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BS - Biochemistry

What is a Biochemistry Degree?

Biochemistry is known as the chemistry of life. A biochemistry degree covers the complex chemical reactions taking place inside each living organism and provides the foundation for nearly all advances in medical research, agriculture and genetic engineering, tying together new medical technologies and discoveries in genetic and cell biology.

Whether you want to explore the mysteries of DNA, aid in the development of innovative biotechnologies, or study the diagnosis and treatment of disease, you can get there with a biochemistry degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in biology and chemistry and get hands-on experience in analysis and instrumentation.

Our biochemistry degree program is dynamic and focused. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Biological Discovery and Introduction to Biochemistry as a freshman. Guided by highly accomplished faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin narrowing your focus as early as sophomore year. During the junior and senior years, students take many specialized courses that reflect their choice of emphasis between biology and chemistry.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech:

• 50% of required credits for a biochemistry degree are in biology
• Enjoy small classes and individualized attention
• Work with enthusiastic faculty on publishable research projects
• Use state-of-the-art instrumentation in excellent laboratory facilities
• Undertake professional caliber research and training opportunities at the undergraduate level

Facilities: The biology department is housed in the F.W. Olin Life Sciences Building (LSB). LSB contains eight teaching labs, 12 modern research labs, a 16-workstation computer facility, and an electron microscopy suite. The building also includes animal care facilities for housing small mammals and reptiles and a temperature-controlled 800 sq. ft greenhouse. The department has excellent teaching facilities with a state-of-the-art multimedia auditorium and classroom. All research and teaching space is fully connected to the campus-wide high-speed network. The department also maintains an on-campus Aquaculture Center and the Vero Beach Marine Laboratory where field studies in aquaculture and marine biology can be performed.

Learning

Research: Biochemistry professors are working on finding cures for asthma and Alzheimer's disease, making new drugs out of chemicals found in sea sponges, and discovering what exactly happens during the early stages of life, right after fertilization. Undergraduates getting their biochemistry degree often participate in these research endeavors.

Internships and Cooperative Learning: Students in the biological sciences, including those getting a biochemistry degree, at Florida Tech have been recruited for internships by companies such as:

• American Museum of Natural Science
• Andean Biodiversity Consortium
• Baltimore Aquarium
• Brevard County Environmentally Engangered Lands Program
• Brevard Zoo
• Epcot Center
• Florida Medical Entomology Lab
• The Perry Institute for Marine Science
• Sea World Florida
• Shedd Aquarium

Future Outcomes

Outcomes - Grad School: In addition to pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at Florida Tech, biochemistry degree graduates have gone on to study at a number of universities around the country. A few of these include:

• University of Florida
• University of South Alabama
• University of Miami
• University of Texas
• University of South Florida

Outcomes - Career and Salary: A biochemistry degree can be applied to many other disciplines and sciences. Our students go onto careers in:

• Medicine
• Drug discovery/pharmacology
• Drug research and development
• Cancer and other disease research
• Biotechnology
• Agricultural research
• Animal population restoration

Curriculum

Curriculum program plans shown reflect current degree requirements. Previous academic year requirements can be accessed from the catalog page by choosing the appropriate academic year.

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Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

Biochemists, in studying all kinds of living organisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants and animals (including humans), have found that many of the fundamental biochemical properties of living systems are shared throughout the hierarchy of life forms. Because biochemists try to unravel the complex chemical reactions that occur in such a wide variety of life forms, biochemistry provides the basis for practical advances in medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture and biotechnology. Biochemistry underlies and includes such exciting fields as molecular biology and bioengineering. As the broadest of the basic sciences, biochemistry includes many subspecialties, such as inorganic biochemistry, bioorganic chemistry, physical biochemistry, biochemical and molecular genetics, biomedical pharmacology and immunochemistry. Recent advances in many areas of biochemistry have created links among technology, chemical engineering and biochemistry. More than ever, this is the age of biochemistry because the techniques of so many different disciplines can now be applied in studying the chemistry of living systems.

Career opportunities for biochemists are rapidly expanding in the areas of agricultural research, biotechnology firms, governmental laboratories, industrial research, and development and research institutes, as well as university research and teaching. Far-reaching advances in many areas of basic and applied research are projected over the next few years. These areas include plant genetics; the biochemistry of cell receptors for hormones and neurotransmitters; the diagnosis and treatment of disease, particularly inherited diseases; and toxicology. All require an understanding of biochemistry and the use of biochemical techniques.

The course of study leading to a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry is an interdisciplinary program jointly administered by the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. The curriculum has flexibility in that technical electives can be selected to provide a strong emphasis in either biology or chemistry, and prepare the biochemistry major for a variety of careers. All students take a core curriculum of basic science and mathematics during the first two years. During the junior and senior years, students take many specialized courses that reflect their choice of emphasis between biology and chemistry.

Students entering the biochemistry program as freshmen will normally be assigned faculty advisers in the department of chemistry. A student selecting an upper-division curriculum with a biological emphasis should indicate this intention by the beginning of the second semester of the sophomore year, at which time a new faculty adviser in the department of biological sciences will be assigned. A student’s request for a change of advisers from chemistry to biology, or vice versa, will be honored at any time during the program.

Admission Requirements

Students intending to apply for admission to study for a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry should complete at least one year each of high school biology, chemistry and physics. Prospective students should also have at least three years of high school mathematics, including second-year algebra and trigonometry.

Florida Tech has articulation agreements with many of the community colleges in Florida. Students contemplating transfer to Florida Tech should consult with their counselors to determine transferability of community college credits. If there is a question regarding specific courses needed, either of the biochemistry program chairs listed above should be contacted.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry must complete the minimum course requirements as outlined in the following curriculum. Electives are selected in consultation with the faculty adviser to reflect the knowledge a student needs either for employment or graduate school. Deviation from the stipulated program may occur only under unusual circumstances and requires approval of the chair. The bachelor’s degree in biochemistry requires 129 credit hours for graduation.

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

TOTALS CREDITS REQUIRED 129 

Restricted Electives

Biology Emphasis

At least 12 credit hours must be selected from biological sciences and at least six credit hours from chemistry. For students not electing to complete the senior thesis, at least one course must bear the Q designation.

Chemistry Emphasis

At least nine credit hours must be selected from chemistry and at least six credit hours from biological sciences.

Senior Thesis

The biochemistry curriculum allows for significant undergraduate research experience, culminating in a senior thesis for those students who wish to pursue postgraduate studies and are maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 or better in all science and mathematics courses. A qualified student wishing to participate in the senior thesis program must notify the appropriate department (either biological sciences or chemistry, depending on the student’s research interests and curriculum emphasis) no later than the end of the fall semester of the junior year. A thesis committee, consisting of one or more faculty members from each department, will be formed to consider the thesis proposal, which must be submitted during the spring semester of the junior year.

After the approval of the senior thesis committee and the appropriate department head, based on both the proposal and the student’s academic record, the student will be permitted to register for Senior Thesis in Biochemistry (BCM 4991 and BCM 4992) during the senior year.

These courses and Research Sources and Systems (COM 2012) represent seven credit hours of restricted biological sciences electives toward meeting the biology emphasis degree requirements, and substitute for Undergraduate Research 1 (CHM 4800) and four credit hours of restricted chemistry electives toward meeting the chemistry emphasis degree requirements. Senior Thesis in Biochemistry students are encouraged to include at least one year of foreign language (French or German) in their degree programs.