BS Biotechnology Major in the Biological Sciences Department: from the course catalog http://www.csupomona.edu/~academic/catalog/

The Biotechnology major is an interdisciplinary program which provides students with a strong background in both biology and chemistry. It provides the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to understand the numerous industrial applications of biological phenomena, while emphasizing the study of cell and molecular biology. Students can select their upper division electives from six clusters: (1) Physiology/Neurobiology; (2) Molecular Biology and Genetics; (3) Microbiology and Pathology; (4) Biochemistry and Molecular Separation Techniques; (5) Agriculture; and (6) Business. See general requirements. Twenty units must be chosen from one of these clusters (referred to as the student’s primary cluster) and an additional 8 units from the other five clusters. This will allow the individual to specialize in a particular area. An important feature of this major is an internship in a biotechnology laboratory for practical experience in the field. This program also satisfies the admission requirements for various graduate and preprofessional schools. Because of the diversity of expertise required in an interdisciplinary program, faculty are drawn from the Colleges of Science, Agriculture and Business. The shared facilities include molecular biology labs with chromatographic and electrophoretic apparati, ultracentrifuges, microarray analysis and a variety of microscopy equipment. Molecular analysis facilities include high pressure liquid chromatography, spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. Large and small animal facilities, greenhouses and controlled environmental chambers, and animal and plant tissue culture facilities are also available.