Botany
Contact
Department Chair
Casey Lu, Ph.D.
Department of Biological Sciences
Science Complex B 221
(707) 826-3245
The Program
Humboldt has the largest greenhouse of all the state campuses, containing an extensive collection of plants from around the world. Students also find a large collection of pressed plants in the herbarium.
Several plant growth chambers allow students to control growing conditions of plants. Native plants in nearby wilderness areas also provide excellent opportunity for study.
Our botany graduates do well in these careers: herbarium curator, naturalist, plant physiologist, technical writer, plant ecologist, environmental consultant, botanist, horticulturist, science librarian, and plant pathologist.
Preparation
In high school, take biology, chemistry, and physics (with labs, if possible), algebra (beginning and intermediate), geometry, and trigonometry.
Requirements for the Major
Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in all prerequisite courses.
Lower Division
- BIOL 105 Principles of Biology
- BIOM 109 Introductory Biometrics
- BOT 105 General Botany
- CHEM 109 General Chemistry
- MATH 105 Calculus for the Biological Sciences & Natural Resources (A full year of calculus, MATH 109 & 110, may substitute for MATH 105.)
- PHYX 106 College Physics: Mechanics & Heat
- PHYX 118 College Physics: Biological Applications
- ZOOL 110 General Zoology
Upper Division
- BIOL 330 Principles of Ecology
- BIOL 307 Evolution
- BOT 310 General Plant Physiology
Three courses in plant groups from:
- BOT 350 Plant Taxonomy
- BOT 353 Phycology
- BOT 355 Lichens & Bryophytes
- BOT 358 Biology of the Microfungi, and BOT 359 Biology of the Ascomycetes & Basidiomycetes
- CHEM 328 Brief Organic Chemistry
- BOT 321 Developmental Plant Anatomy or BOT 372 Evolutionary Morphology of Plants
- BIOL 340 Genetics or BIOL 345 Genetics with Population Emphasis
- BIOL 412 General Bacteriology or One upper division course in zoology with laboratory
One unit from:
- BIOL 490 Senior Thesis or BIOL 499 Directed Study
Requirements for the Minor
Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in all prerequisite courses.
- BIOL 105 Principles of Biology
- BOT 105 General Botany
Fourteen units of upper division courses in botany, approved by the botany minor advisor