Astrobiology Minor (Non-Teaching)

The Astrobiology Minor is designed to educate students in this interdisciplinary field covering the varied scientific disciplines that contribute to our general understanding of life, the origin of life, the past history of life on Earth, possible futures for life on Earth, and the possible existence of life on other planetary environments. The principal goal of the minor is to develop students' literacy in astrobiology so they can critically evaluate claims related to this field that they encounter well after their college education has ended.

This minor is housed in the Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology (as of 2021).  The BIOM 365 Astrobiology rubric replaces previous iterations of this course.

Required Courses (17-19 credits)
ASTR 110INIntroduction to Astronomy: Mysteries of the Sky3-4
or ASTR 371 Solar System Astronomy
or ASTR 373 Extragalactic Astronomy
BIOB 160Principles of Living Systems4
or BIOB 260 Cellular and Molecular Biology
or BIOM 360 General Microbiology
BIOM 365Astrobiology3
ERTH 101INEarth System Sciences4
GEO 211Earth History and Evolution3
Elective Courses
Choose 9 credits from the following 9
Solar System Astronomy
Extragalactic Astronomy
Biochemistry
and Biochemistry Lab
Biochemistry of Macromolecules
Microbial Genetics
Biomedical Genetics
General Genetics
Microbial Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Microbial Physiology
Evolution
General Ecology
Geomicrobiology
Sci and Tech in World History
Early Modern Science
Modern Science
Philosophy of Science
Darwinian Revolution
Scnc/Psuedo Scnc & Subjectivty
Natural/Unnatural/Supernatural
Total Credits26-27