Program Overview

Introduction to the Marine Biology Major

The Marine Biology major at UCLA focuses on the study of marine organisms and their environment. Students in this major are required to participate in the Marine Biology Quarter (MBQ), which provides hands-on experience in designing research projects, collecting data, conducting experiments, and presenting their work.

Major Requirements

To complete the Marine Biology major, students must fulfill the following requirements:

• Lower Division - Major Required Courses:
  • Chemistry: CHEM 14A, 14B, 14BL, 14C, 14D or CHEM 20A, 20B, 20L, 30A, 30AL, 30B
  • Life Science: LS 7A, 7B, 7C, 23L
  • Math: LS30A & 30B or MATH 31A, 31B, & 32A or MATH 3A, 3B, & 3C
  • Statistics: STATS 13 or LS40
  • Physics: PHYSICS 5A, 5B, & 5C or PHYSICS 1A, 1B, 1C, 4AL, 4BL
  • Earth, Planetary and Space Science: 15 OR Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 1
• Upper Division Major Requirements Information:
  • Category 1: Required Background (2 courses)
  • Category 2: Laboratory Courses (1 course)
  • Category 3: Marine Organismic Biology or Physiology (1 course)
  • Category 4: Ecology or Behavior (1 course)
  • Category 5: Evolution (1 course)
  • Category 6: Field Quarter (1 course)
  • Category 7: Elective (1 course)

Category 1 - Required Background

• Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 109 and 109L (both courses required)

Category 2 - Laboratory Course

• Select 1 course: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: EE BIOL 101, 105, 110, 112, 136, 170, 181

Category 3 - Marine Organismic Biology or Physiology

• Select 1 course: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: EE BIOL 101, 105, 107, 112, 128, 140, 142, 170, C174, 184, Physiological Science 166

Category 4 - Ecology or Behavior

• Select 1 course: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: EE BIOL 100, 116, C119A, C119B, 122, C126, 128, 129, M131 (same as Geography M117), 133, 136, 137, 140, 142, 151A, 152, 154, 155, 161, 162, 170*, 184, Anthropology 128P (formerly numbered Anthropology 128A)

Category 5 - Evolution

• Select 1 course: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: EE BIOL 116, 120, 121, 130, 133, C135, 140, 144, 149, 150, CM173 (same as Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences CM173), C174, 175, 184, 185, 186, Life Sciences 107 (only for students who have completed Life Sciences 7A, 7B, 7C; not available for credit for students who completed Life Sciences 4), Society and Genetics M142 (same as Anthropology M128S)

Category 6 - Field Quarter

• Marine Biology Quarter (MBQ) or pre-approved equivalent

Category 7 - Elective

• Select 1 course: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: A&O SCI 102, 103, 104, M105 (same as EE BIOL M139), 130, Chemistry: CHEM 103, 153A (strongly recommended), Earth, Planetary, & Space Sciences: EPS SCI 100, 116, 119, C141, 153, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: EE BIOL M131 (same as Geography M117), 153, 198A/B (both courses must be taken), 199, Geography: GEOG 100, 101, M106 (same as A&O Sci M106), 123, 130, 169, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering 103, 150A, Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology 172

Rules for the Marine Biology Major

• All Life Science Core Curriculum courses must be passed with a letter grade of C- or better and must be completed with an overall GPA of 2.00 (C) or better.
• For the upper division (UD) major requirements, each course must be passed with a letter grade of D- or better, and a global GPA of 2.00 or better is required for graduation.
• Courses applied to the upper division (UD) major requirements may be applied to ONE category only.
• A maximum of four (4) units of graduate work may be applied on the major, but only if approved by the department.
• A maximum of four (4) units of EE BIOL 199 OR eight (8) units of EE BIOL 198A & 198B may be applied to the major.
• Each course applied toward the UD major requirements must have a minimum of four (4) units.
• All courses to be applied on the major must be taken for a letter grade.

Departmental Honors

• An overall GPA of 3.400 and a global GPA of 3.400 in the major are required for graduation with honors in Biology.
• Highest honors in Biology are awarded to students whose global and overall GPA are 3.600 at graduation and who have satisfactorily completed EE BIOL 198A & 198B.