Course Offerings
Biology courses this Spring/Summer will be by remote delivery and include:
- BI110: Unifying Life Processes (Summer)
- BI111: Biological Diversity Evolution (Summer)
- BI226: Genetics (Intersession)
- BI236: Cell & Molecular Biology (Summer)
- BI256: Life on Earth: Animals (Summer) with lab
- BI396Y: Comparative Zoology (Summer)
Departmental course information is available below, in the Academic Calendar and also on the My Learning Space pages for the Biology, Environmental and Applied Water Sciences Programs. The scheduling of courses (times and locations) are subject to change and should be confirmed on LORIS under the "Student Services" tab by accessing the link for "Registration".
All official academic information, including prerequisites and exclusions, can be found in the academic calendars. These can also be found, along with additional enrolment restrictions, times and locations, in the Browse Classes tab in LORIS.
Course Registration Information
Academic Advising
Your undergraduate advisor is Jim McGeer and you can make an appointment to consult about your program/courses by writing to bioundergrad@wlu.ca.
For general program and registration information, you may also contact Tricia Lutz.
Closed Courses and Waiting Lists
Courses will fill quickly. Sometimes a course will have a waitlist but if it has a lab or tutorial it will not have a waitlist. If a course you want to take is full, check LORIS regularly, right up until the end of the first two weeks of classes, to see if a space has come available for you.
If you are in 3rd or 4th year and have completed your required 200 level BI courses then keep in mind that you can choose senior BI (HN or WASC) courses at any year level (200, 300 and 400) as long as you have completed the prerequisites. If you aren’t able to enrol in a certain course this year, then you likely will next year.
Full Courses
We cannot give overrides for courses once they are full and at capacity. However, we are interest in knowing when demand exceeds capacity. Please write to bioundergrad@wlu.ca and include the course details. In the subject line of your email include the words “course full” and the course number. We can’t promise solutions.
Enrolling in HN Courses
HN210, HN220 and HN320 are counted towards your senior BI credits but they are the responsibility of the Health Sciences Department. HN210 and HN220 are cross-listed with KP course and are taught by the Kinesiology Department. Therefore the Biology Department has relatively little influence over enrolment issues. HN courses are restricted to HE and KP majors only and this restriction is held for extra time (restrictions are not lifted when other major restrictions are lifted). Often the KP side of the course will have empty seats when the HN side is full and so you will not be able to enrol even though it shows seats are available.
Overrides
You must complete the prerequisite(s) in order to enrol in a course. If you feel you have complete the equivalent of a prerequisite (for example at another university) and it is not recognized in LORIS then you may request an override by writing to bioundergrad@wlu.ca. Include the course title, course code, CRN, details of your rationale, the error messages you receive when you try to enrol and any other relevant information. Merely having an interest in the subject matter and a willingness to work hard is not a rationale for an override.
Overrides will not be given for classes that are full and are at capacity.
Undergraduate Courses
WASC senior courses and senior HN courses count as senior Biology credits.
For questions, comments or concerns regarding laboratory safety, contact Safety, Health, Environment and Risk Management.
See also information on field courses.
Below is a listing of Fall and Winter courses for the next academic year. Course descriptions are available in the Academic Calendar. Detailed course outlines are available through MyLS on the BEAWSPrograms page. All students in Biology, Environmental Science and Applied Water Science Programs should have access to these MyLS resources. If you would like to arrange access, please write to bioundergrad@wlu.ca with your request.
Fall 2020 Courses
- BI110: Unifying Life Processes
- BI226: Genetics
- BI266: Life on Earth: Plants
- BI276: Life on Earth: Microbes
- BI300: Environmental Toxicology
- BI302: Evolution
- BI305: Life and Endosymbiotic Theory
- BI330: Fundamentals of Histology
- BI346/CH351: Advance Molecular Biology
- BI349: Embryology
- BI358: Animals: Form and Function
- BI363: Plant Ecology
- BI368: Plants: Form and Function
- BI376: Microbial Physiology
- BI390: Field Studies - OUPFB
- BI392: Field Studies ll - OUPFB
- BI393: Biostatistics
- BI416/HE431: Pathophysiology
- BI426: Genome Dynamics
- BI451: Fish Physiological Adaptations
- BI458: Vertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation
- BI463: Environmental Stress Biology of Plants
- BI470/HE432: Biomedical Virology
- BI475: Microbial Ecology
- BI484: Fundamentals of Parasitology
- BI488: Invertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation
- BI499: Thesis
- To apply for our BI499: Thesis course, you will have to complete the BI499 Intent to Register Application Form and attach a letter of motivation.
- WASC101: Issues in Water & Environmental Health
- WASC302: Limnology
- WASC303: Field Methods in Applied Water Science
- WASC403: Lab Techniques in Water Science
- † = course normally offered once every two to three years
- ∗ = 1.0 credits
- ‡ = 1.5 credits
Winter 2021 Courses
- BI111: Biological Diversity and Evolution
- BI196: Practical Skill for Biologists
- BI206: Ecology
- BI236: Cell Biology
- BI256: Life on Earth: Animals
- BI308: Animal Behaviour
- BI309: Population Ecology
- BI317/HE303:Introduction to Immunology
- BI338: Cells: Form and Function
- BI359: Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
- BI369: Plant Physiology
- BI374: Physiological Applications of Microbiology
- BI390: Field Studies - OUPFB
- BI392: Field Studies II - OUPFB
- BI400: Topics in Environmental Toxicology
- BI402/CH454: Bioinformatics
- BI405: Community Ecology
- BI421: The Human Microbiome
- BI441: Recombinant DNA Technology
- BI449: Developmental Biology
- BI456: Environmental Physiology of Animals
- BI459: Endocrinology
- BI464: Plants and People
- BI468: Plant Biodiversity and Conservation
- BI470/HE432: Biomedical Virology
- BI476: Microbial Disease
- BI499: Thesis
- To apply for our BI499: Thesis course, you will have to complete the BI499 Intent to Register Application Form and attach a letter of motivation.
- WASC201: Wetland Science
- WASC301: Water Policy & Legislation
- WASC401: Source Water Protection and Aquatic Risk Assessment
- WASC402: Critical Analysis of Applied Water Science and Environmental Health
Unless otherwise indicated, courses are 0.5 credit and held on the Waterloo Campus.
- † = course normally offered once every two to three years
- ∗ = 1.0 credits
- ‡ = 1.5 credits
Spring 2020 Courses
- BI110: Unifying Life Processes (Summer)
- BI111: Biological Diversity Evolution (Summer)
- BI226: Genetics (Intersession)
- BI236: Cell & Molecular Biology (Summer)
- BI256: Life on Earth: Animals (Summer) with lab component
- BI396Y: Comparative Zoology (Summer)
Senior Biology Courses with a Lab Component
The following courses contain a laboratory component:
- BI256
- BI266
- BI276
- BI300
- BI308
- BI309
- BI338
- BI349
- BI358
- BI359
- BI363
- BI367
- BI368
- BI369
- BI374
- BI402/CH454
- BI405
- BI431
- BI439
- BI441
- BI449
- BI456
- BI475
- BI476
- BI484
- BI488
- HN210
- HN220
- WASC303
- WASC403
BI499 Thesis
Directed Studies BI495
A directed studies course is an irregular course that enables senior students to work on an independent project under the guidance of a faculty member. Each BI495 course is unique and tailored to the particular project that a student undertakes (with the direction from a faculty member in Biology). Usually the topic is related to the research area/expertise of the supervisor. If you are interested in a Directed Studies:
- Learn about the research area of the different faculty members in Biology.
- Contact a professor to find out if they are taking on Directed Studies students for the term you are interested in. If they are then:
- Meet with the professor to discuss possible projects. If there is a project you are interested in then:
- Work with the professor to define details of the project (a course outline): description of work, the expectations, deliverables, due dates, grading scheme etc.
- Complete the Directed Study form and deliver it to the Biology Office with the course outline attached. The Chair of the Biology Department and then the Dean of Science will need to review the details and provide their approval. Once they approve, Enrolment Services will (manually) add the course to your record.
University regulations on Directed Studies:
- No more than 1.0 (two-term or equivalent) irregular course credit may be counted toward a General degree, and no more than 3.0 toward an Honours degree.
- Only students who have successfully completed 5.0 credits may register in an irregular course.
- Only students registered in a major or Honours program in a subject may register in a directed studies course in that subject (except with permission of the Dean).
- No more than one directed studies course credit with the same instructor may be counted toward a degree (except with permission of the Dean).
Graduate Courses
Graduate course offerings for the MSc in Integrative Biology program for 2020-2021 are listed below. For course offerings related to the PhD in Biological and Chemical Sciences, please visit the PhD website.
BI601: Research in Integrative Biology
This seminar-based course is a core requirement for all students in the MSc in Integrative Biology. Over the course of the term the group will explore the principles underlying integrative approaches to biology.
Fall 2020
- Fridays, 8:30-11:20 a.m., M. Wilkie
This course is mandatory for MSc students in their 1st year of study.
BI612: Advanced Biostatistics
This course examines the totality of issues related to data collection, management and analysis for biologists: from the development of hypotheses, the design of experiments, measurement and sampling, to statistical analyses and final publication of results in formats acceptable for scientific reports and papers. Emphasis will be placed on the application of wide variety of statistical methods using statistical software rather than theory, and stress the practical aspects of biostatistics. A problem solving approach to graduate research planning, data acquisition, analysis and publication.
Winter 2021
- Tuesdays 8:30 a.m. - 11:20 p.m., D. Gray
BI699: MSc Thesis
2.0 credits
Students will complete a thesis based on original research and defend it before an examining committee.
Ongoing: Register each fall, winter and spring term for the duration of your program (including the term in which you plan to defend).