By Corey Fawcett
Rest in peace, life science major.
Well ... sort of.
Although the University of Portland will no longer offer a Bachelor of Science degree in life science as of next year, a Bachelor of Arts in biology will be offered in its place.
"It's more of a name change than anything," biology professor Terry Favero said.
However, a few key differences separate the life science B.S. from the biology B.A., the most fundamental one being that the biology B.A. majors will not have to take the 12 hours of lower division science classes that life science majors have had to take.
"Now both the B.A. and B.S. in biology are structured with the same core biology requirements of 27 biology credits including breadth and lab requirements. The difference is additional sciences (chemistry, physics) in the B.S. degree to satisfy requirements for medical schools and additional language breadth requirements for the B.A. degree," said biology professor Katie O'Reilly in an e-mail.
The 15 additional upper division hours of College of Arts and Science coursework that biology B.A. majors will need to take is something that, according to Favero, many life science majors are currently doing anyway.
Life science majors are encouraged to get a minor in a complementary discipline like psychology, sociology, business or communication studies. Many also like to study foreign languages, and the B.A. allows them to get credit for doing so.
"The biology B.A. allows students to minor more easily," he said. "Students' career interests are broad, so this flexibility is good."
Also, unlike students working towards a Bachelor of Science in biology, Favero says that life science majors have historically been more unsure of what they want to do after graduation. The wider variety of subjects they can study with B.A. coursework allows them to explore their options further.
"Students who get a B.S. in biology usually go to medical school and pursue more research and math-involved careers," Favero said.
Life science majors are found in a larger spectrum of fields like physical and occupational therapy, optometry, environmental law, public health and science communication, which will be more accurately reflected by the larger spectrum of subjects B.A. coursework will allow the biology students to delve into.
"Life science majors have been very successful getting into graduate programs in physical therapy, for example, and I'm sure they'll be just as successful as biology majors with a B.S. degree," O'Reilly said.
Another key reason for changing the life science B.S. to biology B.A. is to emphasize the difficulty of the coursework.
"We felt that the name 'life science' put the students at a disadvantage because it doesn't give students the credit they deserve for the rigorous nature of their major," Favero said.
The term "life science" was coined in the 1980s. Now, most universities offer a B.A. in biology and a B.S. in biology as opposed to a B.S. in life science and a B.S. in biology.
"The outside world doesn't know what a life science degree is," Favero said. "The name 'life science' doesn't tell you what it is from the outset. When someone sees 'biology B.A.' on a resume they see there was a particular focus."
Junior life science major Aundrea Roberts also applauds the name change for its more self - explanatory nature.
"It will be useful for all of the life science majors who end up switching to just say 'I'm a biology major' instead of 'I'm a life science major' and then proceed to explain it as 'It's basically like majoring in biology, but without as much chemistry' to everyone who doesn't know what it is," she said.
Every five years, the academic departments at the University go under review. Next year it's the biology department's turn, but, according to Favero, the life science to biology B.A. change "had so many positives that it didn't seem necessary to wait."
Current life science majors have the option of sticking with their current major or switching to a biology B.A. Next year's freshmen will have no such option.
So far, five life science majors have shown interest in the new B.A.
"Most life science kids liked the B.A. idea because it sounds more rigorous and gives more flexibility," Favero said. "When current students are changing already, it suggests that we've done a good thing."
