Apr 15, 2025  
2025-2026 Catalog 
    
Catalog Navigation
Catalog Home

Academic Calendar
Academic Programs
Course Descriptions


Undergraduate Education
General Education
School of Engineering
School of Natural Sciences
School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts
Graduate Studies
Research at UC Merced


About UC Merced
Academic Policies
Undergraduate Admissions
Fees and Expenses
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Directions and Map
Directory
My Catalog
2025-2026 Catalog

Biochemistry, B.S. Four-Year Course Plan

All General Education course options can be found here . 

Please Note: This four-year plan serves as a general guide and assumes that all prerequisite requirements have been met prior to each course. Students may need to complete additional prerequisite coursework (MATH 005 , CHEM 001 , WRI 001 ) based on placement results or prior preparation. Be sure to consult with your academic advisor to create a personalized plan that aligns with your individual progress and goals.

First Year
Fall Spring
BIO 011: Introduction to Molecular Biology  and  BIO 011L      BIO 012: Introduction to Organismal Biology   BIO 012L   
SPRK 001: Spark Seminar  or  SPRK 010: Spark Seminar   MATH 022: Calculus II for Physical Sciences and Engineering  
MATH 021: Calculus I for Physical Sciences and Engineering    CHEM 010: General Chemistry II  and CHEM 010L  
CHEM 002: General Chemistry I  and CHEM 002L   WRI 010: College Reading and Composition  

Second Year
Fall Spring
General Education: Lower Division Language Major Computer Science Requirement
Major Upper Division Major Elective Major Probability and Statistics Requirement
PHYS 008: Introductory Physics I for Physical Sciences  and  PHYS 008L       PHYS 009: Introductory Physics II for Physical Sciences  and PHYS 009L  
CHEM 008: Principles of Organic Chemistry  and  CHEM 008L    CHEM 100: Organic Synthesis and Mechanism    

Third Year
Fall Spring
CHEM 111: Biochemistry I   CHEM 122: Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology  
CHEM 101L: Advanced Synthetic Laboratory   CHEM 152: Biochemistry Laboratory 
CHEM 120: Inorganic Chemistry    General Education: Area B–Approaches to Knowledge Social Science, Literary and Textual Analysis, Media and Visual Analysis, Societies and Cultures of the Past
General Education: Area B–Approaches to Knowledge Social Science, Literary and Textual Analysis, Media and Visual Analysis, Societies and Cultures of the Past Major Upper Division Major Elective

Fourth Year
Fall Spring
General Education: Upper Division Writing in the Discipline  CHEM 133: Biophysical Chemistry 
Major Upper Division Major Elective CHEM 194: Ethics and Communication in Chemistry  
General Education: Area B–Approaches to Knowledge Social Science, Literary and Textual Analysis, Media and Visual Analysis, Societies and Cultures of the Past Free Elective