication section if you have a GPA of 2.5 in ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 or equivalent, and a verbal SAT score of at least 420 or an ACT score of at least 16 in English and reading.
• You may not have to take the CLAST computation section if you have a GPA of 2.5 in any two of the following: MAC x102 or higher, MGF x202 or higher, and any statistics (STA) course and a quantitative SAT score of at least 440 or an ACT score of at least 16 in mathematics.
• Consult Academic Advising Center for other ways to satisfy this requirement. An AA degree from a Florida community college signifies the student has passed the CLAST.

Other UF Requirements

• A total of 120 earned hours
• An overall GPA of 2.0 or higher
• Residency: Your last 30 hours must be taken at UF in your college
• Nine hours of summer school at an SUS campus for those entering with fewer than 60 credits for those entering UF with fewer than 60 hours. Overseas studies for 9 or more hours in the summer will satisfy this requirement as well. You may petition the college to waive this requirement
for appropriate reasons

CLAS Distribution Requirements

• At least 9 credits in each of the three categories—humanities, social sciences, and the sciences in addition to Gen. Ed.
• 3 or more hours of sciences so that you have 6 hours each of biological and physical sciences. One lab science required
• Three more hours composition
• This requirement prohibits University wild-card substitution. Zoology majors automatically satisfy these additional requirements with their required courses

CLAS College Electives

• 18 hours of CLAS courses outside your major at the 3000-level or above
• Any 3000-level CLAS course outside of those counting towards the 32 hours of Zoology
• Several 2000-level natural sciences and math courses beyond the entry-level course in a sequence can contribute to the 18-hour requirement, e.g., CHM2211, CHM2211L; PHY2054, PHY2049, PHY2056L; MAC2234, MAC2312, MAC2313; MAP2302; and CGS2532.

CLAS Foreign Language Requirement
Ten credits of language course work with C or S grade, or satisfactory AP, IB or SAT II score.