Biotechnology Minor
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
College of Engineering

Description | Requirements | Required Courses | Elective Courses | Admissions/Certification of Minor | Contact

Description

The undergraduate Minor in Biotechnology is a university-wide program and draws upon NC State's strength in the life sciences, agriculture and engineering. Students in the minor will participate in a series of cutting-edge laboratory-intensive courses. Upon completion of the minor, students will have a conceptual understanding of a wide array of research applications in biotechnology, as well as mastery of numerous techniques.

Biotechnology is not universally accepted, and one role of a university is to ensure that this technololgy is used wisely. A key part of the training provided by the Biotechnology Minor is the requirement for an ethics course that promotes critical thinking of ethical issues and discussions of individual and collective rights and responsibilities. By active participation in break-out sessions, each student can contribute their concerns and thoughts regarding the complex issues that accompany use of genetically engineered organisms.

Requirements

The requirements for the Biotechnology Minor include 8-9 credits of biotechnology-related laboratory courses (see Group B and C), a 3 credit research experience related to biotechnology (Group D), and a 1-3 credit biotechnology ethics course (Group E). Group A describes the pre-requisite courses a student will need to have completed satisfactorily in order to be eligible to start the minor.

Required Courses

Group A: Preparatory Classes

Choose one from this group:

BIO 181 Introduction to Biology I (4 cr)
ZO 160 Introduction to Celluar and Developmental Zoology (4 cr)

And the following course is required after one of the above has been completed:

CH 223 Organic Chemistry II (4 cr)

Group B (4 credits): One of these courses should be taken preferably during the junior or senior year, prior to or concurrently with the research internship in Group D. BIT 410 is the preferred course for students to take and will be offered in both fall and spring semesters.

BIT 410 Manipulation of Recombinant DNA (4 cr)

The following courses may be substituted for BIT 410:

BCH 454 Advanced Biochemistry Lab (4 cr)

Group C (4-5 credit hours): These courses will be offered in pairs of 7.5-week modules during the Fall and Spring Semester, or as 2 week modules during the summer. You may combine any two courses from this list. BIT special topic laboratory courses designated BIT495 or BIT595 may be used with departmental approval. Other BIT 500-level laboratory courses are permitted with departmental approval.

BIT 461 Sequencing cDNA Libraries (2 cr)
BIT 462 Microarrays (2 cr)
BIT 463 Fermentation (2 cr)
BIT 464 Protein purification (2 cr)
BIT 466 Animal cell culture (2 cr)
BIT (BO) 481 Plant Transformation and Tissue Culture (2 cr)
BIT 467 PCR and DNA Fingerprinting (2 cr)
BIT 468 Genome Mapping (2 cr)

The following course may be substituted for one module:

MB 409 Microbial Diversity (3 cr)

Group D (3 credit hours): You must enroll for 3 credits of research experience. This should be done through your major department if possible. Most majors have 492/493/level courses that give credit for research experience.

There are many opportunities for summer internships in the Research Triangle Park. Please consult with your adviser, the coordinator of advising for your major or Marcy Bullock (Marcy_Bullock@ncsu.edu) or Tricia Buddin (Tricia_Buddin@ncsu.edu) in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Career Services office at 515-3249.

Existing courses that fulfill this requirement include:

ALS 499 Honors Research (3 cr)
CHE 497 Undergraduate Research (3 cr)
Any 492 or 493 course in a Science Department, providing that a biotechnology-related research topic is pursued (3 cr)

Group E (1-3 credits): You must enroll for 1-3 credits of courses that include ethical discussions of biotechnology.

Any of the following courses will fulfill this requirement. Other courses may be used with departmental approval.

IDS 201 Environmental Ethics (3cr)
STS 302 Contemporary Science, Technology and Human Values (3cr)
IDS 303 Humans and the Environment (3cr)
STS 304 Ethical Dimensions of Progress (3cr)
STS 320 Ethics in Engineering (3cr)
PHI/STS 325 Bio-Medical Ethics(3cr)

Elective Courses

None.

Admissions and Certification of Minor

Students who have questions or who would like to be admitted to the minor should contact the contact person below. The minor must be completed no later than the semester in which the student expects to graduate from his or her degree program. The Undergraduate Biotechnology Minor Certification of Completion form (pdf) is the paperwork necessary for certification and should be completed during the registration period that will complete the requirements for the minor or during the registration period for the student's final semester at NC State.

Contact Persons

Dr. Sue Carson

6104 Jordan Hall

919.513.0330

sue_carson@ncsu.edu

Robert M. Kelly
Partners II Bldg., Room 3309
840 Main Campus Drive
919.515.6396
rmkelly@eos.ncsu.edu

last updated: August 3, 2005