School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Biochemistry (BS)
The Biochemistry program at UT Dallas, administered through the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, draws on faculty from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, and researchers from UT Southwestern Medical School to provide courses and research opportunities to its majors. The Biochemistry major bridges the gap between modern Chemistry and Biology. The curriculum, designed to prepare students for either graduate work in the Biological Sciences, the Chemical Sciences, or for entry-level positions in the biotechnology industry, builds on a base of biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to provide the student the opportunity to develop essential theoretical and practical skills.
UT Southwestern Medical School
UT Dallas Biochemistry majors may perform their research in the laboratories of faculty members from the departments of Biochemistry, Internal Medicine, Pharmacology and Physiology at UT Southwestern, as available.
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
Degree Requirements (120 semester credit hours)1
View an Example of Degree Requirements by Semester
Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty
Professors: Kenneth J. Balkus Jr., Ray H. Baughman, Rockford K. Draper, John P. Ferraris, Juan E. González, Inga H. Musselman, Bruce M. Novak, Lawrence J. Reitzer, A. Dean Sherry, Stephen Spiro, Mihaela C. Stefan, Li Zhang, Michael Qiwei Zhang, Jie Zheng
Associate Professors: Jung-Mo Ahn, Michael C. Biewer, Sheena D'Arcy, Jeff L. DeJong, Nikki Delk, Gregg R. Dieckmann, Sheel Dodani, Heng Du, Jeremiah J. Gassensmith, Warren J. Goux, Tae Hoon Kim, Gabriele Meloni, Faruck Morcos, Steven O. Nielsen, Kelli Palmer, Paul Pantano, John W. Sibert IV, Ronald A. Smaldone, Duane D. Winkler, Zhenyu Xuan
Assistant Professors: Nicole De Nisco, Jiyong Lee, Jyoti Misra
Clinical Professor: David Murchison
Research Assistant Professors: Lan Guo, Li Liu
Senior Lecturer: Wen-Ho Yu
Professors Emeriti: Hans Bremer, Lee A. Bulla, Richard A. Caldwell, Donald M. Gray
Associate Professors Emeriti: Gail A. M. Breen, Dennis L. Miller
Professors of Instruction: Scott A. Rippel, Amandeep Sra, Uma Srikanth
Associate Professors of Instruction: Mehmet Candas, Sergio Cortes, Sandhya R. Gavva, Yu Huang, Wen-Ju Lin, Elizabeth Pickett, Yanping Qin, Ilya Sapozhnikov
Assistant Professors of Instruction: Ida Klang, Meenakshi Maitra, Caitlin Maynard, Iti Mehta, Jing Pan, Nimanka Panapitiya, Ruben D. Ramirez, Eva Sadat, Subha Sarcar, Michelle Wilson, Zhuoru Wu
Biological Sciences Faculty
Professors: Rockford K. Draper, Juan E. González, Lawrence J. Reitzer, Stephen Spiro, Li Zhang, Michael Qiwei Zhang
Associate Professors: Jeff L. DeJong, Nikki Delk, Heng Du, Tae Hoon Kim, Faruck Morcos, Kelli Palmer, Duane D. Winkler, Zhenyu Xuan
Assistant Professors: Nicole De Nisco, Nicholas Dillon, Purna Joshi, Jyoti Misra, Darshan Sapkota
Professors Emeriti: Hans Bremer, Lee A. Bulla, Donald M. Gray
Associate Professors Emeriti: Gail A. M. Breen, Dennis L. Miller
Clinical Professor: David Murchison
Research Assistant Professors: Lan Guo, Li Liu
Professors of Instruction: Scott A. Rippel, Uma Srikanth
Associate Professors of Instruction: Mehmet Candas, Wen-Ju Lin, Elizabeth Pickett, Ilya Sapozhnikov
Assistant Professors of Instruction: Ida Klang, Meenakshi Maitra, Caitlin Maynard, Iti Mehta, Ramesh Padmanabhan, Jing Pan, Ruben D. Ramirez, Eva Sadat, Subha Sarcar, Michelle Wilson, Zhuoru Wu
Senior Lecturer: Wen-Ho Yu
I. Core Curriculum Requirements: 42 semester credit hours2
Communication: 6 semester credit hours
COMM 1311 Survey of Oral and Technology-based Communication
RHET 1302 Rhetoric
Or select any 6 semester credit hours from Communication Core courses (see advisor)
Mathematics: 3 semester credit hours
or MATH 2413 Differential Calculus3, 4
Or select any 3 semester credit hours from Mathematics Core courses (see advisor)
Life and Physical Sciences: 6 semester credit hours
CHEM 1311 General Chemistry I3
or CHEM 1315 Honors Freshman Chemistry I3
CHEM 1312 General Chemistry II3
or CHEM 1316 Honors Freshman Chemistry II3
Or select any 6 semester credit hours from Life and Physical Sciences Core courses (see advisor)
Language, Philosophy and Culture: 3 semester credit hours
Select any 3 semester credit hours from Language, Philosophy and Culture Core courses (see advisor)
Creative Arts: 3 semester credit hours
Select any 3 semester credit hours from Creative Arts Core courses (see advisor)
American History: 6 semester credit hours
Select any 6 semester credit hours from American History Core courses (see advisor)
Government/Political Science: 6 semester credit hours
GOVT 2305 American National Government
GOVT 2306 State and Local Government
Or select any 6 semester credit hours from Government/Political Science Core courses (see advisor)
Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 semester credit hours
Select any 3 semester credit hours from Social and Behavioral Sciences Core courses (see advisor)
Component Area Option: 6 semester credit hours
or MATH 2413 Differential Calculus3, 4
or MATH 2414 Integral Calculus3, 4
PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I3, 5
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat6
Or select any 6 semester credit hours from Component Area Option Core courses (see advisor)
II. Major Requirements: 65-67 semester credit hours
Major Preparatory Courses: 28-30 semester credit hours beyond Core Curriculum
BIOL 2111 Introduction to Modern Biology Workshop I
BIOL 2311 Introduction to Modern Biology I
CHEM 1111 General Chemistry Laboratory I
or CHEM 1115 Honors Freshman Chemistry Laboratory I
CHEM 1112 General Chemistry Laboratory II
or CHEM 1116 Honors Freshman Chemistry Laboratory II
CHEM 1311 General Chemistry I3
or CHEM 1315 Honors Freshman Chemistry I3
CHEM 1312 General Chemistry II3
or CHEM 1316 Honors Freshman Chemistry II3
CHEM 2323 Introductory Organic Chemistry I7
or CHEM 2327 Honors Organic Chemistry I7
CHEM 2325 Introductory Organic Chemistry II7
or CHEM 2328 Honors Organic Chemistry II7
CHEM 2233 Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory7
or CHEM 2237 Honors Organic Chemistry Laboratory7
CHEM 2401 Introductory Quantitative Methods in Chemistry
PHYS 2325 Mechanics8 and PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I3, 5
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat8, 9
PHYS 2326 Electromagnetism and Waves8
or PHYS 2422 Honors Physics II - Electromagnetism and Waves8
PHYS 2126 Physics Laboratory II
MATH Sequence - Students may choose one of the following sequences:
I. MATH 2413 Differential Calculus3, 4
and MATH 2414 Integral Calculus3, 4
and MATH 2415 Calculus of Several Variables
or
and MATH 3351 Advanced Calculus
Major Core Courses: 37 semester credit hours
BIOL 3101 Classical and Molecular Genetics Workshop
BIOL 3102 Eukaryotic Molecular and Cell Biology Workshop
BIOL 3161 Biochemistry Workshop I
BIOL 3162 Biochemistry Workshop II
BIOL 3301 Classical and Molecular Genetics
BIOL 3302 Eukaryotic Molecular and Cell Biology
BIOL 3380 Biochemistry Laboratory
BIOL 3361 or CHEM 3361 Biochemistry I
BIOL 3362 or CHEM 3362 Biochemistry II
CHEM 3321 Physical Chemistry I
CHEM 3322 Physical Chemistry II
CHEM 3472 Instrumental Analysis
Any two upper-division Chemistry or Biology electives (8 semester credit hours) not taken to fulfill above.
III. Elective Requirements: 11-13 semester credit hours
Free Electives: 11-13 semester credit hours
The plan must include sufficient upper-division credit to total 51 upper-division semester credit hours.
STAT 2332 Introductory Statistics for Life Sciences is strongly recommended.
Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master's Degrees
Undergraduate students at UT Dallas with strong academic records who intend to pursue the MS in Chemistry at UT Dallas may apply for a Fast Track plan of study which involves taking selected graduate courses as an upper-level student. After Fast Track admission to the graduate program, 15 semester credit hours of graduate courses with an earned grade of B or better can be used toward completion of the baccalaureate degree and to satisfy requirements for the master's degree. Interested students should contact the undergraduate advisor well in advance of the junior year to prepare a sequence permitting maximal advantage to be taken of the catalog's regulations (see Undergraduate Registration for Graduate Courses).
1. Incoming freshmen must enroll and complete requirements of UNIV 1010 and the corresponding school-related freshman seminar course. Students, including transfer students, who complete their core curriculum at UT Dallas must take UNIV 2020.
2. Curriculum Requirements can be fulfilled by other approved courses from institutions of higher education. The courses listed are recommended as the most efficient way to satisfy both Core Curriculum and Major Requirements at UT Dallas.
3. A required Major course that also fulfills Core Curriculum requirement. Semester credit hours are counted in the Core Curriculum.
4. Three semester credit hours of Calculus are counted to fulfill the Mathematics Core Requirement with the remaining one semester credit hour to be counted under Component Area Option Core.
5. Six semester credit hours of Chemistry are counted under Science core, and one semester of Physics (PHYS 2125) are counted under Component Area Option core.
6. Students may use PHYS 2421 as part of the component area core curriculum requirement instead of PHYS 2125 if they choose that Physics sequence.
7. Indicates a prerequisite class to be completed before enrolling for upper-division classes.
8. Students will take one of the two Physics sequences: PHYS 2325 and PHYS 2326 or PHYS 2421 and PHYS 2422 with accompanying labs.
9. Students who complete PHYS 2421 do not need to complete PHYS 2125.