Students wishing a minor in Molecular and Cell Biology must take at least 15 credits of 2000s level MCB courses, including at least one course from each of the following three groups:

1. Genetics group: MCB 2400, Human Genetics; MCB 2410, Genetics; MCB 2413, Concepts of Genetic Analysis; MCB 3201, Gene Expression; or MCB 3617, Molecular Biology and Genetics of Prokaryotes
2. Biochemistry group: MCB 2000, Introduction to Biochemistry; or MCB 3010, Biochemistry
3. Cell biology group  MCB 2210, Cell Biology; or MCB 2610, Fundamentals of Microbiology

If you will complete requirements for the MCB minor and are entering your final semester of undergraduate study, print out the MCB minor plan of study, obtain the needed signature, and include it when you take your final plan of study to the Registrar’s Office.

NOTE: Completion of a minor requires that a student earn a C (2.0) or better in each of the required courses for that minor. Substitutions are not possible for required courses in a minor.

Q&A about Minors in MCB.

Q. What is the difference between a minor and the related course requirement?
A. All students must satisfy the related course requirements, whereas the minor is an optional choice. Minors are more rigorously defined than relateds: for example, the MCB minor requires at least 15 credits in MCB, whereas courses counted towards the related group require only 12 credits, and can be from different departments, as approved by the student’s advisor.

Q. What is the advantage of completing a minor?
A. A minor will be listed on a student’s transcript along with the major, whereas relateds are not listed. Minors are structured to ensure that students are exposed to a basic core of knowledge in a discipline, and require more course work than the related requirement. Completion of a minor in addition to a major provides evidence of a student’s ability to succeed in more than a single discipline.

Q. Can I get a minor in the same department as my major?
A. No, that is not allowed. An MCB major cannot receive an MCB minor, for example. But you can minor in a department closely related to your major; a Physiology and Neurobiology major can minor in Molecular and Cell Biology, and vice versa (if a PNB minor is approved).

Q. My major includes several courses in another department, and several of those courses are on the list of required courses for the minor. Do those courses still count towards the minor?
A. Yes. For example, pharmacy students are required to take MCB 2610 (Microbiology) and MCB 2000 (Biochemistry), both of which are required courses for the MCB minor. By taking two more appropriate MCB courses, a pharmacy student can qualify for an MCB minor.

Q. What do I have to do to obtain a minor?
A. You must take the appropriate courses. In addition, you must fill out a “Minor plan of study”, have this signed by the chair or other designated agents of the department offering the minor, and file this with your plan of study in the final semester before graduation.

Q. If I earned less than a grade of “C” in some of my MCB courses, can I still apply them towards the minor?
A. No. University rules stipulate that you can only count courses with grades of “C” or better towards the minor.