Curriculum Structure
Distribution of the curriculum in ECTS credits by type of subject
According to Art. 12.2 of Royal Decree 1393/20075534, the curriculum for the Degree in Biology at the University of La Laguna has a total of 240 credits distributed in 4 courses of 60 ECTS credits, divided into 2 semesters, which include all the theoretical and practical training that the student must acquire.
| Type of subjects | ECTS credits | TOTAL OFFER |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Training | 60 | 60 |
| Mandatory | 120 | 120 |
| Electives | 30 | 60 |
| Internships | 12 | 12 |
| Final Degree Project | 18 | 18 |
| Total credits |
240 | 270 |
| Recognition of optional credits
Activities recognized in Art. 12.8 of RD 1393/200757 and in section 10 of the General Guidelines for the Design of ULL Degree Titles58 |
6 |
General explanation of curriculum planning
Basic Training SubjectsThe 60 credits of basic training contained in the study plan are taken during the first year of the Degree and are structured into 10 subjects of 6 ECTS each. Five of them are from the Science Branch (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, and Biology, with a total of 48 ECTS), one basic subject from the Health Sciences branch (6 ECTS: Statistics) and one basic subject from the Engineering and Architecture branch (6 ECTS, Introduction to Scientific Computing and Data Analysis), subjects that add additional and essential skills for our graduates.
The 60 ECTS of basic training also include those “Instrumental Subjects applied to Biology” that were included in the White Paper of the Degree.
Mandatory subjects. The fundamental thematic blocks collected in the White Paper as common training contents (Origin and Evolution of living beings, Biodiversity and Phylogeny, Molecular Bases of living beings, Structure, Organization and Development of living beings, Functional Aspects of living beings, Organization of Populations and Ecosystems) are integrated into the subjects that currently constitute the fundamental core of the Bachelor's Degree in Biology: Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Botany, Ecology, Animal Physiology, Plant Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology and Zoology. Each of these subjects integrates two compulsory subjects related to said subject, each of 6 ECTS and of a semester nature.
These subjects, which are made up of two compulsory subjects of six credits, respond to a disciplinary design. In accordance with this model, for each of these compulsory subjects (except Cellular Biology, which has been complemented with a basic training subject), students are offered the possibility of extending their training in these disciplines through an optional subject of six credits. Thus, the disciplinary subjects reach 18 ECTS, of which 6 ECTS are optional. In the case of Cellular Biology, 18 ECTS are compulsory.
In addition to these compulsory subjects, derived from the CEDB agreements, the curriculum includes the following compulsory subjects: Soil Science and Projects in Biology, both semester-long and worth 6 ECTS.
Finally, it should be noted that the credits assigned to external internships (12 ECTS) and the final degree project (18 ECTS) are compulsory for all students studying the Biology Degree at the ULL, so students will complete a total of 150 compulsory ECTS.
Elective subjectsThe Bachelor's degree offers a total of 60 optional ECTS credits, distributed in 10 subjects of 6 ECTS, of which the student has to take only 30 ECTS credits. These optional subjects are offered in the first four-month period of the fourth year.
All subjects offered are semester-long and worth 6 ECTS, except for the External Internships and the Final Degree Project, which, despite being semester-long, have 12 and 18 ECTS credits, respectively.
In the fourth year, in addition to the 30 compulsory credits corresponding to the External Internships and the Final Degree Project, students must take 30 optional credits, corresponding to 5 subjects, chosen from the 10 offered.