ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Updated 4/7/2026

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 Transfer Credit Report, and students planning to take a course equivalent to CHEM 1A at another school over the current Term or in 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.

 

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Anti-requisite Requirement (Repeating Enrollment):

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.

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.

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Scheduling:

Bio 1AL has two 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. Students need 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.

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Concurrent Enrollment (UC Extension) in Fall and Spring:

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 applications any earlier.

To inquire about Concurrent Enrollment, please send email to Erol Kepkep, the Biology 1A/1AL Enrollment Coordinator, at bio1a-enrollment@berkeley.edu