B.Sc Biology Hons at Azim Premji University, Bangalore Offline Course

The Undergraduate Programme offers Majors in Sciences. Students are required to choose one major area of disciplinary study.

In addition, students also go through a Common Curriculum which provides them the opportunity to study interdisciplinary areas like Development, Sustainability, Education, and Media.

The Biology major at Azim Premji University seeks to provide a modern, liberal education in the life sciences with a strong connection to India. The curriculum is designed to develop capacities for critical thinking and quantitative reasoning and impart experimental and analytical skills. In both its conception and its design, the curriculum challenges the traditional view of biology as descriptive and non-mathematical.

At the time of graduation, students are expected to be conversant with biological phenomena across length scales (Molecules to Ecosystems) and time scales (Milliseconds to Millennia); be able to link concepts introduced in courses with phenomena observed in everyday life; develop the ability to read biological texts; acquire diverse experimental skills; become acquainted with data analysis and visualization techniques; and become familiar with the process of knowledge creation in science.

Core Courses

• Introduction to Biology I &II
• Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
• Introduction to Genetics
• Evolutionary Biology
• Understanding Plants
• General Chemistry
• Quantitative Methods in Biology
• Calculus Or Pre-Calculus
• Physics for Biologists I

Electives

• Physics for Biologists II
• Research Methods in Biology
• Introduction to Biophysics
• Introduction to Ecology
• Animal Behaviour
• Introduction to Psychology
• Brain and Behaviour
• Biology Research Seminar
• Organic Chemistry

Electives mentioned above are indicative and may have certain introductory courses as pre-requisites.

Honours pathway

The biology specialization has a vibrant honours pathway, which is designed to give qualified students an opportunity to engage with their major more intensively. Students in the honours pathway take an additional 12 credits, 6 of which are acquired through additional coursework and 6 through project work. Through the project, students receive rigorous training in posing scientific questions, conceptualizing testable hypotheses, conducting experiments, and documenting their results in the form of presentations and a thesis.