Department of Botany Weber State University

Which Botany course should I take?

The Botany Department offers a variety of courses that satisfy the Life Science (LS) and Diversity (DV) general education requirements of WSU and the Scientific Inquiry (SI) requirement for a Bachelor of Science degree. The following information about specific Botany courses is meant to guide you in selecting the most appropriate course for your needs. For full course descriptions, see the WSU catalog.

Botany LS1203, Plant Biology (3)
Plant Biology provides an overview of the field of Botany, including plant diversity and function. The topics of particular emphasis in the course depend on the instructor. The course does not have a laboratory with it, but instructors bring in a variety of demonstration materials. This course is one of the options on the lists of required support courses for majors in Microbiology and Zoology.

Botany LS1303, Plants in Human Affairs (3)
Plants in Human Affairs covers past, present, and future uses of plants by humans, including foods, fibers, lumber, and medicine. Students with interests in the social sciences are encouraged to take this course.

Botany LS1403, Environment Appreciation (3 or 4)
Environment Appreciation is a 3 credit hour course, but it can be taken for 4 credits, with the fourth credit based on a major research paper or project on an environmental issue. The purpose of the course is to develop awareness of the impacts our actions have on the environment on a variety of levels. Because this is such a critical awareness to develop, this course is required in the Liberal Support Curriculum of the John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics and for a major in Botany.*

*Students who meet the prerequisites can take Environment Appreciation as Botany 3403 for 3 upper division credit hours. The upper division version of the course does not carry General Education credit.

Botany LS/SI1370, Principles of Life Science (3)
This is a biology survey course for Elementary Education majors which carries Life Science General Education credit as well as Scientific Inquiry credit. This course has a laboratory associated with it. It is crosslisted with the Microbiology and Zoology Departments. This course is one of the options on the list of required support courses for a major in Elementary Education.

Botany DV2303, Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the only course offered in the College of Science that meets the university diversity requirement. The course does not have a laboratory with it, but the instructor brings in a variety of demonstration materials.

Botany LS/SI1370, Principles of Life Science (3)
This is a biology survey course for Elementary Education majors which carries Life Science General Education credit as well as Scientific Inquiry credit. This course has a laboratory associated with it. It is crosslisted with the Microbiology and Zoology Departments. This course is one of the options on the list of required support courses for a major in Elementary Education.

Botany SI2104, Plant Form and Function (4), and Botany SI2114, Evolutionary Survey of Plants (4)
Plant Form and Function and Evolutionary Survey of Plants are the two courses created when the Botany Department changed its core course for majors and minors from a 1000-level one semester class to a 2000-level two semester course. The two courses are independent of each other; one is not a prerequisite for the other. Both courses have extensive laboratory experiences. If you will be taking upper division Botany courses, you should be aware that some of the courses have both courses as prerequisites and that others only require a specific one of the two. If you are a Botany major, when you take either course, you should be concurrently enrolled in Botany 2121 (Career Planning for Botanists) if you have not already taken it. Both courses are among the options on the lists of required support courses for majors in Microbiology, Zoology, and Biology Composite Teaching.

Botany SI2104 is a prerequisite for: Botany 2503 (Biology of the Plant Cell), Botany 3105 (Anatomy and Morphology of Vascular Plants), Botany 3204 (Plant Physiology), Botany 3214 (Soils), Botany 3303 (Plant Genetics), Botany 4252 (Cell Culture)

Botany SI2114 is a prerequisite for: Botany 3454 (Plant Ecology), Botany 3473 (Plant Geography), Botany 3523 (Marine Biology), Botany 3624 (Taxonomy of Vascular Plants), Botany 3641A (Intermountain Flora - Woody Plants), Botany 3641B (Intermountain Flora - Montane Forbs, Botany 3641C (Intermountain Flora - Wetland Plants), Botany 3641D (Intermountain Flora - Grasses)

The following courses require both Botany SI2104 and Botany SI2114: Botany 3504 (Mycology), Botany 3514 (Algology), Botany 4113 (Plant Evolution), all courses numbered 4750 and above

The following course has a prerequisite of either Botany SI2104 or Botany SI2114: Botany 3403 (Environment Appreciation)

Botany 2203. Home and Garden Plants (3)
Botany 2203 covers the basic principles of plant growth and development, focusing specifically on home and garden plants. The class includes a weekly lab session. If you’re looking for a class that tells you how to take care of your plants, this is it.

12 January 2004