Undergraduate Students
Thank you for choosing the Biological Sciences as your major!
The Department of Biological Sciences offers a wide variety of undergraduate life sciences courses in general biology, molecular biology, ecology, and evolution that can be taken for core credit, major credit, elective credit, or general education credit by students in majors across the University of Arkansas campus.
Department faculty mentor undergraduate students participating in research projects
ranging from molecular and cellular biology to evolutionary biology and population
ecology for Honor's Thesis projects. We also have summer research experience programs, (REU's).
Important Update: Biology Senior Thesis or Honors Thesis Requirement (Effective Fall 2025)
Starting in Fall 2025, students must secure a biology faculty mentor before their senior year to guide them through the Biology Thesis Requirement that satisfies GELO 6.1. It requires that students complete an integrative research paper in Biological Sciences and a reflection essay (1250 words) that focuses on how the research paper relates to the general education skills and abilities acquired at the University of Arkansas.
Honors students will fulfill this need by defending their Honors Thesis and signing up for BIOL 4997VH by their senior year. Honors students should coordinate enrollment with their faculty mentor. An ACOR form is required to sign up for BIOL 4997VH. You must fill out your personal information, obtain your professors signature, and send the form to biol@uark.edu.
Non-honors biology majors will find a professor with whom to complete a synthetic review or project with prior to the senior year because it may take more than one semester to complete and sign up for that professor's section of BIOL 4987V before they graduate. The student can utilize a term paper completed in an upper-level BIOL course for the research paper requirement if the professor agrees to mentor them on Senior Thesis. If they take this option, they must sign up for that professor's BIOL 4987V course before they graduate, and turn in the research and reflection paper before the end of that term. An ACOR form is required to sign up for BIOL 4987V. ou must fill out your personal information, obtain your professors signature, and send the form to biol@uark.edu.
Please review the updated form for information regarding the writing instructions and requirements as well.
Inside this section, you will find information regarding the department's degree requirements, course information, and University scholarships. Information about the Biology Department's REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program can be found on the EcoREU page.