Urban Ecology, Bachelor of Science (BS) and Master of Science (MS), Dual-Degree Program

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Qualified undergraduate students may elect to enroll in a dual-degree program, combining their undergraduate bachelor of science degree in urban ecology with a master of science degree in urban ecology. The dual-degree program requires successful completion of a total of 145 s.h., including at least 115 s.h. at the undergraduate level and 30 s.h. at the graduate level. The dual-degree program can be completed in five years, including at least one summer session. Students who are admitted to the MS portion of the dual-degree program may count the graduate courses BIOL 200, 224, and 256 toward both the BS and MS degree requirements. These 9 s.h. will apply to the undergraduate degree in addition to the required 115 s.h. of undergraduate course work, for a total of 124 s.h. for the BA.

Direct admission to the dual-degree program (BS and MS)

Incoming first-year students entering Hofstra may apply for direct admission to this dual-degree program. For those who choose to submit a standardized test score, a 1240 or better on the critical reading and mathematics sections of the SAT (or an ACT score of 25) is recommended. Applicants must have an overall high school GPA of 3.5 (or be in the top 15 percent of their high school graduating class) in order to be considered for admission. First-year students admitted directly to the dual-degree program will be admitted automatically to the MS program in urban ecology at the end of their junior year provided they fulfill the following requirements:

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a GPA of 3.0 in biology courses at the time of application to the MS program, or upon completion of 92 s.h. of course work toward their BS degree in urban ecology.
Successful completion of BIOL 112, BIOL 113, BIOL 120, one intermediate lab course (BIOL 126, BIOL 127, BIOL 128, or BIOL 129) and BIOL 142 by the end of the semester in which they apply for admission to the dual-degree program.

Admission to the dual-degree BS in Urban Ecology/MS in Urban Ecology for current Hofstra students

Qualified Hofstra students enrolling in the BS major in urban ecology may apply for admission to the dual-degree program prior to completing 92 s.h. of undergraduate course work. Students applying to the dual-degree program should note that admission requires they fulfill the following requirements:

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a GPA of 3.0 in biology courses at the time of application to the MS program, or upon completion of 92 s.h. of course work toward their BS degree in urban ecology;
Successful completion BIOL 112, BIOL 113, BIOL 120, one intermediate lab course (BIOL 126, BIOL 127, BIOL 128, or BIOL 129) and BIOL 142 by the semester in which they apply for admission to the dual-degree program.

All students admitted to the dual-degree BS in urban ecology/MS in urban ecology must complete a total of 145 s.h.: 30 s.h. of graduate course work and 115 s.h. toward their undergraduate degree. Graduate courses BIOL 200 , 224 , and 256 , taken in the senior year, are credited to both the BS and the MS degree requirements. Depending on course offerings, other courses may be substituted with permission of the graduate advisor.

Students accepted into the dual-degree program who have attained senior standing may begin taking graduate courses.

Undergraduate requirements for the BS Major in Urban Ecology

Students should apply to the department as soon as possible after making the decision to major in urban ecology. The department encourages interested students to speak with an urban ecology adviser before declaring a major. Advisers are assigned when the student applies for acceptance as a major. Grades in biology courses lower than a C- do not count toward the total number of semester hours required for the biology major.

The complete requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree, as specified in this Bulletin;
The following undergraduate major requirements for the BS in urban ecology.

1. Total Semester Hours: at least 124 (at least 115 at the undergraduate level, plus 9 s.h. at the graduate level)

The successful completion of at least 124 semester hours and a cumulative grade point average of 2.8 in work completed at Hofstra. Military Science 1C, 1E, 2C, 2E and associated leadership laboratories may not be counted toward this total semester-hour requirement.

2. Liberal Arts

At least 59 semester hours must be completed in liberal arts courses outside the Biology Department.

3. Residency Requirement

There are two requirements that must ordinarily be completed in residence at Hofstra: 20 semester hours in the major and the last 30 semester hours. The 20 semester hours need not be included within the last 30 hours.

4. General Requirements

WSC 001 and WSC 002 or placement examination (see “University Degree Requirements”);
Distribution Course Requirement (for listing of distribution courses, see Distribution Courses);
- 6 semester hours in humanities: 3 hours from Literature (LT) or Appreciation and Analysis (AA), and 3 hours from Creative Participation (CP);
- 6 semester hours in social science: 3 semester hours in behavioral social sciences and 3 hours in history and philosophy.
- NOTE: Students who matriculate at Hofstra with advanced standing must complete at least 3 semester hours in humanities distribution courses and 3 semester hours in social science distribution courses in residence. In no case may distribution course requirements be taken elsewhere after matriculation at Hofstra.

5. The fulfillment of the following major and additional requirements:

47 s.h. in Biology, distributed as follows:

38 s.h. in required Biology course work, including:

BIOL 112 - (NS) General Biology I Semester Hours: 4
BIOL 113 - (NS) General Biology II Semester Hours: 4
BIO 120 - (NS) Evolution, Ecology and Behavior Semester Hours: 4
BIOL 142 - Urban Habitats Semester Hours: 2
BIOL 136 - General Ecology Semester Hours: 3
BIOL 170 - Urban Ecology Semester Hours: 3

BIOL 196 - Internship Semester Hours: 2-4

BIOL 190 - Independent Study-Undergraduate Research I Semester Hours: 2-4

BIOL 193 - Departmental Honors Candidacy: Research Semester Hours: 2-4

An additional 9 s.h. in biology. Two of the additional courses must be chosen from:

BIOL 157 - Ornithology Semester Hours: 4
BIOL 147 - Invertebrate Zoology Semester Hours: 4
BIOL 154 - Entomology Semester Hours: 4
BIOL 111 - (NS) Introduction to the Big Ideas in Biology Semester Hours: 3
BIOL 004 - (NS) Human Biology Semester Hours: 3
HSCI 050 - The Science of Human Nutrition Semester Hours: 3
HSCI 103 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Semester Hours: 4
HSCI 105 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Semester Hours: 4
HSCI 106 - Physiology of Exercise Semester Hours: 3
BIOL 140 - Human Physiology Semester Hours: 4

The following are also required:

CHEM 003A - (NS) General Chemistry I Semester Hours: 3-4
CHEM 003B - (NS) General Chemistry Laboratory I Semester Hours: 1
CHEM 004A - (NS) General Chemistry II Semester Hours: 3
CHEM 004B - (NS) General Chemistry Laboratory II Semester Hours: 1
CHEM 185 - Environmental Chemistry Semester Hours: 3
MATH 050 - (MA) Precalculus Semester Hours: 4

MATH 071 - (MA) Analytic Geometry and Calculus I Semester Hours: 4

GEOG 102 - (BH) Population, Resources and Environment Semester Hours: 3
GEOG 106 - (BH, CC) Urbanization in the Developing World Semester Hours: 3
GEOL 005 - (NS) Environmental Geology Semester Hours: 3
ENGG 110 - Project Management Semester Hours: 3
TPP 001 - (NS) Introduction to Environmental Systems Semester Hours: 3
TPP 112 - Technology and Human Values Semester Hours: 3
PHI 133 - (HP) Ethics and the Natural Environment Semester Hours: 3
SOC 141 - (BH) Urban America Semester Hours: 3

Graduate requirements for the MS in Urban Ecology: 30 s.h.

All students should meet with the graduate program director at least once each semester. Candidates must complete 30 semester hours of graduate-level coursework, including BIO 200, 201 and 275, all three courses taken by dual-degree candidates in the final year of undergraduate study. Depending on course offerings, other courses may be substituted with permission of the graduate advisor. Also required are BIO 301 and 302. BIO 203 is recommended. Up to 3 semester hours of graduate courses may be taken in related disciplines outside Biology with permission of the graduate program director. A graduate course in urban ecology is required if no undergraduate courses in urban ecology were taken prior to the awarding of the BS degree.

Graduate students are expected to receive a grade of B or better in their biology courses.

Footnote*

*Dual-degree students will substitute BIOL 200 , 224 and 256 , taken in the senior year, for undergraduate courses for GEOG 161; BIOL 100 and 156, respectively.  Depending on course offerings, other courses may be substituted with permission of the graduate advisor.

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