These departments jointly administer the biology concentration, while MCB is solely responsible for overseeing biochemical sciences.

Under the proposed changes, all current introductory biological science courses with departmental numbers below 50--such as Biological Science 10: "Introductory Molecular Biology"--will replaced with a new series of Biological Science courses numbered in the 50s.

Many of those classes to be replaced currently enroll several hundred students.

According Gelbart, the changes do more than give old courses new titles. Rather, the modifications reflect a shift in the courses' academic content.

"We looked at increasing the breadth and depth of the introductory requirements," Gelbart said.

While some new courses will have fairly similar material to the courses they will replace, others will experience more dramatic change.

For instance, Biological Sciences 11: "Basic Principles of Biochemistry and Cell Biology," which will be replaced by Biological Sciences 54, will omit material that is already covered in organic chemistry courses and will add more advanced material.