The Biology Program offers courses on the biological, chemical, physical, and mathematical principles governing the behavior of living matter at the molecular, cellular, organism, and population levels. Fundamental subjects such as molecular and cellular biology, genetics, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, plant biology, and ecology are supplemented by a wide variety of elective courses to prepare the students for careers in research and teaching in university, and for various positions in food and drug industry, agriculture, forestry, and public health. The Biology program allows students to choose an option among molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, and environmental biology fields in their junior year.


Elective Courses

There are two types of elective courses in our program,

  1. Technical Elective (11 courses)

A MINIMUM of 4 of these 11 must be chosen from BIO or GENE programs.

A MAXIMUM of 7 technical electives may be chosen from other science and engineering departments of METU, in addition to BIO or GENE program courses. These include courses offered by the Departments of Mathematics, Statistics, Chemistry, and Physics, as well as by the Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate Schools of Informatics or Marine Sciences.

  2. Nontechnical Elective (2 courses)

These include courses offered by the Art Departments of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (e.g., Psychology or Philosophy) and faculties or graduate schools OTHER THAN Engineering and Informatics.


Course Lists and Prerequisites

Please visit the academic catalog for information on courses offered by the BIO and GENE programs of our department. For information on course prerequisites please click here.

The Special Project course (BIOL460) is only offered to 4th-year students with CPGA >2.75.


Undergraduate Curriculum


First Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL101 General Biology I 4 4 0 6.0
BIOL115 General Biology Laboratory I 2 0 4 3.0
CHEM101 General Chemistry I 5 4 2 7.5
ENG101 English for Academic Purposes I 4 4 1 6.0
MATH117 Calculus I 5 4 2 7.5
OHS101 Occupational Health and Safety I 0 0 0 2.0

Second Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BA100 Career Planning 0 1 0 2.0
BIOL102 General Biology II 4 4 0 6.0
BIOL116 General Biology Laboratory II 2 0 4 3.0
CHEM102 General Chemistry II 5 4 2 7.5
ENG102 English for Academic Purposes II 4 4 1 6.0
IS100 Introduction to Information Technologies and Applications 0 0 2 1.0
MATH118 Calculus II 5 4 2 7.5

Third Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL203 Cell Biology 3 3 0 6.0
BIOL206 Ecology 3 3 0 5.5
BIOL251 Cell Biology Laboratory 2 0 4 4.0
CHEM231 Organic Chemistry 5 3 4 7.0
HIST2201*   0 2 0 2.0
PHYS111 Physics I (Mechanics) 5 4 2 7.5

* International students must take the HIST2205 course instead of HIST2201.

Fourth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL220 Introduction to Biometry 4 3 2 6.0
BIOL252 Physiology 3 3 0 7.0
ENG211 Academic Oral Presentation Skills 3 3 1 4.0
HIST2202*   0 2 0 2.0
PHYS112 Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism) 5 4 2 7.5
Technical Elective
Nontechnical Elective 

* International students must take the HIST2206 course instead of HIST2202.

Fifth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL303 Microbiology 3 3 0 6.0
BIOL351 Introduction to Genetics 4 4 0 6.0
BIOL353 Biochemistry 4 4 0 6.0
BIOL355 Microbiology Laboratory  2 0 4 4.0
OHS301 Occupational Health and Safety II 0 0 0 2.0
TURK303* Turkish I 0 2 0 2.0
Technical Elective 

* International students must take TURK105/201 course(s) instead of TURK303.

Sixth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL310 Biochemistry Laboratory 2 0 4 4.0
BIOL352 Genetics Laboratory 2 0 4 4.0
BIOL356 Plant Biology 4 3 2 7.0
TURK304* Turkish II 0 4 0 2.0
Technical Elective
Technical Elective 
Nontechnical Elective 

* International students must take TURK106/202 course(s) instead of TURK304.

Seventh Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL404 Evolution 3 3 0 7.0
GENE479 Current Research in Biological Sciences 0 0 0 10.0
Technical Elective
Technical Elective
Technical Elective

Eighth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL360* Summer Practice 0 0 4 2.0
Technical Elective
Technical Elective
Technical Elective
Technical Elective

* Students who did their internship with the Erasmus Summer Practice Mobility Program must take the BIOL361 course instead of BIOL360.

h/w: hours per week