Undergraduate Courses in Microbiology

(An asterisk indicates that a non-refundable laboratory fee is required.)

109 Plagues, Outbreaks, and Biological Warfare.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture weekly.  This course is designed for non-science majors and meets the science distribution requirement.  The course focuses on historical epidemics with emphasis on how scientists discovered, treated, and halted the spread of these illnesses and how the diseases shaped societies.  Present-day epidemics are examined and attention is given to future epidemic threats.  Organisms used in biological warfare are described. No prerequisites.  Offered as needed.

200 Microbiology. (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  This course is a study of microorganisms with special emphasis on those that affect the human body.  The study of pathogenic organisms is introduced, including the more common tests for infectious diseases and the specific immunities by which the body is protected.  Primarily for science and health science majors. Not recommended as a sole course in microbiology to meet distribution requirements.  Offered fall and spring semesters.*

212 Molecular Microbiology (M) One unit. Three hours of lecture and two hours of lab weekly. This course will focus on introductory microbiology topics including biological chemistry, microbial metabolism, immunology, microbial genetics, and eukaryotic cell structure, function and cell division. Topics in biological evolution will also be covered.  No prerequisites.  Offered fall and spring semesters.  (NOTE:  This course no longer offered after Fall 2022.)

216 General Pathology.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  A course in the principles, techniques, and clinical significance of standard clinical laboratory procedures in hematology, clinical biochemical analyses, and immunohematology.   Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200.  Prerequisite or corequisite: Chemistry 112.  Offered spring semester.*

230 General Microbiology.  (M) One Unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of lab.  The primary goal of this course is to provide an introduction to the biology of clinically important microorganisms. Methods for studying and identifying microorganisms are discussed in both the laboratory and lecture sessions, and the roles of microorganisms in pathogenesis, genetics, interaction with the immune system, and metabolism are discussed. Offered fall semesters.  (NOTE:  This course offered after Fall 2022.)

291 Special Topics in Microbiology. (M) One unit.  Weekly lecture(s).  Discussion and analysis of problems in microbiology which are not covered in regular course work.  The specific content of the course will remain flexible in response to student and departmental interest.  Special topics may be taken more than once with differing subject matters. Offered periodically; consult department chair.

314 Clinical Microbiology.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  Standard methods for the bacteriological examinations of blood, urine, sputum, spinal fluid, and other body secretions and excretions. Prerequisite:  Microbiology 200.  Offered spring semester of odd-numbered years.*  (NOTE:  No lab beginning Fall 2023.)

397 G, P, or N Internship in Microbiology. (M) One or zero units.  Research or teaching experience for at least 105 hours in a research, clinical, industrial, or teaching setting where there is supervised, hands-on involvement in daily activities.  The student will maintain a log describing day-to-day activities and the times and hours worked.  A final paper in which the student evaluates the work experience is required.  Other possible requirements will be determined by the faculty member overseeing the student’s progress.  The student’s on-site supervisor will complete a written evaluation of the student’s performance and submit it to the faculty supervisor.  Students registered for this course as MI 397G will receive a letter grade; those registered as MI 397P will be taking the course on a pass/fail basis; those registered as MI 397N will be taking the course for no credit (registration fee required).  This course cannot be used to meet requirements for the Senior Thesis in Microbiology (MI 400) nor does it count towards completion of the requirements for the microbiology major.  Interested students should contact the Center for Academic and Career Development.  Prerequisites:  MI 200 and permission of department chair.  Offered as needed.

400E SLC Experiential Component in Microbiology.  (M) Zero units.  This zero-unit course is the experiential component of the senior learning community and is linked to Senior Thesis in Microbiology (Microbiology 400).  It includes at least 100 hours of research.  The research experience must be completed prior to Microbiology 400, as determined by the chair of the student's senior thesis committee.  This experiential component serves as the basis for the research paper completed in Microbiology 400.  Prerequisite: Microbiology 221.  Cross-listed with Biology 400E.  Permission of Departmental Senior Learning Community Coordinator required.  Offered fall, spring, and summer.* 

400 Senior Thesis in Microbiology. (M) (LL) (O) (WW) One unit.  This course is linked to a completed research experience which includes at least 100 hours of research.  This course must be taken during the senior year, as part of the senior learning community, by all microbiology majors. The student analyzes his/her own data and completes an original research paper.  Writing follows standard scientific journal formats.  Each student is required to successfully defend his/her paper before a senior thesis committee.  All students are also expected to present their findings publicly in oral or poster form using venues that are deemed appropriate by the instructor.  Cross-listed with Biology 400. Prerequisite: Completion of research experience (Microbiology 400E), as determined by the chair of the student's senior thesis committee, is required prior to the beginning of this course.   Offered fall and spring semesters.  (NOTE:  This course no longer offered after Fall 2022.)

491 Capstone Course: Recent Advances in Microbiology.  (LL) (M) (O) (R) (WC) One unit.   Three hours of lecture weekly.  This course addresses recent advances in research and concepts within the following microbiology disciplines:  molecular cell biology, microbial physiology, microbial genetics, environmental microbiology, clinical microbiology, immunology, virology, and applied microbiology.  Specific lectures are provided by faculty.  Each student actively participates by preparing and presenting lectures in all fields.  This course is part of the senior learning community in microbiology and is normally taken during the senior year.  Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200, 212,  314, 512, 521, 522, 525 and Biology 221.  Offered spring semester.

493 Undergraduate Research I. (M) One unit. Independent but supervised research experience averaging at least eight hours per week on a topic such as bacteriology, microbiology, virology, serology, hematology, molecular biology, or parasitology, culminating in a research paper using format of any preferred scientific journal in biology.  A minimum of 10 references to the selected topic is required.  Students taking this course for credit may not use the research experience to meet the requirements for the senior reflective tutorial.  May be taken once.  Prerequisites:  Three units of Microbiology and Biology 221; permission of the department chair.  Offered fall and spring semesters.*

494 Undergraduate Research II.  (M) One unit.  This course is identical to Microbiology 493.  Together with 493, a rare student has the possibility of completing a year of research for publication consideration or pursuing research in two different areas.  Prerequisite: Microbiology 493.  Offered as needed.*

497 G, P, or N Internship in Microbiology. (M) Two or zero units.  Research, clinical, industrial, or teaching experience for at least 210 hours at a facility where there is supervised, hands-on involvement in daily activities.  The student will maintain a log describing day-to-day activities and the times and hours worked.  A final paper in which the student evaluates the work experience is required.  Other possible requirements will be determined by the faculty member overseeing the student’s progress.  The student’s on-site supervisor will complete a written evaluation of the student’s performance and submit it to the faculty supervisor.  Students registered for this course as MI 497G will receive a letter grade; those registered as MI 497P will be taking the course on a pass/fail basis; those registered as MI 497N will be taking the course for no credit (registration fee required).  This course cannot be used to meet requirements for the Senior Thesis in Microbiology (MI 400) nor does it count towards completion of the requirements for the microbiology major.  Interested students should contact the Center for Academic and Career Development.  Prerequisites:  MI 200 and permission of department chair.  Offered as needed.

503 Epidemiology.  One unit. (M)  Three hours of lecture weekly. An intensive course in the principles and methods of epidemiology with special reference to the determination of community needs.  Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200 and Biology 221.  Offered spring semester of even-numbered years.

512 Applied, Food, and Industrial Microbiology.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  This course includes bacteriological studies of water, sewage, milk, and food.  In this course emphasis is also placed on microbiological assays, toxicology studies, and purposes and procedures involved in the standardization of antibiotics, germicides, preservatives, and disinfectants.  Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200,  Chemistry 112.  Offered spring semesters.*

513 Pathogenic Fungi.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly. A study of the morphology, taxonomy, and phylogeny of pathogenic fungi and the pathology of mycological diseases in animals, including humans.  The isolation, identification, and study of fungi for purposes of classification, physiology, ecology, and genetics.  Prerequisite: Microbiology 200.  Offered fall semester of odd-numbered years.*

517 Electron Microscopy. (M) (T) One unit.  Six hours of combined lecture and laboratory weekly.  The principles and use of the transmission and scanning electron microscopes are covered.  Students learn the basic techniques of electron microscopic tissue processing and microphotography.  Each student must prepare a final technical report including examples of their own microphotographs.  Prerequisites: Microbiology 212 or Biology 213; Chemistry 111, 112.  Not open to students completing MI 615.  Offered as required.*

521 Immunology and Serology.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  The principles of immunology including the immune response, immunoglobulin production theories, standard serological methods, and serodiagnostic procedures.  Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200; Chemistry 211, 212. Offered fall semester of even-numbered years.*  (NOTE:  No lab beginning Fall 2023.)

522 Microbial Genetics.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  The genetics of bacteria, fungi, bacteriophages, and other viruses.  Particular emphasis is placed on the experimental use of microorganisms in the study of molecular events in genetics, including DNA replication, macromolecular synthesis and regulation, mutation, recombination, and DNA repair.  Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200, 212; Biology 221; Chemistry 211, 212.  Offered spring semester of odd-numbered years.*  (NOTE:  This course no longer offered after Fall 2022.)

523 Microbial Ecology.  (M) (Q) (TT) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  This course is an introduction to the ecology of microorganisms. Involvement of microorganisms in nutrient cycles is emphasized.  Applications in the areas of deterioration of products and disposal of wastes are addressed.  Prerequisites:  MI 200 and one additional unit of Microbiology; CH 112.  Offered as required.* 

524 Molecular Biotechnology. (M) (L) (O) (T) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory weekly.  A course on the application of molecular knowledge to the problems of genetic engineering.  A comparison between the genetic systems of prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their roles in molecular genetic techniques used in the fields of molecular biology and microbiology are explored.  The development of current concepts and methods in molecular genetics as they apply to research, agriculture, industries, pharmaceutical companies and medicine is studied.  The laboratory explores the current techniques used in recombinant DNA technology as they relate to the course material.   Prerequisite:  Microbiology 522 or Biology 311.  Offered as required.*

525 Microbial Physiology.  (M) One unit.  Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory weekly.  Students study the structure, function, and assembly of microbial cells and analyze products of their metabolism.  Prerequisites:  Microbiology 200; Chemistry 211, 212.  Offered fall semesters.*  (NOTE:  This course no longer offered after Fall 2022.)
 
591 Special Topics in Microbiology.  (M) One unit.  Weekly lecture(s).  Discussion and analysis of problems in microbiology that are not covered in regular course work.  The specific content of the course remains flexible in response to student and departmental interest.  Special topics may be taken more than once with differing subject matter.  Offered periodically; consult the director of the microbiology graduate program.

591: Advanced Statistics. (M) One unit. Three hours of lecture weekly.  Biologists are increasingly required to analyze “big data,” datasets that are too large to analyze without computational effort. This course will focus on the application of methods in the statistical package, R, for analyses of large ecological datasets. Multivariate approaches will be applied, including multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), multivariate regression modeling, principal component analysis, and canonical correlation analyses. Approaches for data visualization will also be explored.  Prerequisites: Any one of the following: BI221, PS116, MA108, MA109, MA118, or SO234.  Offered Fall 2018.

593 Independent Study in Microbiology. (M) One Unit.  Supervised independent research projects developed by the student, with faculty advisement.  Restricted to advanced majors. Offered fall and spring semesters.