Biotechnology Program Details
Questions? Contact Us!
Julie González
Program Chair
jegonzalez2@dmacc.edu
515-964-6379
What is Biotechnology?
Biotechnology, or biotech, is a multidisciplinary field that uses biology and engineering to apply organisms and their parts to create products and services. The goal of biotechnology is to improve human health and society, and has been around since the domestication of plants and animals and the discovery of fermentation.
The main subfields of Biotechnology are:
- Medical: Vaccines, Antibodies, Therapeutic proteins, Antibiotics, Stem cells, Gene therapy
- Agriculture: Work with food crops to ensure a food supply for the global human population including more nutritious, drought, frost and salt tolerant crops
- Food: Fermentation products, Plant based meat substitutes, Yeasts, Wine, Beer & Champagne
- Industrial: Enzymes, Biofuels, Bioplastics, Biopolymers & value-added chemicals from waste biomass
- Aquatic: Aquaculture, Molecule discovery for human health & medicine
- Environmental: Pollution detection, management, Phytoremediation & Waste breakdown
Program Entry Requirements
To enter the Biotechnology Program, you must:
- fill out an application,
- satisfy the assessment requirement, and
- attend any required information/registration sessions necessary to be admitted to DMACC.
You should also have completed one year of high school biology and chemistry or the DMACC equivalents, two years of high school algebra or the DMACC equivalents, and demonstrated satisfactory writing skills.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate with a Liberal Arts Associate in Science Degree with Biotechnology Laboratory Methods Certificate, you must complete the required curriculum with a 2.0 GPA.
The Biotechnology Program includes three degree options:
Associate of Science - Biotechnology Concentration
Students completing this degree pathway are awarded both a transferable Associate of Science Degree and the Biotechnology Laboratory Methods Certificate providing employable, hands-on skills. This is the best combination if you want to:
- Transfer directly into a wide range of 4-year degree biological science majors, or
- Start a career in the biological sciences now with the option to easily continue their education in the future.
Biotechnology Laboratory Methods Certificate
The Biotechnology Laboratory Methods Certificate alongside the Liberal Arts AS Degree, will provide you with the latest information and skills needed to function more effectively in your job or to update your skills for employment possibilities. It will provide you and an employer with evidence of your continued education in a specific education in a specific occupational area.
The Biotechnology Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree has concentrations if you plan to start a specific type of biotech career immediately after graduation.
AAS Degree Options
If you wish to complete the Liberal Arts Associate in Science (AS) transfer degree, complete the following recommended biology and chemistry courses.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIO 104* | Introductory Biology w/Lab | 3 |
| BIO 112 | General Biology | 4 |
| BIO 113 | General Biology II | 4 |
| BIO 146 | Genetics | 3 |
| BIO 186 | Microbiology | 4 |
| BIO 249 | Biotechnology Internship | 2-3 |
| BIO 250 | Cell & Molecular Biology - Nucleic Acids | 5 |
| BIO 251 | Cell & Molecular Biology - Proteins | 5 |
| CHM 165 | General/Inorganic Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHM 175 | General/Inorganic Chemistry II | 4 |
*Or any core biology course (BIO 156, BIO 164, BIO 168)