Course Requirements
The Microbial Sciences secondary concentration totals five courses (20 credits) in three categories. To fulfill these requirements, students must take:
Two cornerstone courses
One introductory course
Two advanced courses
See below for the courses that satisfy each of these requirements
Courses
Students must take one course from each category
1. Foundational course:
- LS1a (or LPSA) and LS1b, or
- LS50a and LS50b, or
- LS100r
2. Microbial Sciences cornerstone course:
- OEB290 – Microbial Sciences: Chemistry, Ecology, and Evolution
One course from any category below, including but not limited to:
Chemistry
- CHEM 27 – The Organic Chemistry of Life
Earth and Planetary Sciences
- E-PSCI 10 – A Brief History of the Earth
- E-PSCI 53 – Marine Geochemistry
Engineering Sciences
- ENG-SCI 24 – Flavor Molecules of Food Fermentation
Molecular and Cellular Biology
- MCB 60 – Cellular Biology and Molecular Medicine
- MCB 68 – Cell Biology Through the Microscope
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- OEB 10 – Foundations of Biological Diversity
- OEB 50 – Genetics and Genomics
- OEB 55 – Ecology: Populations, Communities, and Ecosystems
Two advanced (100-level or above) microbe-related courses, including but not limited to:
Biological Sciences in Public Health
- Some courses in BPH may be relevant, but these may only be taken by undergraduates with explicit instructor permission
Chemistry
- CHEM 171 – Biological Synthesis
Earth and Planetary Sciences
- E-PSCI 239 – The Climate Energy Challenge
- E-PSCI 286 – Oxygen (and oxidant) Budgets Through Earth Time
- E-PSCI 287 – Biogeochemistry
Engineering Sciences
- ENG-SCI 195 – Using First Principles to Reverse-Engineer Complex Biological Systems
- ENG-SCI 222 – Advanced Cellular Engineering
Immunology
- IMMUN 202 – Immune and Inflammatory Diseases
- IMMUN 204 – Critical Readings for Immunology
- IMMUN 304 – Innate Immunity and Host-Pathogen Interactions
Immunology and Infectious Disease
- IID 209 – Microbial Communities and the Human Microbiome
M.I.T. courses
- MIT 7.21 – Microbial Physiology
- MIT 7.26 – Molecular Basis of Infectious Disease
- MIT 1.89 – Environmental Microbial Biogeochemistry
- MIT 12.007 – Geobiology: History of Life on Earth
- MIT 12.177 – Astrobiology, Origins and Early Evolution of Life
Microbiology
- MICRO 201 – Molecular Biology of the Bacterial Cell
- MICRO 202 – Mechanisms of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Host Immune Response
- MICRO 213 – Social Issues in Biology
- MICRO 305 – Molecular Determinants of Intracellular Bacterial Pathogenesis
- MICRO 308 – Bacterial-Host Interactions in Symbiosis and Pathogenesis
Molecular and Cellular Biology
- MCB 111 – Mathematics in Biology
- MCB 149 – The History of Molecular Biology
- MCB 182 – Bacterial Diversity and the Human Microbiome
- MCB 188 – Chromosomes
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- OEB 119 – Deep Sea Biology
- OEB 125 – Molecular Ecology and Evolution
- OEB 242 – Population Genetics
- OEB 277 – Topics in Symbiosis
Systems Biology
- SYSBIO 220 – Analytical Foundations for Quantitative Biologists
Virology
- VIR 200 – Introduction to Virology
- VIR 201 – Virology
Please note that courses at the 200 level or above are intended primarily for graduate students but are often open to undergraduates with the necessary background/prerequisites. For courses above the 200 level, interested students should inquire in advance with the course director.