About the Minor

• To declare the minor,  please use one of the following links and select 119 Biological Sciences from the drop-down menu on the site under the minor section.             

                    SAS Students:      SAS Online MyMajor Application   

                    SEBS Students:   SEBS Online MyMajor Application

• To be approved for the minor,  students must then meet with a Biological Sciences advisor. Student may attend a drop-in Zoom advising sessions to be declared. Please see the Biological Sciences Advising page for times and links. 

Requirements for the minor: 

• General Biology (01:119:115, 01:119:116, and 01:119:117 ( or equivalent AP credit or transfer credit).
• Four additional life science elective courses  from our approved elective sheet that must be:
  • Three or more credits
  • At least three of the four courses must be at  the 300- 400 level.  In other words, only one 200 level life science elective may be applied. 
  • A maximum of 1 D grade may be applied to the minor requirements and a 2.0 GPA overall is required. 
  •  Approved Life Sciences Electives Sheet - only courses that are 3 credits or more from the list may be applied.

• Only life science courses acceptable for the Biological Sciences major may be used for the minor. 
• No other course at the 100 level may be used to satisfy the minor.
• Courses in chemistry, mathematics, or physics will not count toward the minor.
• Of the General Biology I and II and four life science electives courses, a minimum of  three of the courses must be taken at Rutgers-New Brunswick.   The General Biology series must be completed at a single institution
• A maximum of 3 credits of Research in  Biology  or Independent Study in Biology may be used toward the minor.
• A grade-point average of 2.0 or better in courses credited toward the minor is required, and only one course with a grade of "D" will count towards the minor.
• Internship in the Life Sciences and MBS Externship course may not be used for the Biological Sciences minor. 

  There are restrictions on combinations of majors and minors with the Biological Sciences minor. Please review before submitting a request for the minor. 

      SAS Major/Minor Combination Restrictions  

     SEBS Major/Minor Combination Restrictions  

If the major/Bio minor or minor/Bio minor combination you want to pursue is not on the restricted list. Please be aware of the following: .

• Students pursuing a Bio minor and another life science major or minor, they are required to complete as part of the Bio minor requirements,  a minimum of  two ( 3 or more credit) approved life science electives that are not applied toward fulfilling either their other life science major or  minor requirements. 
• Students should be sure to meet with a Bio Advisor to ensure they understand which two courses will be utilized in fulfilling this requirement, as DN may not accurately reflect restrictions on coursework being applied to their Bio minor that counts for their  other major/minor. 

Biological Sciences Minor Worksheet- Use this form to keep track of the courses which you have completed for your minor.

Should you take General Chemistry if you are minoring in Biological Sciences?

• Though courses in chemistry cannot be used towards the minor, General Chemistry 161, 162, and lab 171 (01:160:161, 162, and 171) are very useful for completion of the minor, as these courses are pre-reqs for many of the life science electives that could count towards the minor.
• It is possible to complete the minor without chemistry, but there are many fewer possible courses from which students can choose.
• Though not quite as critical, the first semester of Organic Chemistry (01:160:307) is a pre-req for several popular courses, such as Intro to Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and General Microbiology.