ADDITIONAL MAJORS AND MINORS RELATED TO BIOLOGY

Applied Statistics Minor 

 Bioinformatics is a joint program of Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences.  Mindful of the emerging opportunities at the interface of biology and computer science, the Departments of Biology and of Computer Science and Engineering sponsor a Bioinformatics Minor that serves students from both departments and other students with an interest in this field.

Biomedical Engineering Majors

The School of Engineering and Applied Science offers undergraduate programs in biomedical engineering with tracks in Bioelectrical Systems, Biomechanics, Biomolecular Systems, and Biotechnology.  These tracks prepare students for the challenges posed by the integration of biology and engineering  Students take engineering course work along with biology courses.  Biomedical engineering majors with strong interests in Biology may supplement the primary major with a Biology second major.

For further information, see http://biomed.wustl.edu/Academics/UndergraduatePrograms.asp or contact Professor Frank Yin (x5-6164; yin@biomed.wustl.edu) in the School of Engineering.

Biomedical Physics Minor

The Physics Department offers a minor for students interested in the application of methods and techniques from physics to biology and medicine.  The program is of interest to the research-oriented science major or the premedical student.  Requirements for the Biomedical Physics minor include Physics 117A and 118A (or Physics 197-198).  TWO courses from the following four are required:  Physics 314 Physics of the Heart (Spring course), Physics 350 Physics of the Brain (Spring course), Physics 351 Intro to Biomedical Physics (Fall course), Physics 355/455 Physics of Vision (Fall Course).  In addition, one advanced laboratory course is required from the following current offerings:  Physics 316 Optics Lab (Fall course), Physics 321 Electronics Lab (Fall course), Physics 322 Physical Measurement Lab (Spring course), Physics 360 Biophysics lab (Spring course).  The lab requirement is intended to give students hands-on experience.  Some challenging biomedically related experiments are available in Physics 322.  Students registered for the biomedical physics minor can take Physics 322 after completing Physics 117A and 118A.  See http://wuphys.wustl.edu/Undergraduate/Docs/degreeRequirements.php or contact Professor Anders Carlsson (x5-5739; aec@howdy.wustl.edu) in the Physics Department

Environmental Studies Major and Minor

Recent concern for the environment stems from degradation of the biotic environment (i.e., the air, water, soil, etc.) by humans and the effect that this degradation has on living organisms.  Because of this growing concern, Washington University has created an interdisciplinary program of Environmental Studies, which offers both a major and a minor and combines faculty from Anthropology, Biology, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Economics, Engineering and Applied Science, and Political Science (http://levee.wustl.edu/enst).

      Within the major, there are two areas of concentration: environmental science and environmental social science.  The former requires more courses in Biology and EPS, whereas the latter requires more in Anthropology, Economics and Political Science. For the Environmental Studies minor, see http://levee.wustl.edu/enst/Curriculum/majorminor/ENST-minor.pdf. Students with interests in environmental engineering should consider a minor in Environmental Engineering Sciences (http://www.env.wustl.edu/Academics/UndergraduatePrograms.asp).

History and Philosophy of Science Minor

History and philosophy of science is a diverse interdisciplinary minor program that offers you the opportunity to explore scientific ideas and issues in a larger perspective.  This program, by drawing on a range of courses from different departments, allows you to examine different sciences in relation to each other and to study issues not necessarily part of the traditional science curriculum.  If you are a science major or premedical student, this program will broaden your science background and understanding of science as a social and intellectual process.  If you are a major in history, philosophy, or one of the behavioral sciences, this program can help to integrate the diverse aspects of a liberal education to prepare you for your future career.  The program as constituted is particularly strong in the history and philosophy of the life sciences.

If you are interested in minoring in history and philosophy of science, consult the committee chair (Mark Rollins, mark@wustl.edu) and your major adviser.  This minor requires 15 units, of which 9 must be at the 300 level or above.  You must take at least three courses from the core, including Philosophy 321 and at least one course outside of philosophy.  Courses counting toward the minor must be additional to courses taken for your major.  Core courses include Biol 345A, Biol 346A, and other courses from the Philosophy, Physics, and Psychology departments.  See the Undergraduate Program book for a current listing of appropriate courses.

Philosophy - Neuroscience - Psychology (PNP) is an interdisciplinary program that provides an opportunity to examine the mind from multiple perspectives.  In addition to philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology, PNP draws upon other disciplines whose investigations contribute to understanding cognition, such as biology, linguistics, education, and cultural anthropology.  Each of the disciplines employs different modes of inquiry to examine various aspects of cognition.  For example, from the perspective of neuroscience, investigating the workings of the mind means investigating the workings of the brain; from the perspective of linguistics, we gain insight into the mind by investigating one of its most complex products, namely language; and from the perspective of cultural anthropology, we gain insight into the mind's workings by looking at the workings of society.  The goal of the major is for students to develop an understanding of the differences among the approaches used by these disciplines, and an appreciation of how they can provide converging perspectives on issues in cognition.

PNP may be taken as a first major, second major or minor. For further information, contact Sara Bernal (5-6684; sbernal@artsci.wustl.edu), look at the web page for the undergraduate PNP program, http://artsci.wustl.edu/~pnp, and see the PNP listing in the Undergraduate Program Book.