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Biotechnology - B.S.

Our Biotechnology program offers a thorough education on the principles and techniques of biotechnology, equipping you with the necessary skills for a diverse array of careers in academia, government and industry. With access to cutting-edge research facilities, experienced faculty and real-world opportunities, you'll gain the skills and knowledge needed to make an impact in this exciting field.

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Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology

Engage in focused coursework that covers a wide array of topics, from genetic engineering to bioprocessing technologies. Our program is designed to enhance your knowledge and skills, preparing you for careers in pharmaceutical development, biomedical research, and various biotechnology-related fields.

Program Information for Biotechnology - B.S.

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary program that provides a strong academic foundation in biological sciences and chemistry, practical training in the various biotechnologies and a solid understanding of their application in industry and biomedicine. The science of biotechnology extends across many areas of biology and chemistry and provides cutting-edge technology tools for modern biology and biomedical research. The curriculum includes a research experience at Kent State and/or an internship at a biotechnology company.

Biotechnology graduates have employment opportunities in biomedical research and in the rapidly growing biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Admissions for Biotechnology - B.S.

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Apply knowledge and information to complex issues in biotechnology.
  2. Use problem-solving and data-gathering skills to comprehend issues in biotechnology.
  3. Develop inductive reasoning and technical communications skills in the context of working in a complex group environment.
  4. Analyze scientific papers and expand skills for listening to and critiquing scientific seminars based on the literature or current research.
  5. Effectively communicate scientific information.
  6. Develop collaborative working relationships with research mentors and laboratory members.
Coursework
On This Page

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA)
BSCI 10120BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS (ELR) (KBS) (KLAB) 4
BSCI 30140CELL BIOLOGY 4
BSCI 30156ELEMENTS OF GENETICS 3
BSCI 30171GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY 4
BSCI 40158MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 3
BTEC 10210INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY 3
BTEC 40191SEMINAR: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY 1
BTEC 40192INTERNSHIP IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELR) 6-12
or BTEC 40196 INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELR)
BTEC 40210CASE STUDIES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (WIC) 13
BTEC 40220BIOINFORMATICS 3
BUS 10123EXPLORING BUSINESS 3
CHEM 10060GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (KBS) 4
CHEM 10061GENERAL CHEMISTRY II (KBS) 4
CHEM 10062GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
CHEM 10063GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
CHEM 20481BASIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 4
CHEM 30284INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 4
CHEM 40251ADVANCED BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY (WIC) (min grade C) 12
CHEM 40262BIOCHEMISTRY: METABOLISM AND GENE EXPRESSION 3
MATH 12002ANALYTIC GEOMETRY AND CALCULUS I (KMCR) 5
MATH 30011BASIC PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 3
PHIL 30015MEDICINE AND MORALITY 3
PHY 13001GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS I (KBS) 4
PHY 13021GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS LABORATORY I (KBS) (KLAB) 1
Major Electives, choose from the following:9
BSCI 30518
VERTEBRATE ANATOMY
BSCI 40143
EUKARYOTIC CELL BIOLOGY
BSCI 40159
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY (ELR) (WIC) 1
BSCI 40174
IMMUNOLOGY
BSCI 40463
MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
CHEM 30105
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY I
CHEM 30107
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I (WIC) 1
CHEM 30301
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I
CHEM 30475
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I (ELR)
CHEM 40109
BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
CHEM 40365
BIOLOGICAL INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
CHEM 40567
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY FOR LIFE SCIENCES
PSYC 41363
BIOPSYCHOLOGY
Any Upper-Division course (30000 or 40000 level) approved by program director
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
CS 10051COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES (KMCR) 4
PHIL 21001INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (DIVG) (KHUM) 3
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Foreign Language (see Foreign Language College Requirement below)8
Kent Core Composition6
Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)6
Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)6
General Elective (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)1
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000

Foreign Language College Requirement, B.S.

  • Students pursuing the Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 8 credit hours of foreign language.1 
  • The following programs are exempt from this requirement: The Bachelor of Science in Cybercriminology and the Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science.2
  • Minimum Elementary I and II of the same language
1

All students with prior foreign language experience should take the foreign language placement test to determine the appropriate level at which to start. Some students may start beyond the Elementary I level and will complete the requirement with fewer credit hours and courses. This may be accomplished by (1) passing a course beyond Elementary I through Intermediate II level; (2) receiving credit through one of the alternative credit programs offered by Kent State University; or (3) demonstrating language proficiency comparable to Elementary II of a foreign language. When students complete the requirement with fewer than 8 credit hours and two courses, they will complete remaining credit hours with general electives.

2
The Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science exemption exists under another college policy (Three-Plus-One Programs). The Bachelor of Science in Cybercriminology exemption is due to its extensive collaboration with and contribution from the Information Technology program in the College of Applied and Technical Studies, which does not have a foreign language requirement.
 
Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
!BSCI 10120 BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS (ELR) (KBS) (KLAB) 4
!CHEM 10060 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (KBS) 4
!CHEM 10062 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
MATH 12002 ANALYTIC GEOMETRY AND CALCULUS I (KMCR) 5
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
 Credit Hours15
Semester Two
BSCI 30140 CELL BIOLOGY 4
BTEC 10210 INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY 3
CHEM 10061 GENERAL CHEMISTRY II (KBS) 4
CHEM 10063 GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
BSCI 30171 GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY 4
CHEM 20481 BASIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 4
PHIL 21001 INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (DIVG) (KHUM) 3
Foreign Language 4
 Credit Hours15
Semester Four
BSCI 30156 ELEMENTS OF GENETICS 3
CS 10051 COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES (KMCR) 4
PHY 13001 GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS I (KBS) 4
PHY 13021 GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS LABORATORY I (KBS) (KLAB) 1
Foreign Language 4
 Credit Hours16
Semester Five
BUS 10123 EXPLORING BUSINESS 3
MATH 30011 BASIC PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 3
PHIL 30015 MEDICINE AND MORALITY 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Elective 1
 Credit Hours16
Semester Six
BSCI 40158 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 3
CHEM 30284 INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 4
Major Elective 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Third Summer Term
BTEC 40192
or BTEC 40196
 INTERNSHIP IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELR)
or INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELR)
2-6
 Credit Hours2
Semester Seven
BTEC 40191 SEMINAR: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY 1
BTEC 40210 CASE STUDIES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (WIC) 3
BTEC 40220 BIOINFORMATICS 3
Major Elective 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours13
Semester Eight
BTEC 40192
or BTEC 40196
 INTERNSHIP IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELR)
or INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELR)
4-6
CHEM 40251 ADVANCED BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY (WIC) 2
CHEM 40262 BIOCHEMISTRY: METABOLISM AND GENE EXPRESSION 3
Major Elective 3
 Credit Hours12
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Kent Campus

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Biotechnology - B.S.

Graduates of Kent State University's Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology can pursue advanced careers and specialized roles as biotechnologists, secondary school teachers, and research scientists. They are equipped to work in biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions, where they can contribute to the development of new technologies, medical therapies, and scientific innovations.

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

3.8%

about as fast as the average

1,050,800

number of jobs

$62,870

potential earnings

Biological technicians

4.9%

about as fast as the average

87,500

number of jobs

$46,340

potential earnings

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

6.1%

faster than the average

138,300

number of jobs

$91,510

potential earnings

Biological scientists, all other

2.2%

slower than the average

44,700

number of jobs

$85,290

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.
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