Here’s a list of frequently asked questions we find undergraduate biology students have. If you have a question not on the list, feel free to email us.
General questions
Yes they are! When you enroll online, the registrar’s computer may initially let you into a course, but the computer periodically checks to see if you have the appropriate prerequisites. If you do not, you will be automatically removed. A compelling case (i.e. you have either high grades, transfer credits, similar prerequisite) should be made if you are to seek to have a pre-requisite waived. You should first speak to the instructor of the course. Waiver forms can be obtained from the Biology administrative assistant (room F234), but you must have them signed by the instructor and then given to the administrative assistant. Afterwards, she will issue you the override, but you will still need to log into the registrar’s site and register in the course.
At present, the Biology Chair provides undergraduate counselling for Biology Majors. See the Administrative Assistant (room F234) for details.
“Plagiarism means presenting work done (in whole or in part) by someone else as if it were one’s own. Associate dishonest practices include faking or falsification of data, cheating, or the uttering of false statements by a student in order to obtain unjustified concessions”
(taken from Brock University faculty handbook 12.1):
https://brocku.ca/facultyhandbook/section_III/part_12.html
BIOL 1F25 is a science context credit for non-science majors, covering biological material with a human perspective, though high school biology is not required. As such, it does not cover material similar to BIOL 1F90, which deals specifically with biological molecules and organic evolution. There is no justification for substituting 1F25 in place of 1F90 as a prerequisite for BIOL, BCHM, BTEC or NEUR courses. However, either BIOL 1F90 or BIOL 1F25 will satisfy the science context requirement, though BIOL 1F25 is designed for non-science majors (i.e. students pursuing a BA, BKIN, BPHED, BRLS, BBA, BBE, BACC etc.) and BIOL 1F90 for science majors (i.e. students pursuing a BSc).
Questions regarding degrees and concentrations
Yes you can. The more common time to consider switching majors is at the beginning of second year after you have taken courses and thought about your favourite topics and academic strengths. The BIOL, BTEC, BCHM, BMED, HLSC and OEVI degrees are sufficiently similar to make this transfer possible.
To switch into a major in the Biological Sciences, please obtain a Change of Major form from the registrar’s website (https://brocku.ca/registrar/toolkit/forms/#changes-appeals) and speak to the Biology Chair or representative.
