生物技术专业的一般选项（GEN）需要在科学方面有坚实的基础，并在此基础上开设课程，以教授生物技术/生物制药行业中使用的许多专门的文化，遗传和分子技术。通用选项的核心包括工业微生物学讲座课程和两个实验室课程，教给学生如何启动和维持细胞培养以及如何对动物和植物细胞进行基因改造。第三期实验室课程向学生介绍了生物发酵罐的使用方法以及许多行业用来开发用于商业化的新产品的团队方法。从生物技术专业的一般选择课程毕业的学生迅速找到了工业部门的工作，并发现他们的大学预科使从学生到雇员的过渡变得非常容易。
The General Option (GEN) of the Biotechnology major requires a strong foundation in the sciences and builds on that foundation with courses that teach many of the specialized culture, genetic and molecular techniques used in the biotechnology/ biopharmaceutical industries. The heart of the General Option consists of a lecture course in industrial microbiology and two laboratory courses that teach students how to initiate and maintain cell cultures and genetically modify animal and plant cells. A third laboratory course introduces students to the use of biofermentors and to the team approach that many industries use to develop new products for commercialization. Students who graduate from the General Option of the Biotechnology major quickly find employment in the industrial sector and discover that their undergraduate preparation makes the transition from student to employee quite easy.<br>Biotechnology is broadly defined as the application of principles of molecular and cell science to the production of biologically important or industrially useful products. Topics in biotechnology include genetic engineering, pharmaceutical development, and bio-manufacturing.