Biomedical sciences are the interventional applied life sciences that connect clinical, service, and research experiences to improve human, animal, and environmental health. This degree is offered on both the College Station campus and at the Texas A&M Higher Education Center in McAllen, Texas. Our mission is to educate and prepare students to catalyze the improvement of human, animal, and environmental health through innovation, discovery, and global service and outreach. The program both emphasizes versatility in the biological and medical sciences, and prioritizes a One Health approach to education through courses that emphasize the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health; while bringing together students with interest in medical careers that impact all three. A highly effective counseling program assists the students with the development of an individualized approach and course package that orients and prepares the students for entry into the medical, allied health field or graduate program of their choice. Such an approach enhances their educational experiences, improves their placement in professional and graduate programs, and facilitates their entry into the biomedical science job market.
Biomedical Sciences graduates enter professional programs in human medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, podiatry, optometry, and pharmacy. Some become medical technologists, physician assistants, nurses, and laboratory and research technicians. Others pursue radiation technology, hospital administration, and a wide variety of health-related fields. Many Biomedical Sciences students continue their education in graduate schools and specialize in various biology- and medicine-related disciplines. Other graduates are employed by clinical practices, industrial companies, government agencies, private foundations, public schools, colleges and certain aspects of business. Positions are available in pharmaceutical and drug marketing, research equipment manufacture and sales, food safety, biomedical research, disease control, zoonoses and epidemiology, laboratory animal care, zoo and aquatic animal supervision, health-related inspection and regulatory work. The BS in Biomedical Sciences is also awarded to students who complete the three year Early Admission Option to Professional Schools and one year of professional school.
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
BIOL111 | Introductory Biology I 1 | 4 |
CHEM119 | Fundamentals of Chemistry I 1 | 4 |
Mathematics 2 | 3-4 | |
Social and behavioral sciences 3 | 3 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 14 | |
Spring | ||
BIOL112 | Introductory Biology II 1 | 4 |
CHEM120 | Fundamentals of Chemistry II 1 | 4 |
Communication 3 | 3 | |
Mathematics 2 | 3-4 | |
Directed electives 4 | 1 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
Second Year | ||
Fall | ||
CHEM257 | Organic Chemistry I - Structure and Function 1 | 4 |
PHYS201 | College Physics 1 | 4 |
American history 5 | 3 | |
Creative arts | 3 | |
Directed electives 4 | 3 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 17 | |
Spring | ||
CHEM258 | Organic Chemistry II - Reactivity and Applications 1 | 4 |
PHYS202 | College Physics 1 | 4 |
American history 5 | 3 | |
Language, philosophy and culture | 3 | |
Directed electives 4 | 3 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 17 | |
Third Year | ||
Fall | ||
BICH409 | Principles of Biochemistry | 3 |
BIMS320/GENE320 | Biomedical Genetics | 3 |
BIOL319 | Integrated Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 4 |
POLS206 | American National Government | 3 |
Directed electives 4 | 1 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 14 | |
Spring | ||
BIOL320 | Integrated Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 4 |
VTPB405 | Biomedical Microbiology | 4 |
Communication 3 | 3 | |
POLS207 | State and Local Government | 3 |
Directed electives 4 | 3 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 17 | |
Fourth Year | ||
Fall | ||
STAT302 or STAT312 | Statistical Methods 6 or Statistics for Biology | 3 |
Directed electives 4 | 7 | |
General elective 7 | 3 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 13 | |
Spring | ||
Directed electives 4 | 7 | |
General electives 7 | 6 | |
Semester Credit Hours | 13 | |
Total Semester Credit Hours | 120 |
- 1
Common Body of Knowledge Courses (CBK) must be completed with a grade of C or better. All CBK courses must be complete prior to advancing to the third and fourth year upper-division requirements.
- 2
Complete 6-8 hours of mathematics core courses as follows:
- Select one of the following:MATH142, MATH147, MATH151, MATH171. This is a CBK course and must be completed with a grade of C or better.
- Select one of the following: MATH140, MATH148, MATH150, MATH152, MATH168, MATH172, STAT201.
- 3
Professional school prerequisites and entrance exams often recommend or require specific courses that can fulfill component areas of the University Core Curriculum, including 3 or 6 hours chosen from
ENGL103,ENGL104,ENGL203, andENGL210,and 3 or 6 hours of social and behavioral sciences courses such as PBSI107 and SOCI205.
- 4
A list of approved courses that fulfill the directed elective hours is available below and on the BIMS Program website.
- 5
HIST105 and HIST106are recommended, however students may choose from other American History core courses.
- 6
Students who complete STAT201 in Mathematics core must take STAT312.
- 7
Select any course 100-499 except MATH 102-104; only 1 credit KINE199 may be used.
When satisfying the required 25 hours of BIMS directed electives and 9 hours of general electives: Any combination of variable credit 285, 291, 484, 485, and/or 491 courses may not exceed 9 credit hours. BIMS484on its own or in combination with other variable credit courses may not exceed 6 total credit hours. Any combination of 289/489 courses may not exceed 9 credit hours. Restrictions will be enforced by the BIMS academic advising office.
A minimum of two courses taken to complete the minimum hours of BIMS directed electives must be designated to fulfill the university's writing and oral communication graduation requirement.
A minimum of 36 hours of 3/400 level coursework must be completed in residence at Texas A&M University to earn a degree.
All students are required to complete 3 hours ofInternational and Cultural Diversitycredit (ICD) and 3 hours ofCultural Discourse(CD) credits. A course satisfying a core category, a college department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. Select in consultation with academic advisor.
All students must complete the Foreign Language requirement: two units of the same foreign language at the high school level or a two course sequence of the same foreign language at the college level. Please see the university catalog "Requirements for a Baccalaureate Degree" for further details.
Directed Electives
Biomedical Science (BIMS) directed electives are courses that are specifically approved for the curriculum. A student must choose 25 semester credits from the following list of approved courses. The list of approved BIMS directed electives will also be available on the BIMS Program website:
Code | Title | Semester Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
ANSC107 | General Animal Science | 3 |
ANSC108 | General Animal Science Laboratory | 1 |
ANSC210 | Companion Animal Science | 3 |
ANSC318 | Animal Feeds and Feeding | 3 |
ANSC320 | Animal Nutrition and Feeding | 3 |
ANSC303 | Principles of Animal Nutrition | 3 |
ANSC326/FSTC326 | Food Bacteriology | 3 |
ANSC327/FSTC327 | Food Bacteriology Lab | 1 |
BICH412 | Biochemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
BICH414 | Biochemical Techniques I | 2 |
BICH431/GENE431 | Molecular Genetics | 3 |
BICH432/GENE432 | Laboratory in Molecular Genetics | 2 |
BIMS110 | One Health in Action | 1 |
BIMS125 | Animals in Society | 1 |
BIMS201 | Introduction to Phenotypic Expression in the Context of Human Medicine | 2 |
BIMS289 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
BIMS291 | Research | 0-4 |
BIMS380 | Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies - Best Practices | 3 |
BIMS481 | Seminar | 1 |
BIMS484 | Internship | 0-3 |
BIMS485 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
BIMS489 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
BIMS491 | Research | 0-4 |
BIMS405/GENE405 | Mammalian Genetics | 3 |
BIMS421/GENE421 | Advanced Human Genetics | 3 |
BIOL401 | Critical Writing in Biology | 1 |
BIOL402 | Communicating Biological Research to the Public | 1 |
BIOL403 | Medical Narratives | 1 |
COMM370 | Health Communication | 3 |
ENTO208 | Veterinary Entomology | 2 |
ENTO209 | Veterinary Entomology Laboratory | 1 |
ENTO210 | Global Public Health Entomology | 3 |
ENTO423 | Medical Entomology | 2 |
ENTO425 | Disease Ecology | 3 |
ENTO427 | Medical Entomology Laboratory (co-requisite for ENTO423) | 1 |
ENTO431/FIVS431 | The Science of Forensic Entomology | 3 |
ENTO432/FIVS432 | Applied Forensic Entomology | 1 |
MKTG 443/PHLT 426 | The Business of Healthcare | 3 |
NRSC401/VIBS401 | Developmental Neurotoxicology | 3 |
NUTR222 | Nutrition for Health and Health Care | 3 |
POSC454 | Animal Welfare | 3 |
URPN370 | Health Systems Planning | 3 |
VIBS111 | Biodefense, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism | 1 |
VIBS201/NRSC201 | History of Neuroscience | 1 |
VIBS204 | Fundamentals of Food Toxicology and Safety | 3 |
VIBS210 | Twenty-first Century Global One Health | 1 |
VIBS211 | Twenty-first Century Biological Threats | 1 |
VIBS222 | Great Poisonings of the World | 3 |
VIBS243 | Introductory Mammalian Histology | 2 |
VIBS285 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VIBS289 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
VIBS305 | Biomedical Anatomy | 4 |
VIBS310 | Biomedical Writing | 1 |
VIBS311 | Biomedical Explorations through Narrative | 1 |
VIBS343 | Histology | 4 |
VIBS401/NRSC401 | Developmental Neurotoxicology | 3 |
VIBS408 | Neuroscience and Religion | 3 |
VIBS411 | Tumor Cell Biology and Carcinogenesis | 3 |
VIBS413 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
VIBS422 | Endocrine Toxicology | 4 |
VIBS443 | Biology of Mammalian Cells and Tissues | 4 |
VIBS445 | Learning and Applying Peer Teaching Principles in Biomedical Anatomy | 3 |
VIBS447 | Neurophysiology of Music | 2 |
VIBS456 | Science in Cinema and Society | 3 |
VIBS485 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VIBS489 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
VIBS277/NRSC277 | Essential Neuroscience - From Molecules to Nervous Systems | 3 |
VIBS407/NRSC407 | Core Ideas in Neuroscience | 2 |
VIBS424/VTPP424 | Biomedical Neuroendocrinology and Endocrine Disorders | 3 |
VIBS426/ENTO426 | Methods in Vector-Borne Disease Ecology | 3 |
VIBS450/NRSC450 | Mammalian Functional Neuroanatomy | 4 |
VLCS422 | Equine Disease and Epidemiology | 3 |
VLCS485 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VSCS485 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VTPB212 | Genetics in the News | 3 |
VTPB221 | Great Diseases of the World | 3 |
VTPB285 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VTPB289 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
VTPB303 | Medical Communication in the International Community | 3 |
VTPB407 | Advanced Veterinary Microbiology Laboratory | 1-3 |
VTPB408 | Clinical Microbiology | 3 |
VTPB409 | Introduction to Immunology | 3 |
VTPB410 | Cell Mechanisms of Disease | 3 |
VTPB411 | One Health and Tropical Ecology | 3 |
VTPB415 | Immunogenetics and Comparative Immunology | 3 |
VTPB438 | Biomedical Virology | 3 |
VTPB485 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VTPB489 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
VTPB301/RWFM309 | Wildlife Diseases | 3 |
VTPB460 | Mammalian Cell Pathobiology | 3 |
VTPB487 | Biomedical Parasitology | 4 |
VTPP123 | Foundations of Physiology | 3 |
VTPP207 | Methodologies of Physiology Education Research | 3 |
VTPP208 | Analysis and Evaluation of Physiology Education | 3 |
VTPP223 | Design of Experiments for Physiology Research | 3 |
VTPP224 | In Vitro Experimentation in Physiology Research | 3 |
VTPP232 | Theoretical Foundations of Health Disparities Research | 3 |
VTPP233 | Health Disparities Research Parameters and Analysis | 3 |
VTPP234 | Design of Models for Physiology Research | 3 |
VTPP235 | Analysis and Validation of Models for Physiology Research | 3 |
VTPP281 | Seminar | 4 |
VTPP285 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VTPP289 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
VTPP291 | Research | 0-4 |
VTPP401/BMEN400 | History of Human and Veterinary Medicine in Europe | 4 |
VTPP404 | Food Toxicology and Safety | 3 |
VTPP420 | Applied Pharmacology | 2 |
VTPP423 | Biomedical Physiology I | 4 |
VTPP424/VIBS424 | Biomedical Neuroendocrinology and Endocrine Disorders | 3 |
VTPP425 | Pharmacology | 3 |
VTPP427 | Applied Biomedical Physiology | 3 |
VTPP429 | Introduction to Toxicology | 3 |
VTPP438 | Analysis of Genomic Signals | 3 |
VTPP444 | Practicum in Biomedical Research | 3 |
VTPP452 | Fetal and Embryo Physiology | 3 |
VTPP481 | Seminar | 4 |
VTPP485 | Directed Studies | 0-4 |
VTPP489 | Special Topics in... | 1-4 |
VTPP491 | Research | 0-4 |