The International Undergraduate Program in Biology is developed as part of UPB, hence the student would be required to get a minimum of 144 credits in which 96 credits are program compulsory courses including internship and undergraduate thesis. During the programs, students must perform various activities such as lectures, seminars, projects, practical work, self-study and examinations. A single lecture credit equivalent to three hours of learning, thus the student requires 54 hours per semester, meanwhile a single credits of laboratory works is equivalent to maximum 80 hours per semester. The workload of 144 credits distributed in a series of modules. The curriculum of IUP Biology is set up to have standard duration of 7 semesters or equal to 3.5 years. The sequence of the modules/courses was listed in curriculum map. All the courses will be delivered in English.
The curriculum is comprised of compulsory and elective courses. The Indonesian core value courses such as Civics, Pancasila, Community Service, and Religion are mandatory for all students. These courses will give strong fundamental ethics and morality, particularly after the student get involve in research, community and workplace. Religious teaching is given depending on the students’ personal choice and belief. The abovementioned core value courses are part of compulsory ones. Program’s compulsory courses are mostly allotted on first 4 semesters. IUP Biology offers 3 majors, which are: Functional Biology and Development, Environmental Biology and Biodiversity, and Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Major’s elective courses could be taken as early as 3th semester.
Students are required to take internship and two extracurricular activities for a total of 6 credits. Internship and extracurricular activities could be taken 2 credits for 3 semesters or 6 credits for one semester. The total hours for Internship and extracurricular activities are between 160 hours/semester (2 credits/semester) to 480 hours (6 credits). The Internship and extracurricular are designed to expose the student to work environment. The Internship could be done at international companies, international affiliated laboratories or university, which are works in biological related fields, either it is in Indonesia or abroad.
IUP Biology offers a total of 49 courses as elective courses in 3 majors. The elective courses have been grouped based on the majors (Appendix 2), however students are allowed to take other majors’ compulsory or elective courses, in which such courses will be treated as elective courses. This clause will ensure that students have freedom on forming their knowledge and skills based on their need and interest. Elective will be held if the number of students takes it ≥ 3 students.
Similar with our regular Undergraduate Program, thesis in IUP Biology is not a final course however it is an imperative requirement to achieve the degree. By semester V, student should starts writing their thesis proposal and presents it in front of Major’s academic meeting as part of seminar courses, and then at semester VIII, the students should have completed their study by having the thesis defense or taking other lacking courses. The thesis (6 credits, 480 hours/semester) enables students to synthesize knowledge that student have gained in a particular field (based on major interest of students) by doing research under supervision of thesis advisor. In order to complete an undergraduate degree a student must satisfy abovementioned requirements.