Biology and Biotechnology- C and D Terms

Course Planning Specifics: Biology and Biotechnology

You will register for C and D term classes in November. 

In addition to the course recommendations below that are specific to your major, each student must complete 4 PE courses in their four years at WPI. You are welcome to add a Physical Education and Wellness course to any term. PE courses are worth 1/12 unit, unlike major subjects discussed in course recommendations which are worth 1/3 unit, and can be taken in addition to the 3 courses recommended below. 

For more information on the degree requirements for your major click here.

C Term Recommendations

The introductory sequence for Biology & Biotechnology majors includes Biotechnology (BB 1035, A & D terms), Biodiversity (BB 1045, C term) and Human Biology (BB 1025, B and C terms).  Students who took BB 1035 in A term can consider taking Cell Biology BB 2550 or Genetics BB 2920 in C term. 

BB majors and all students planning careers in the health professions should complete the introductory chemistry sequence through CH 1030: (CH Chemical Properties, Bonding, and Forces (1010), Chemical Reactions (CH 1020) and Kinetics, Equilibrium and Thermodynamics (CH 1030).

 

 

Your third course should be a GPS, Humanities and Arts, or Math. More information about these courses is available below: 

GPS stands for Great Problems Seminar is a course that is exclusively for first year students and allow students to learn about a problem in the world and work with a group on how to fix it. These courses are helpful with the transition to college as well as useful for students when preparing for projects such as IQP and MQP in junior and senior year. GPS courses run for both A and B term, so you will only need to choose one. Biology and Biotechnology majors who are interested in GPS should consider taking topics of particular interest including global health and nutrition. More information can be found here.

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

  • Art (AR)
  • Music (MU)
  • Drama/Theatre (EN/TH)
  • Foreign Language- Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN)
    • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu)
    • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
    • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
    • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
    • For English Language (International Students) Information, Please Email: Professor Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) and Professor Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu)
  • Literature (EN)
  • Writing/Rhetoric (WR, RH)
  • International Student English (ISE)
  • History (HI)
  • International Studies (INTL)
  • Philosophy (PY)
  • Religion (RE)

Mathematics for biology majors should include Calculus I (MA 1021) and II (MA 1022). After completing or receiving credit for Calculus I and II, students may elect to take statistics, an area of mathematics essential to biological data analysis.  Statistics courses include Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences (MA 2610) and Applied Statistics I and II (MA 2611 and 2612). In order to determine where you should start with your MA courses, please see below.

 

Biology and Biotechnology majors are required to take 3/6 units of labs at the 29XX level. BB 2903 is an Anatomy and Physiology lab that is offered in C term for an additional 1/6 unit. 

D Term Recommendations

The introductory sequence for Biology & Biotechnology majors includes Biotechnology (BB 1035, A & D terms), Biodiversity (BB 1045, C term) and Human Biology (BB 1025, B and C terms). Students who completed BB 1035 in A or C term can consider taking Cell Biology BB 2550 in D term. Students who completed BB 1035 in C term can consider taking Fundamentals of Microbiology BB 2003 in D term. 

BB majors and all students planning careers in the health professions should complete the introductory chemistry sequence through CH 1030: (CH Chemical Properties, Bonding, and Forces (1010), Chemical Reactions (CH 1020) and Kinetics, Equilibrium and Thermodynamics (CH 1030).

Mathematics for biology majors should include Calculus I (MA 1021) and II (MA 1022). After completing or receiving credit for Calculus I and II, students may elect to take statistics, an area of mathematics essential to biological data analysis.  Statistics courses include Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences (MA 2610) and Applied Statistics I and II (MA 2611 and 2612).

Your third course should be a Humanities and Arts or Social Science course. More information can be found on these courses below: 

 

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

  • Art (AR)
  • Music (MU)
  • Drama/Theatre (EN/TH)
  • Foreign Language- Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN)
    • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu)
    • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
    • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
    • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
    • For English Language (International Students) Information, Please Email: Professor Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) and Professor Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu)
  • Literature (EN)
  • Writing/Rhetoric (WR, RH)
  • International Student English (ISE)
  • History (HI)
  • International Studies (INTL)
  • Philosophy (PY)
  • Religion (RE)

 

You are required to take two Social Science Courses in your time at WPI. The subjects that are considered Social Science are:

  • Development (DEV)
  • Economics (ECON)
  • Environmental Studies (ENV)
  • Government, Political Science, and Law (GOV)
  • Psychology (PSY)
  • System Dynamics (SD)
  • Sociology (SOC)
  • Social Science (SS)
  • Society/Technology Studies (STS)

Note: ID 2050 is a course that is required before you go away for IQP and counts as one of your Social Science Courses. If you are planning on going away for IQP in your junior year, you may only want to take one social science course in your first year. 

 

Biology and Biotechnology majors are required to take 3/6 unit of biology labs at the 29XX level. Students who have completed BB 1045 can consider taking BB 2904 as an additional 1/6 lab. 

Once you go through the above recommendations, please be sure to review Registration Information so you know how to register on November 15th. 

Registration Information

To build your schedule you should use the Course Listings page and the WPI Planner. Below are instructions on how to use the Planner tool and how to search for courses before inputting this information into Workday, WPI's registration platform.

  1. Navigate to the WPI Planner.
  2. On the first tab, select the class subject area you are interested in (ex. Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences). Note: Great Problems Seminars are listed under First Year.
  3. Once you select the subject, the available courses will appear. As you select courses, they will appear in the box at the bottom right.
    • You should select three courses for each term. It is also a good idea to identify some back-up schedules in case your first choices are full when you register.
    • You can also select a Physical Education course, and 1/6 unit music courses, as an additional fourth course in addition to your three courses. This is common for first year students.
    • ROTC Members: please select your Military Science course in addition to your three courses. Your Physical Training will count towards your physical education requirement, so you do not need to select PE courses.
  4. On the second tab, Time, you can eliminate times of day you do not want classes. Note: This may limit your course options, so use this one sparingly.
  5. The third tab, Schedules, shows all the possible schedules that can result from your course selections. Make sure you are looking at the correct term, and look to see if there is any overlap between class times. You can change the term you would like to take the course by clicking on the term bubbles.
    • When you are satisfied with how your schedule looks it is time to identify the sections of the classes you plan to register for.
    • At the top of the Schedules tab, you will see two boxes, one labeled “Grid” and another labeled “Detail.” Click the “Detail” box to see a listing of selected courses with information including course name, course section, professor, location, and meeting days and times.

 

PRE-REGISTRATION PREP​

  • Watch the 10 min. overview video
  • Login to Workday​
  • Use Find Course Sections to build at least one Saved Schedule for C-Term, D-Term, and if you're taking any 10 or 14 week classes, Spring Semester (instructions)​​​

November 15, 7AM ET: REGISTER​

  • Login to Workday​
  • Open a browser tab or window for C-Term, D-Term, and Spring Semester (if you have any 10 or 14 week classes) and View My Saved Schedules for each​
  • [Optional] Open tabs for alternate course sections from other Saved Schedules or search results​
  • When registration opens, click Start Registration, then click Register (instructions)
  • Open View My Courses, scroll right to Drop or Swap (instructions)​
  • Waitlisted? If a spot opens, a notification will be sent to your WPI email asking you to login to Workday and take action