Department of Natural Sciences

Rachna Sadana, PhD, Chair
N813, 713-221-8015

Maria Benavides, PhD, Assistant Chair
N811, 713-221-8170

Faculty

Professors:	Grebowicz, J. Johnson, Morano, Morris-Smith, Uzman
Associate Professors:	Aoki, Baird, Benavides, Bowden, Flosi, Gulati, Hessel, Jiang, K. Johnson, Jose, Lyons, Sadana, Trufan
Assistant Professors:	Baird, Bowden, Kang, Martz, Tobin
Lecturers:	Beckles, Brown, Gandhi, Hudspeth, Idowu, Jakubowski, Krishna, Loomis-Price, Minard, Musselwhite, Parker, Pedroza, Pinelis, Qavi, Saha, Singh, Stanlee, Sterna, Villegas, Visbal
Emeriti:	Abramowitz, Avenoso, Christmas, Fefer, Hoffmann-Pinther, Merrill, Price, Sherman, Umland

Academic Areas: biology, biotechnology, chemistry, geology, microbiology, physics

Pre-Professional Areas: clinical laboratory science, dental hygiene, dentistry, medicine, nutrition and dietetics, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician’s assistant, and veterinary medicine. For more information please see Department of Natural Sciences - Pre-Professional Areas .

Specialized Areas: environmental science and science education (see list of certification areas below)

The Department of Natural Sciences offers lower and upper-level courses in the academic and specialized areas listed above. In addition, it provides courses that serve a number of pre-professional areas. Students interested in biology may pursue the Bachelor of Science in Biology or Biotechnology. In addition to the standard Biology degree, students may choose to concentrate in Microbiology, Environmental Biosciences or Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. Students interested in chemistry may pursue the Bachelor of Science program in Chemistry or may choose concentrations in Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Forensic Science and Industrial Chemistry. Students may also seek the Bachelor of Science degree in the Biological and Physical Sciences which may be used for a variety of interests and can be easily combined with Teacher Certification. Students may also enroll in a BS in Geosciences with concentrations in Geochemistry, Petroleum Geotechnology or Environmental Geology.

Drop Policy for Science Courses with Prerequisites/Corequisites

Students must follow stated prerequisite/corequisite listings for natural science courses. Students may be dropped from any class for which they lack a prerequisite or a corequisite. The student will receive a W for the dropped course after the official day of record.

Requirements for Graduation for Degrees in the Department of Natural Sciences

In order to satisfy the requirements of a degree, credit for science courses will only be granted when the student has satisfactorily completed any listed corequisite. The Department of Natural Sciences also has the following general requirements for all science degrees: (1) Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all science courses that apply toward the degree; (2) a grade of C or higher is required in all upper-level science courses to be applied towards graduation; (3) Students must have at least 18 credit hours of upper-level science from UHD with a minimum GPA of 2.0 to apply toward the degree; (4) Students must satisfy the required number of upper level hours in a degree; (5) Students must complete an exit survey in the Natural Sciences Department Office, N813.

Science Education Certification Programs

Jon Aoki, EdD, Coordinator
N614A, 713-221-8687

The Department of Natural Sciences, in cooperation with the Department of Urban Education, offers science teacher certification programs for secondary-level education. This program satisfies the requirements established by the State Board for Educator Certification and Texas Education Agency. A curriculum guide is available in N813.

Honors Program in the Natural Sciences

Robin Jose, PhD, Coordinator
N810, 713-221-8115

In order to enhance the educational opportunities and experiences of academically talented students at UHD, the Department of Natural Sciences offers an Honors Program in the Natural Sciences. The program is designed to challenge and motivate students to do more than the minimum required for a particular degree in science. Students who successfully complete this program will be designated as graduates of an Honors Program in the Department of Natural Sciences on their university transcript.

Admission Requirements:

Application to the department’s Honors Program Admissions and Review Committee
Earned at least 60 semester credit hours of recognized university-level work
An overall GPA of at least 3.0 with a GPA of 3.25 or better in science courses
Earned at least 16 semester credit hours in science, eight of which must have been taken at UHD

Program Requirements:

Satisfy the requirements for one of the department’s Bachelor of Science degree programs
Complete one honors-designated course in addition to six hours credit in BIOL 4399 , CHEM 4399 , GEOL 4399 , MBIO 4399 , or PHYS 4399 Senior Honors Thesis. The senior thesis will be completed under the supervision of an approved member of the UHD faculty with input from the Honors Program Committee
Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25 in all science courses including the required honors courses
Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better in all non-science courses taken at UHD

The departmental Honors Program Admissions and Review Committee must approve all honors designated courses and all projects proposed by students for their honors theses. Upper-level courses designated as Honors require at least 25 percent more in-depth study than that required of students taking the course without honors credit. The additional course requirements will vary depending on the course and instructor.

Programs

Major

Minor