Biology: Marine Biology and Liminology and Interdisciplinary Marine and Estuarine Sciences SF Scholars Roadmap
The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.
This roadmap is a suggested plan of study and does not replace meeting with an advisor. Please note that students may need to adjust the actual sequence of courses based on course availability. Please consult an advisor in your major program for further guidance.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Units | |
| BIOL 230 | Introductory Biology I (Major Lower-Division Core) | 5 |
| ENG 114 | Writing the First Year: Finding Your Voice (A2) 1 | 3 |
| MATH 226 | Calculus I (Major Lower-Division Core, B4) 2 | 4 |
| GE Area A 3 | 3 | |
| Units | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIOL 240 | Introductory Biology II (Major Lower-Division Core) 4 | 5 |
| CHEM 115 | General Chemistry I: Essential Concepts of Chemistry (Major Lower-Division Core) | 5 |
| GE Area A | 3 | |
| GE Area E | 3 | |
| Units | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Summer Semester | ||
| SF State Studies or University Elective - Take Two | 6 | |
| Units | 6 | |
| Fall Semester | ||
| CHEM 130 | General Organic Chemistry (Major Lower-Division Core) 5 | 3 |
| PHYS 111 & PHYS 112 |
General Physics I and General Physics I Laboratory (Major Lower-Division Core, B1, B3) |
4 |
| GE Area C | 3 | |
| GE Area D - Take Two | 6 | |
| Units | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Select Two (Major Lower-Division Core): | 8-9 | |
| General Chemistry II: Quantitative Applications of Chemistry Concepts and General Chemistry II Laboratory: Quantitative Applications of Chemistry Concepts (Prerequisites for BIOL 580) |
||
| Calculus II | ||
| General Physics II and General Physics II Laboratory |
||
| GE Area C | 3 | |
| GE Area D | 3 | |
| Units | 14-15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Summer Semester | ||
| SF State Studies or University Elective - Take Two | 6 | |
| Units | 6 | |
| Fall Semester | ||
| BIOL 355 | Genetics (Major Upper-Division Core) 6 | 3 |
| BIOL 458 | Biometry (Major Upper-Division Core) | 4 |
| GE Area C | 3 | |
| GE Area UD-C: Upper-Division Arts and/or Humanities (Consider SF State Studies Course) | 3 | |
| GE Area UD-D: Upper-Division Social Sciences (Consider SF State Studies Course) | 3 | |
| Units | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIOL 337 | Evolution (Major Upper-Division Core) | 3 |
| Select One (Major Upper-Division Core): | 3 | |
| Plant Physiology | ||
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Major Upper-Division Electives (14-17 units) - Take Three 7 | 9 | |
| Units | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Summer Semester | ||
| SF State Studies or University Elective - Take Two | 6 | |
| Units | 6 | |
| Fall Semester | ||
| BIOL 708 | Scientific Methods for Professional Aquatic Scientists (Graduate Core) | 3 |
| MSCI 709 | Foundations in Global Change in Urbanized Coasts and Estuaries (Graduate Core) | 6 |
| Major Upper-Division Electives (14-17 units) - Take One 7 | 3 | |
| Major Upper-Division Core (3-5 units) - Take One 8 | 3-5 | |
| Units | 15-17 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIOL 716 | Skills for Scientific Proposal Writing (Graduate Core) | 3 |
| Major Upper-Division Electives (14-17 units) - Take One 7 | 3 | |
| Graduate Seminar - Take One 9 | 2-4 | |
| Research - Take One 10 | 3 | |
| Units | 11-13 | |
| Fifth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| BIOL 883 | Seminar: Marine Biology (Graduate Core) 12 | 2 |
| MSCI 717 | Professional Skills Workshop I: Data Analysis and Visualization (Graduate Core) | 2 |
| MSCI 718 | Writing and Professional Skills Workshop II (Graduate Core) | 2 |
| Graduate Seminar - Take One 9 | 2-4 | |
| Research - Take One 10 | 2 | |
| Units | 10-12 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIOL 883 | Seminar: Marine Biology (Graduate Core) 12 | 2 |
| MSCI 718 | Writing and Professional Skills Workshop II (Graduate Core) | 2 |
| Thesis - Take One 13 | 3-4 | |
| Units | 7-8 | |
| Total Units | 153-161 | |
| 1 | ENG 114 can only be taken if you complete Directed Self-Placement (DSP) and select ENG 114; if you choose ENG 104/ENG 105 through DSP you will satisfy A2 upon successful completion of ENG 105 in the second semester; multilingual students may be advised into alternative English courses. |
| 2 | Depending on courses completed through Early Start, students in Pathway/Category III or IV may be required to enroll in a support course to complement their Quantitative Reasoning/B4 requirement. There are multiple course options for this pathway. Before enrolling in a B4 course, students should verify their MATH Pathway/Category in their Student Center. Information regarding the courses that correspond with your MATH Pathway/Category can be found on the Developmental Studies Office Website. |
| 3 | To avoid taking additional units, it is recommended that you meet SF State Studies requirements (AERM, GP, ES, SJ) within your GE or major. |
| 4 | GE Areas B2 (Life Science) and B3 (Laboratory Science) are satisfied upon completion of BIOL 240. |
| 5 | GE Area B1 (Physical Science) is satisfied upon completion of CHEM 130. |
| 6 | Upper-Division General Education, Physical, and Life Sciences (UD-B) is satisfied upon completion of BIOL 355. |
| 7 | Upper-Division Electives (14-17 units) BIOL 502 Biology of the Algae (3 units) BIOL 526 Plant Molecular Physiology Laboratory (2 units) BIOL 532 Restoration Ecology (3 units) BIOL 555 Marine Invertebrate Zoology (4 units) BIOL 556 Natural History of Marine Invertebrates (4 units) BIOL 570GW Biology of Fishes - GWAR (4 units)* BIOL 575 Fisheries Biology (3 units) BIOL 584 Marine Microbial Ecology Laboratory (1 units) BIOL 586 Marine Ecology Laboratory (2 units) BIOL 631GW Animal Physiology Laboratory - GWAR (4 units)* CHEM 680 Chemical Oceanography (3 units) ERTH 434 Coastal Processes (3 units) ERTH 642 Watershed Assessment and Restoration (4 units) |
| 8 | Major Upper-Division Core Options (3-5 units) BIOL 534 Wetland Ecology (4 units) BIOL 580 Limnology (3 units) BIOL 582 Biological Oceanography (4 units) BIOL 585 Marine Ecology (3 units) and BIOL 586 Marine Ecology Laboratory (2 units) |
| 9 | Graduate Seminar Course Options: BIOL 863 Advances in Marine Biology (2 units) |
| 10 | Research Course Options CHEM 897 Research (1-9 units) |
| 11 | Electives Include but are not limited to: BIOL 534 Wetland Ecology (4 units) Electives taught at SF State, MLML, or elsewhere (e.g. UC Berkeley) on advisement. e.g., Biometry, Animal Physiology, Conservation Biology, etc |
| 12 | Seminar: Marine Biology (BIOL 883) MS in IMES students are expected to participate each semester in this research colloquium that is the Wednesday RTC lecture series. Students are expected to enroll in BIOL 883 each semester, though the course can only count twice (4 units total) towards the degree. This course does not fulfill the graduate seminar requirement. |
| 13 | Thesis - Select One: |
| * | Students are required to complete at least one GWAR course in order to graduate. |