The IB major program features 2 emphases for undergraduate study. The two emphases have the same lower division requirements.
- Emphasis 1: Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
- Emphasis 2: Integrative Human Biology
General Guidelines
- All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for letter-graded credit. P grades are accepted for courses taken in Spring 2020. P grades are also accepted for major requirements taken at UC Berkeley in Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021. Our adjustments are detailed on this shared FAQ. The campus-wide policy modifications from Spring 2020 don't extend to other semesters. Students are encouraged to meet with advisors to discuss any program-specific modifications for 2020-2021.
- Standardized test credit (e.g., Advanced Placement) cannot be used to satisfy any major requirements.
- No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters & Science. Double majors and simultaneous degrees are limited to a two course overlap.
- Students must maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of at least a 2.0 GPA overall, a 2.0 GPA in the required major coursework (lower and upper division), and a 2.0 GPA in the upper division coursework for the major.
- A maximum of two elective courses may be taken from outside of the Department of Integrative Biology. This includes study abroad courses, as well as non-IB courses, even if they are on the approved electives list.
Lower Division Major Requirements
(effective Fall 2023)
These courses are required to graduate in Integrative Biology, but are not necessarily needed to declare the major. To learn about our separate declaration requirements and process, please view the page, Declaring IB.
|
Course Number |
Semester |
Units |
|
Math Group A: Math 16A, 1A, or 10A |
F, Sp, Su |
3-4 |
|
Math Group B: Math 16B, 1B, 10B, Stats 2, 20, or Data C81 |
Sp, Su |
3-4 |
|
Chemistry 1A/1AL |
F, Sp, Su |
3+2 |
|
Biology 1A/1AL |
F, Sp, Su |
3+2 |
|
Biology 1B |
F, Sp, Su |
4 |
|
Physics 8A2 |
F, Sp, Su |
4 |
|
IB 77A or 77B3 |
F, Sp |
1 |
|
1 AP Calc cannot replace a math option but can place you into higher-level math, please contact an IB advisor for more information. 2 Physics 7A can be taken in place of 8A. 3 Only one of IB 77A or IB 77B is required. Required for students declaring IB in fall 2017 or thereafter. |
||
Consult the Berkeley Academic Guide for information about course details and schedules.
Upper Division Major Requirements
These courses are designed to provide students the necessary intellectual tools and techniques required to conduct multidisciplinary work in organismal biology. Laboratory and field courses will provide you with experience in and methodologies for the study of both living and extinct organisms.
Emphasis 1: Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology |
||
| Requirement Group | Course requirements | |
| A. Evolution & Genetics | 1 from Requirement Group A List | |
| B. Ecology, Behavior, and Diversity | 2 from Requirement Group B List (as compared with 1 required for Emphasis 2) | |
| C. Structure, Function and Human Health | 1 from Requirement Group C List (as compared with 2 required for Emphasis 2) | |
| Lab/Field | 2 upper division labs; one must be field-based (field lab not required for Emphasis 2) | |
| Research or honors | Research is NOT required, but up to 3 credits of research-based IB H196A, H196B, or 191 may count towards upper division 24-unit requirement | |
| Electives | Additional units, if needed, to bring student up to 24 required upper division units. A maximum of 2 elective courses may be taken outside of the Department of Integrative Biology. This includes EAP courses as well as non-IB courses, even if they are on the approved electives list. | |
| Upper Division Units | 24 minimum | |
Emphasis 2: Integrative Human Biology |
|
| Requirement Group | Course requirements |
| A. Evolution & Genetics | 1 from Requirement Group A List |
| B. Ecology, Behavior, and Diversity | 1 from Requirement Group B List (as compared with 2 required for Emphasis 1) |
| C. Structure, Function and Human Health | 2 from Requirement Group C List, including either IB 131 - Anatomy or IB 132 - Human Physiology (as compared with any 1 required for Emphasis 1) |
| Lab | 2 upper division labs (Emphasis 1 requires 1 lab to be field based) |
| Research or honors | Research is NOT required, but up to 3 credits of research-based IB H196A, H196B, or 191 may count towards upper division 24-unit requirement |
| Electives | Additional units, if needed, to bring student up to 24 required upper division units. A maximum of 2 elective courses may be taken outside of the Department of Integrative Biology. This includes EAP courses as well as non-IB courses, even if they are on the approved electives list. |
| Upper Division Units | 24 minimum |
Planning your IB Major
To plan your IB major, you will need to visit IB Undergrad forms and print out the appropriate check sheet. Below are some sample plans to help guide you in the planning process:
Freshman Sample Academic Plans
Transfer Student Sample Academic Plans
Declaring the IB Major
- Go to Declaring IB for more information on the steps to declare IB as a major.
- Check out IB Curriculum FAQs
Academic Progress Reports
IB is now using the Academic Progress Report (APR) in CalCentral to monitor your major requirements. If you notice an error in an IB requirement, submit our error report form and an IB advisor will contact you. If a university or college requirement is incorrect, use the L&S form [pdf] to report the error to a college advisor.
Major GPA Policy
An IB major must maintain a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) in a) the complete set of all upper- and lower-division courses taken for the major and b) all upper-division courses taken for the major. Upper-division or graduate level IB courses that are not used to satisfy major requirements are excluded from this calculation. Students for whom either GPA calculation falls below 2.0 will receive additional advising support through our Student Success Program. Students who do not raise their GPA above a 2.0 will be at risk of getting dismissed from the major and becoming ineligible for graduation. Progress will be reviewed after each semester and if satisfactory progress is not made, the IB Undergraduate Advising Committee may decide to dismiss a student from the major. Their major will revert to undeclared and the student will need to work with an L&S advisor to pursue another major.
Our Student Success Program is an advising program meant to support students facing academic difficulty. The program is designed to help students identify barriers that affected their academic progress in the major, connect students to relevant resources, and outline goals to progress towards successful completion of graduation requirements.
Questions concerning this policy may be directed to the staff advisors in the IB Undergraduate Advising department.
Past Curricula Changes
If you declared IB prior to spring 2010, you must follow the old curriculum information.
Math Series Requirement Changes
- Effective Fall 2023, students have the option to choose their math courses, 1 from group A (Math 16A, 1A, or 10A) and 1 from group B (Math 16B, 1B, 10B, Stat 2, Stat 20, or Data c8). Transfer equivalents for those classes are also accepted.
- The required math courses for the IB major have changed, in effect for freshmen admitted fall 2012 and in effect for any transfer student who begins their math series fall 2012 or beyond. Previously the requirement was one semester of math, Math 16A.
- Transfer students who begin math fall 2012 or beyond, will need to complete the equivalent of Math 1A/1B since the Math 10A/10B series does not have any articulated equivalents at community colleges.
- NOTE: If you are a continuing student who was admitted to UC Berkeley prior to fall 2012, you will be grandfathered in with the old requirement of one semester of mathematics, e.g. Math 16A, Math 1A.