Course Requirements
The Microbial Sciences secondary concentration totals five half-courses 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
One course from each category
1. Foundational course:
- LPSa, LS1a/b, LS50a/b, 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 51 – Introduction to Geochemistry
- E-PSCI 53 – Ocean Chemistry and Climate (formerly 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
- MCB 111 – Mathematics in Biology
- MCB 121 – The Microbes
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- OEB 10 – Foundations of Biological Diversity
- OEB 50 – Genetics and Genomics
- OEB 55 – Ecology: Populations, Communities, and Ecosystems
- OEB 119 – Deep Sea Biology
Two additional microbe-related courses at the 100-level or above, 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
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 188 – Chromosomes
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- OEB 125 – Molecular Ecology and Evolution
- OEB 242 – Population Genetics
Systems Biology
- SYSBIO 220 – Analytical Foundations for Quantitative Biologists
Virology
- VIR 200 – Introduction to Virology
- VIR 201 – Virology
Please note: 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.