Students who pursue an undergraduate degree in agricultural biotechnology will take courses in agricultural studies, biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, economics, mathematics and physics. They may also take courses recommended for the degree in neuroscience and statistics. Students will also complete courses outside of their major to fulfil the Liberal Education Requirement. This requirement ensures that throughout your degree, you will acquire a breadth of knowledge, encompassing a variety of disciplines, perspectives and theories - a solid foundation for personal and professional development.
Students are required to take some or all of the following courses to fulfill their degree requirements. Please always refer to the current year's academic calendar for the most accurate list of courses offered. The courses listed below are not offered every semester. Please refer to the Bridge for current offerings and to register for classes.
Agricultural Biotechnology
Credit hours: 6.00
Contact hours per week: Variable
This is a challenging, work-intensive, research-oriented course in which students will conduct fieldwork, text, library-based or empirical research, submit a report in the form of an Undergraduate Thesis which will be made publicly available, and report orally on the work. In consultation with their Thesis Supervisor, students will define a research problem and formulate a research plan.
Prerequisite(s): Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90.0 credit hours) AND A cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher
Note: Contact hours will vary. Students should be aware that this course involves regular contact with the Thesis Supervisor as well as considerable independent work.
Agricultural Studies
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
A survey of the major achievements in agriculture, spanning its origins until the present. Particular emphasis on agricultural-related activities in Europe and North America. The role of Indigenous peoples and women in agriculture, world food issues, and the environmental consequences of modern agriculture.
Lib Ed Req: Fine Arts and Humanities
Biochemistry
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Chemistry of biomolecules including proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids.
Prerequisite(s): One of Chemistry 2120 or Chemistry 2500
Recommended Background: Biology 1010
Lib Ed Req: Science
Biological Sciences
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Fundamental principles of cellular biology, including structure and function, metabolism, genetics, and molecular biology of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Attention will be given to the application of cellular and molecular biology in medicine, agriculture and biotechnology.
Prerequisite(s): One of Biology 30 or Biology 0520 AND One of Chemistry 30, Chemistry 0500, or Chemistry 0520 OR One of admission to the Post-Diploma BSc in Agricultural Studies or admission to the Post-Diploma BSc in Environmental Science
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Comparative examination of the diversity of the major lineages of eukaryotic organisms from an evolutionary perspective.
Recommended Background: One of Biology 30 or Biology 0520
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Fundamental principles of heredity, including Mendelian laws and genetic recombination. Topics include general concepts of gene structure, inheritance, organization, and expression.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 1010 AND Biology 1020 AND One of Mathematics 30-1, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520 OR Biology 1010 AND One of admission to the Post-Diploma BSc in Agricultural Studies or admission to the Post-Diploma BSc in Environmental Science
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Examination of relationships between animals, plants, and their non-living and living environment. Topics include energy flow, nutrient cycles, ecological succession, and the ecology of individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 1010 AND Biology 1020 AND One of Mathematics 30-1, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520 OR Biology 1010 AND admission to the Post-Diploma BSc in Agricultural Studies
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Molecular mechanisms of inheritance, rearrangement and regulated expression of genetic information.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000
Recommended Background: One of Chemistry 2120 or Chemistry 2600
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Examination of the processes involved in maintaining the stability of the cellular genome. Topics include DNA damage and repair, DNA recombination, transposable DNA elements, and epigenetics.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Intracellular systems regulating cell growth, division and differentiation; emphasis will be placed on how cells communicate.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Intracellular systems regulating cell communication in selected organisms, with emphasis on animal systems.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Modern techniques in cell biology including elementary DNA sequence analysis, DNA purification, gene transfer systems, cell culture, cell staining and labelling, cell cycle analysis, and Western blotting.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000 AND Chemistry 2000
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-1-0
Study of the mechanisms underlying the evolutionary process. Topics include natural selection, quantitative genetics, adaptation, and speciation.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000 AND One of Biology 2200 or admission to the Post-Diploma BSc in Environmental Science
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Introduction to microorganisms with an emphasis on metabolism, growth and control of growth, genetics, ecology, and microbial diversity, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, algae and viruses.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Organization and diversity of animal functions, including muscle contractions, respiration, circulation, osmoregulation, digestion, thermoregulation and the roles of the endocrine and nervous systems. Emphasis on vertebrates.
Prerequisite(s): Biology 2000
Recommended Background: Biology 2200 AND Chemistry 2600
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Physiological and molecular basis for plant growth and development. Topics include water relations, photosynthesis, mineral nutrition, active transport, hormones, and physiological acclimation to environmental stress.
Prerequisite(s): One of Biology 2000 or Biology 2200
Recommended Background: Chemistry 2500
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Recent and advanced aspects of molecular biology and biotechnology related to agriculture.
Prerequisite(s): Two of Biology 3000, Biology 3105, Biology 3210, or Biology 3400
Lib Ed Req: Science
Chemistry
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
An introduction to the discipline and essential concepts of Chemistry.
Prerequisite(s): One of Chemistry 30, Chemistry 0500, or Chemistry 0520 AND One of Mathematics 30-1, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520
Recommended Background: Mathematics 31 AND Physics 30
Substantially Similar: Chemistry 1110
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Continuation of the introduction to the discipline and advanced concepts of Chemistry.
Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 1000
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
An introduction to the chemistry of carbon-containing compounds. This course builds a foundation for the study of organic compounds by examining their structure, bonding and stereochemistry. Methods of structure determination and investigations of reaction mechanism are also introduced.
Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 2000
Substantially Similar: Chemistry 2120
Lib Ed Req: Science
Note: Some familiarity with Calculus and Physics is recommended.
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
A continuation of Chemistry 2500 with an emphasis on the transformations of organic compounds and the mechanistic processes involved.
Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 2000 AND Chemistry 2500
Lib Ed Req: Science
Economics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0 or 3-1-0
The study of how prices and quantities are determined in the marketplace. Consumers' and firms' views of the various markets in which goods and services are bought and sold. Current everyday life examples of microeconomics, as well as the role of government in the Canadian free market system.
Lib Ed Req: Social Science
Note: This course may be offered with a lab component.
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Agriculture in a modern economy. Globalization of agriculture. Canadian agriculture in the World Trade Organization and NAFTA. Safety net issues. Subsidies in agriculture. Marketing issues in Canadian agriculture. Current policy debates.
Prerequisite(s): Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req: Social Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
An introduction to the processes and institutions comprising the contemporary food marketing system. Basic theory and underlying factors determining and affecting grain and livestock prices. Spatial price relationships. Temporal price variation. Price differences due to form (particularly dealing with grading and quality). Prices as a coordinating mechanism in vertically-related systems. Derived demand and marketing margins. Marketing boards.
Prerequisite(s): Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req: Social Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-0
Use of economic principles to analyze rural incomes and agricultural policies. Topics include supply-managed marketing boards in dairy and poultry industries; bio-fuels and their effect on food prices; water management policies for improved water use efficiency; international trade and multilateral agreements; benefits and costs of using genetically-modified seeds; changes in land tenure and use; environmental/economic trade-off of agricultural practices; and other current agricultural issues.
Prerequisite(s): Economics 1010
Lib Ed Req: Social Science
Mathematics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-1
Linear systems. Vectors and matrices. Determinants. Orthogonality and applications. Vector geometry. Eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and applications. Complex numbers.
Prerequisite(s): One of Mathematics 30-1, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-1
Functions. Limits. Continuity. Differentiation and integration of polynomial, rational, root, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions. Inverse functions, including inverse trigonometric functions. Applications of derivatives, including linear approximations and Taylor polynomials. Curve sketching, optimization, and related rates. Anti-derivatives. Definite integrals and Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Change of variables.
Prerequisite(s): One of Mathematics 30-1, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520
Substantially Similar: Mathematics 1510; Mathematics 1565
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-0-1.5
Elementary functions: polynomial, rational, root, trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic, hyperbolic. Inverse functions, including inverse trigonometric functions. Limits and continuity. Differentiation of elementary and inverse functions. Applications of derivatives, including linear approximations, Taylor polynomials, and l’Hospital’s rule. Curve sketching and optimization. Anti-derivatives. Definite integrals and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Integration by substitution. Area between curves. Numerical integration.
Prerequisite(s): One of Mathematics 1010 or Mathematics 31
Substantially Similar: Mathematics 1560
Lib Ed Req: Science
Physics
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
Other hours per term: 0-0-6
Calculus-based introduction to mechanics and modern physics. Concepts and problem-solving skills are emphasized. Material studied: kinematics and mechanics, and a brief introduction to nuclear physics and particle physics.
Prerequisite(s): Physics 30 AND One of Mathematics 30-1, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, or Mathematics 0520
Corequisite(s): One of Mathematics 1560 or Mathematics 1565 (recommended)
Substantially Similar: Physics 1050
Lib Ed Req: Science
Credit hours: 3.00
Contact hours per week: 3-3-0
A non-calculus based introduction to biophysics, which emphasizes the application of physical principles to problems of biological significance. Material studied: animal mechanics, acoustics, radiation biophysics, and fluid properties.
Prerequisite(s): One of Mathematics 30-1, Pure Mathematics 30, Mathematics 0500, Mathematics 0520, or admission to the Post-Diploma B.Sc. in Environmental Science
Recommended Background: One course in the physical sciences at the 20 level or above
Substantially Similar: Physics 1000
Lib Ed Req: Science