Biology
Biotechnology draws from many disciplines, including genetics, immunology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. Recent advances in biotechnology have resulted in major contributions to the fields of medicine, public health, and agriculture.
Berkeley City College’s program, which integrates academic and occupational instruction, prepares students for employment in a broad range of laboratories, including those found in industry, research institutions, public health departments, hospitals, and clinics. The Certificate of Achievement and the Associate of Science degree in Biotechnology allow students to pursue a variety of positions as bioscience technicians.
Biology AS-T Degree
The Associate of Science Degree for Transfer (AS-T) in Biology is designed for students who plan to transfer to CSU as biology majors. In this program, they gain exposure to the five main topics of biology (cell, molecular, organismal biology, evolution, and ecology).
Students who successfully complete the AS-T in Biology earn specific guarantees for transfer to the CSU system: admission to a CSU with junior status, and priority admission to their local CSU campus and to a program or major in biology or a similar major. Students transferring to a CSU campus will be required to complete no more than 60 units after transfer to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Students are required to complete 60 semester units that are eligible for transfer to a California State University, including the following: (1) The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC for STEM) Breadth Requirements (31 units) and (2) 39 semester units with a grade of C or better in the major or area of emphasis and an overall minimum grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 in all CSU transferable coursework. For a more detailed description see "Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) to a California State University".
Students are advised to consult with a Berkeley City College counselor for additional information and to verify transfer requirements.
Career Opportunities
Technician and research associate positions in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, state and federal laboratories, and academic and private research laboratories.
Useful Links
Contact Information
Lili Banihashemi, MS
lbanihashemi@peralta.edu
Scott Blitch, MS
sblitch@peralta.edu
Julia Chang, Ph.D.
Pieter de Haan, Ph.D.
pdehaan@peralta.edu
Barbara DesRochers, Ph.D.
bdesrocher@peralta.edu
Linda McPheron, Ph.D.
lmcpheron@peralta.edu
Douglas Schmidt, Ph.D.
dschmidt@peralta.edu
Randy Yang, Ph.D.
kryang@peralta.edu
Erika Yeh, Ph.D.
