BIOLOGY 1A & 1AL
All students enrolling in Biology 1A/1AL are expected to read and understand the information provided here.
The Biology 1AL class in Summer has filled up. No additional sections will be opened.
The Biology 1A class has more seats than 1AL because there are some students needing to repeat enrollment only in Biology 1A who can fill the addtional seats.
Co-enrollment in both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL (at the same time in the same cart) is required for most students. Failure to be enrolled in one class (time conflict, exceeding unit max, section full, etc.) will result in failure to be enrolled in both classes (see explanation below).
Note: UC Berkeley students who are enrolled in Bio 1A/1AL in Spring will not be able to enroll in the classes in Summer. Also, enrolling in the classes in Summer will block enrolling in the Fall 2025.
Biology 1A will be delivered via in-person instruction in lectures and discussions. There may be graded questions delivered during lectures.
Exams will be held in-person scheduled during the lecture time dates to be determined.
Biology 1AL will be delivered via in-person instruction in lectures and labs.
One Exam will be held in-person on on Monday August 11th 9:30-11:00 AM. (Details subject to change)
See the Class Notes in the listings in classes.berkeley.edu for more information.
The classes filled much earlier than expected for Fall as we are offering more seats than usual. Opening more sections for the class is being considered, but it it very unlikely to be possible unless the Campus provides additional funding.
Some enrolled students may drop, so it's best to check the enrollment status for open seats. We are unable to use the enrollment system waitlists as they do not work with the Corequisite controls being used.
Check back to this site during the Adjustment Period for updates as we will likely open a Google form for students to submit to be considered for enrollment as a "manual waitlist".
Co-enrollment in both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL (at the same time in the same cart) is required for most students. Failure to be enrolled in one class (time conflict, exceeding unit max, section full, etc.) will result in failure to be enrolled in both classes (see explanation below).
All seats are reserved for students 3-8 Terms in Attendance in Phase 1 and the beginning of Phase 2 through July 31st. Freshmen (Terms 1 and 2 students) may enroll starting August 1st in any remaining seats that are still open as all will be available to anyone meeting the requirements for enrollment.
Note: UC Berekeley students who are enrolled in Bio 1A/1AL in Summer will not be able to enroll in the same classes in Fall until Summer grades have posted.
Biology 1A will be delivered via in-person instruction in lectures and discussions. There may be graded questions delivered during lectures.
Exams will be held in-person scheduled during the lecture time.
This class has a Final Exam scheduled Monday December 15th 7-10 PM.
Biology 1AL will be delivered via in-person instruction in lectures and labs.
One Exam will be held in-person on Wednesday December 3rd 8-10 PM. (Details subject to change)
See the Class Notes in the listings in classes.berkeley.edu for more information.
The enrollment system will respond with the same error message if any of the three requisite conditions is not met (co-requisite, anti-requisite, or pre-requisite). The message displayed should read something like this:
Corequisite: BIOLOGY 1AL. BIOLOGY 1A cannot be IP or previously passed. CHEM 1A with minimum grades of C-; or CHEM 4A with minimum grade of C-; or AP Chem with min score of 4; or Chem HL IB with min score of 5; or GCE A-Level Chem with minimum grade of C
If this message is received, confirm the following before requesting help:
1. Your enrollment request was for BOTH Biology 1A and Biology 1AL at the same time in the same shopping cart.
If this was NOT the case, the co-enrollment requirement was the problem. Try again with both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL classes added to the same cart.
2. Confirm that enrolling in 5 more units will not exceed the maximum allowed for the enrollment phase for your enrolled and waitlisted classes. Unfortunately, since you are trying to enroll in both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL at the same time, the system will not generate an error message stating that enrollment will exceed the maximum units allowed. The last error it will encounter is that you cannot be enrolled in both classes and do not meet the Co-Requisite, and the system will give the "Enrollment Requirements not met" error message.
For enrollment in Fall and Spring, the limit for Phase 1 is 13.5 units, and the limit for Phase 2 is 17.5 units. The limit after Phase 2 is 19.5 units or 20.5 units depending upon your College. Waitlisted classes are included in the unit calculation.
If this was the case, drop classess to make more space and try again with both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL classes added to the same cart.
3. Confirm you do not have a time conflict with one of your other enrolled or waitlisted classes and the sections of Biology 1A and Biology 1AL you chose to request to enroll. A time conflict will result in the "Enrollment Requirements not met" error message instead of a "Time Conflict" error message because the Co-Requisite requirement will be the last error encountered.
Resolve the time conflict by changing your current enrolled or waitlisted classes or by selecting other sections of Biology 1A and Biology 1AL to request to enroll and try again.
4. Confirm completion or "In Progress" status at UC Berkeley of the Chemistry pre-requisite. If you are a new or visiting student to UCB, your transcripts or exams scores may/will not be available to check in the enrollment system.
If you completed CHEM 1A or you are currently enrolled in the class at UCB, this is NOT the cause of the error message. Look at the other possible causes to determine the issue with your enrollment.
If this is the issue because your Chemistry course(s) or exams records are not available in the enrollment system see in the section below how to proceed.
Students are required to enroll in both Bio 1A and Bio 1AL in the same term. The courses have been set as co-enrollment requirements (co-requisites) of each other. This means that a student will be able to enroll only if they are enrolling in both Biology 1A and Biology 1AL at the same time (in the same shopping cart). If a student attempts to enroll in only one of the two courses, this requirement will not be met and the enrollment will fail.
Students must make sure they have 5 units available under the maximum allowed to be able to enroll. Check enrollment Phase unit maximums as applicable.
Because of the co-requisite, it is not possible to enroll in Biology 1A and 1AL in separate phases of enrollment.
There are some cases where students may be exempted from the co-requisite enrollment requirement. Some major advisors may tell students they do not need to take both Bio 1A and Bio 1AL for their major, but this does not grant any exemption from our enrollment requirements.
Find the case below which fits your situation and use the link to the online Google form to submit a request for an exemption.
Pre-requisites will be checked by the enrollment system at the time of enrollment. Only students who meet the pre-requisites will be able to enroll.
To meet the pre-requisites at the time of enrollment, your student records must reflect completion of the required courses with (or other courses or exams determined to fulfill the requirement), or that you are currently "In Progress" (currently enrolled) in the required course (or equivalent course). Any pre-requisite course that is "In Progress" will be checked again by the system later to confirm completion of the requirement.
The pre-requisite course required is, at minimum, a C- or better grade (or a PASS) in one semester of General Chemistry which is CHEM 1A at UCB. Any other course which is considered equivalent or greater than CHEM 1A will meet the requirement (such as CHEM 4A), but it's possible not all cases will be accounted for in the system.
Transfer courses can also meet the requirement if entered into student records and there is an articulation agreement with equivalence to CHEM 1A.
Exam Scores conferring equivalence to General Chemistry are also taken into account. These exams include the AP Chemistry Exam, the IB HL Chemistry Exam, and the A-Level and AS-Level Chemistry Exams.
The pre-requisite requirement controls are set to allow the following:
CHEM 1A (including CHEM 1AD)
or
CHEM 1A Equivalent Exams
or
CHEM 4A
or
CHEM 3A
or
CHEM 12A, 3B, or 12B
The more advanced Chemistry courses are not required pre-requisites, but they are simply used show a student has sufficient knowledge of Chemistry even though their records may not specifically contain grades for CHEM 1A.
Any students who meet the pre-requisites in some way that is not contained in their UCB student records will not be able to enroll until granted permission by the Enrollment Coordinator for Biology 1A/1AL. This includes any students with course credit from other schools that do not have an articulation agreement with UC, transfer course credit or exam scores which have not yet been entered into a student's records, and students planning to take a course equivalent to CHEM 1A at another school over the Summer.
If you have been blocked from enrolling because of course pre-requisites, but you believe you do meet the requirements (or will meet the requirements before the start of classes), you can submit a request for permission to enroll.
All visiting students wanting to enroll in the regular semesters and during Summer Sessions, must request permission to enroll by submitting the following form.
To request permission to enroll and provide proof of qualification, please submit this Pre-requisite Declaration Form.
AP Biology Exam credit (or any other similar exam for Biology) has no impact upon course pre-requisites.
Biology 1A and Biology 1AL have been configured with an "anti-requisite" which will block enrollment of any student who is currently enrolled (In Progress) in Biology 1A and/or Biology 1AL, and any student who has already passed (C- grade or better or a PASS) one or both courses.
This has been put in place to ensure students who have never been enrolled in Biology 1A and Biology 1AL have priority to enroll.
Students who have received a non-passing grade in Biology 1A and/or Biology 1AL will be permitted by the system to enroll in the class(es) with the non-passing grade. In this case, a student with a passing grade in one class but not the other class will be able to enroll in the one class they have not passed, and the co-enrollment requisite will not be enforced.
Students who have passed Biology 1A, but they have no grade in Biology 1AL will also be blocked from enrolling in Biology 1AL as those students are considered to have been exempted from the co-enrollment requisite in a previous term. Students in this situation are considered to have low prioroity to be able to enroll in Biology 1AL and must receive permission to enroll which cannot be considered until the week before the start of classes at the earliest.
Students who are currently In Progress in the classes must wait until they have received grades in the current term before being able to enroll in a future term.
Students who wish to repeat the courses who have already received a passing grade cannot enroll unless given permission by the Enrollment Coordinator.
Permission to repeat enrollment will only be granted no earlier than a week before the start of classes for the term. Granting permission to enroll could be delayed depending upon conditions as late as the second week of classes.
To submit a request for repeating enrollment in Biology 1A and/or 1AL, please use the Repeating Enrollment Request Form.
Bio 1AL has exams scheduled outside normal lecture class times in the Fall and Spring semesters. The exam dates and times will be noted in the Course Notes of the class listing in the Class Schedule, on the bCourses sites when they are published, and in the class syllabi. While these exams are subject to change, there have rarely been any changes once the dates are posted. Students must ensure they have no conflicts with the exam times as make-up exams are not possible.
During Summer Sessions, all exams in Bio 1A and Bio 1AL are giving during the class lecture times.
Exams scheduled in the evening for other courses could conflict with the Monday 5:00-6:30pm lectures and Tuesday 6:30-9:30pm lab sections in Fall and Spring semesters. Students are to make sure they are able to attend all class meetings and exams. Time conflicts with other classes will not be accommodated. Check the notes on the Class Schedule listings for any information about exam schedules. Make changes to your schedule as soon as possible when you find about any conflicts.
Do not schedule any flights or other events during the weekdays when classes are in session until you are certain you will not conflict with any classes or exams. No makeup will be possible.
Unfortunately, because of the Requisite controls in place on the classes, it is not possible to open the waitlists.
Concurrent Enrollment in Biology 1A/1AL is possible only if there are seats open in the classes at the beginning of instruction for the term after all registered student enrollments have been confirmed. As it cannot be known until the beginning of instruction what seats may be available, it is not possible to approve concurrent enrollment any earlier.
To inquire about Concurrent Enrollment, please send email to Erol Kepkep, the Biology 1A/1AL Enrollment Coordinator, at bio1a-enrollment@berkeley.edu
For any questions about enrollment that are not answered in the information above or in related/linked sources, please send email to Erol Kepkep, the Biology 1A/1AL Enrollment Coordinator, at bio1a-enrollment@berkeley.edu.