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)
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 , Kelli Palmer , 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 , 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 , Paul Pantano , John W. Sibert IV , Ronald A. Smaldone , Duane D. Winkler , Zhenyu Xuan
Assistant Professors: Nicole De Nisco , Jiyong Lee
Clinical Professor: David Murchison
Research Assistant Professors: Li Liu , Ru-Hung Wang
Senior Lecturer: Wen-Ho Yu
Professors Emeriti: 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: 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 , Kelli Palmer , Lawrence J. Reitzer , Stephen Spiro , Li Zhang , Michael Qiwei Zhang
Associate Professors: Joseph Boll , Mehmet Candas , Nikki Delk , Tae Hoon Kim , Faruck Morcos , Duane D. Winkler , Zhenyu Xuan
Assistant Professors: Nicole De Nisco , Nicholas Dillon , Xintong Dong , Lin Jia , Purna Joshi , Erica Sanchez , Darshan Sapkota
Professors Emeriti: Lee A. Bulla , Donald M. Gray
Associate Professors Emeriti: Gail A. M. Breen , Dennis L. Miller
Clinical Professor: David Murchison
Professors of Instruction: Scott A. Rippel , Uma Srikanth
Associate Professors of Instruction: Wen-Ju Lin , Elizabeth Pickett , Ilya Sapozhnikov
Assistant Professors of Instruction: Stephanie Boyd , Yi Huang , Meenakshi Maitra , Caitlin Maynard , Iti Mehta , Ramesh Padmanabhan , Jing Pan , Ruben D. Ramirez , Eva Sadat , Subha Sarcar , Michelle Wilson , Zhuoru Wu
Associate Professor of Practice: Uyen Henson
Research Assistant Professors: Li Liu , Ru-Hung Wang
Senior Lecturer: Wen-Ho Yu
UT Dallas Affiliated Faculty: Heng Du , Jung-whan (Jay) Kim
I. Core Curriculum Requirements: 42 semester credit hours1
Communication: 6 semester credit hours
COMM 1311 Introduction to Communication Studies
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 Calculus2, 3
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 I2
or CHEM 1315 Honors Freshman Chemistry I2
CHEM 1312 General Chemistry II2
or CHEM 1316 Honors Freshman Chemistry II2
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 Calculus2, 3
or MATH 2414 Integral Calculus2, 3
PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I2, 4
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat5
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 I2
or CHEM 1315 Honors Freshman Chemistry I2
CHEM 1312 General Chemistry II2
or CHEM 1316 Honors Freshman Chemistry II2
CHEM 2323 Introductory Organic Chemistry I6
or CHEM 2327 Honors Organic Chemistry I6
CHEM 2325 Introductory Organic Chemistry II6
or CHEM 2328 Honors Organic Chemistry II6
CHEM 2233 Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory6
or CHEM 2237 Honors Organic Chemistry Laboratory6
CHEM 2401 Introductory Quantitative Methods in Chemistry
and PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I2, 4
or PHYS 2421 Honors Physics I - Mechanics and Heat7, 8
PHYS 2326 Electromagnetism and Waves7
or PHYS 2422 Honors Physics II - Electromagnetism and Waves7
PHYS 2126 Physics Laboratory II
MATH Sequence - Students may choose one of the following sequences:
I. MATH 2413 Differential Calculus2, 3
and MATH 2414 Integral Calculus2, 3
and MATH 2415 Calculus of Several Variables
or
and MATH 3351 Advanced Calculus
Major Core Courses: 37 semester credit hours
BIOL 3401 Genetics
BIOL 3402 Molecular and Cell Biology
BIOL 3380 Biochemistry Laboratory
BIOL 3461 Biochemistry I
or CHEM 3461 Biochemistry I
BIOL 3462 Biochemistry II
or CHEM 3462 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
STAT 2332 Introductory Statistics for Life Sciences (strongly recommended)
The plan must include sufficient upper-division courses to total 45 upper-division semester credit hours.
Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master's Degrees
For students with strong academic record who intend to pursue master's studies at UT Dallas, accelerated BS/MS Fast Tracks are available. After Fast Track admission to an MS program, students may take up to 15 semester credit hours of approved graduate courses in their senior year to use toward completion of both the BS and MS degrees. The available Fast Track options and their admission requirements, if any, in addition to having completed 90 or more semester credit hours (out of which 36 hours are from the core curriculum) with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00, are as follows:
- MS in Chemistry
- MS in Biotechnology: Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 in all courses.
- MS in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology: Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 in all mathematics and statistics courses.
- MS in Data Science and Statistics (Only Data Science and Applied Statistics specializations): Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 in all mathematics and statistics courses.
Interested students, after reviewing the UT Dallas Fast Track policy, should contact their undergraduate advisor and the graduate advisor of the intended MS program well in advance of their junior year to prepare a course sequence permitting maximal advantage and apply to the Fast Track program.
1. 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.
2. A required Major course that also fulfills Core Curriculum requirement. Semester credit hours are counted in the Core Curriculum.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Students may use PHYS 2421 as part of the component area core curriculum requirement instead of PHYS 2125 if they choose that Physics sequence.
6. Indicates a prerequisite class to be completed before enrolling for upper-division classes.
7. Students will take one of the two Physics sequences: PHYS 2325 and PHYS 2326 or PHYS 2421 and PHYS 2422 with accompanying labs.
8. Students who complete PHYS 2421 do not need to complete PHYS 2125.