Undergraduate
B.S. in Microbiology
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MICROBIOLOGY B.S. DEGREE (MIC)
Offered at the Tampa Campus.
This degree specializes in the study of bacteria and other microbes, primarily at
the cell and molecular level, and focuses on disease-causing microbes. The Microbiology
core and elective requirements include specialized microbiology courses necessary
to qualify for certification by the National Registry of Microbiologists, American
Society of Microbiology, and employment in microbiology and related fields. Many microbiology
majors plan to apply to medical or dental school, while others plan careers as professional
microbiologists in industry and government. Others become teachers or aspire to graduate
training in microbiology.
The Microbiology degree includes a broad background and education in the sciences,
including chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics as well as specific, focused
training in the field of microbiology. Much of the advanced coursework displays an
integrated approach to the study of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms with a major
emphasis in microbial pathogenesis. This includes an analysis of virulence factors,
bacterial toxins, lipopolysaccharides, and outer membrane proteins, interactions of
pathogens and their products with eukaryotic host cells (cellular microbiology), antigenic
variation, contemporary vaccine strategies, bacterial gene regulation (osmoregulation,
quorum sensing), bacterial export and secretion, and genetic regulation of bacterial
virulence expression.