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Course

Microbiology with Lab

BIOL-40335

Learn Microbiology Online: From Microorganisms to Modern Medicine

 

Beneath every surface and within every living thing, microorganisms quietly shape our world. This online microbiology course with laboratory component illuminates these invisible architects of life, from their intricate cellular structures to their profound impact on health and disease. Whether you're preparing for a healthcare career, interested in biotechnology, or curious about the microscopic forces that influence our daily lives, you'll gain both theoretical knowledge and hands-on laboratory experience in this foundational course.

 

Learning Outcomes

 
  • Explore the diversity and impact of microorganisms throughout human history
  • Examine the structure and function of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes
  • Analyze microbial growth, reproduction, and control methods
  • Understand pathogenic mechanisms and immune responses
  • Master essential laboratory techniques and microscopy skills

About the Laboratory Component

 

The hands-on laboratory component is conducted at home using a comprehensive kit from Carolina Sciences (purchased separately). You'll perform multi-day experiments that reinforce course concepts and develop practical skills. The kit includes all necessary materials except for common household items.  

To order lab kit:  https://www.carolina.com/carolina-distance-learning-science-kits/university-of-california-san-diego-microbiology/584202.pr

The approximate cost of the labkit is $365 + shipping.

Course Topics

  • Microbial Fundamentals: Explore the diversity of microorganisms, their cellular structures, and their crucial roles in nature and human health
  • Cell Biology and Physiology: Study the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, microbial metabolism, and growth patterns
  • Disease and Immunity: Investigate pathogenic microbes, infection mechanisms, and host immune responses
  • Laboratory Techniques: Learn essential microbiological methods including staining, culture techniques, and identification procedures

Course Information

Online
6.00 units
$945.00
Notes:

 

This course includes a laboratory component. If you don't require the laboratory component, consider enrolling in BIOL-40336: Microbiology, which covers the same theoretical concepts without lab work.

 

 IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR STUDENTS WITH DEADLINES 
 

If you are working toward a strict deadline to complete your course, you MUST enroll early. The Microbiology with Lab course fills up extremely quickly and once it reaches capacity, no exceptions will be made to add additional students.

Waiting until the last minute to enroll puts your academic timeline at serious risk. Do not assume space will be available later.
 

Plan ahead. Enroll early. Secure your spot.

Get more information

Course sessions

Closed

Section ID:

193677

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

Microbiology: An Introduction 14th
by Gerard J. Tortora
ISBN / ASIN: 9780138200398

You may purchase textbooks via the UC San Diego Bookstore.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 2/9/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Closed

Instructor: Lisa Zeigler

Lisa Zeigler

Dr. Lisa Zeigler (Allen) is an Assistant Research Scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego (UCSD) and Assistant Professor in the Microbial and Environmental Genomics Group at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Dr. Zeigler Allen received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD). She has extensive experience in the area of viral genomics, specifically using environmental metagenomic and metatranscriptomic tools to investigate food web interactions in the ocean. In addition, Dr. Zeigler Allen has developed curricula as part of local outreach for K-12 students related to the oceans, their microbiome, and connections to human-influenced perturbations to over 50,000 student contacts over the last four years.

Full Bio
Closed

Section ID:

193678

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

Microbiology: An Introduction 14th
by Gerard J. Tortora
ISBN / ASIN: 9780138200398

You may purchase textbooks via the UC San Diego Bookstore.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 2/23/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Closed

Instructor: Ariel Rabines

Ariel Rabines
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

197419

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

Microbiology: An Introduction 13
by Gerard J. Tortora and Berdell R. Funke
ISBN / ASIN: 9780134605180

You may purchase textbooks via the UC San Diego Bookstore.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 3/2/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Susan Weaver, Ph.D. Microbiology

Susan Weaver, Ph.D. Microbiology
Susan Weaver is an instructor for all things related to the Clinical Laboratory. During her 20-year tenure in various Labs, Susan held a number of positions including Pathology Technician, Shift Supervisor, Section Head, Staff Scientist (medical device industry), CLS contract/traveler, Lab Supervisor and Manager. She gained hands-on experience in every section of the clinical lab, for both community hospitals and university labs. Most recently, Susan held multiple, concurrent roles as Director of Laboratory Services for Clinical and Anatomic Pathology. 


Susan consults for the medical device industry, and actively participates in continuing education. Her background and previous professional experience well-equip her for a teaching and mentoring role. Susan holds a B.S. in Clinical Laboratory Science from Wayne State University in Detroit and a PhD in Microbiology, with a research emphasis in parasitology from UC Davis.


 
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

193679

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

Microbiology: An Introduction 14th
by Gerard J. Tortora
ISBN / ASIN: 9780138200398

You may purchase textbooks via the UC San Diego Bookstore.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 3/2/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Helen Goodluck

Helen Goodluck
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196246

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

Microbiology: An Introduction 14th
by Gerard J. Tortora
ISBN / ASIN: 9780138200398

You may purchase textbooks via the UC San Diego Bookstore.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 3/2/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Elliot Lee, Ph.D.

Elliot Lee, Ph.D.
Elliot Lee, Ph.D, has an abiding passion for science education. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Utah, he earned a Master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on technology in education. He then entered the University of Washington's Microbiology PhD program where he used classical microbiology methods along with "big data" techniques including metaproteomics and metagenomics to research the vaginal microbiome and the condition bacterial vaginosis. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle where he continues to study bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host interactions in the vaginal microbiome."
 
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196800

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 3/30/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Maria Fernandez-Ochoa, Ph.D.

Maria Fernandez-Ochoa, Ph.D.

Marketing Communications Manager, MO BIO Laboratories

Maria Wendy Ochoa, Ph.D., is currently the marketing communications manager at MO BIO Laboratories, a biotech company that develops molecular biology kits for microbiologists  Previously, she was the manager of the electron microscopy facility at the Sanford-Burnham Institute. She has extensive experience in structural biology, in particular, x-ray crystallography, Cryo-electron microscopy and electron tomography.

Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

197460

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Christopher Wall, Ph.D.

Christopher Wall, Ph.D.
Chris Wall, Ph.D., is a physiological ecologist specializing in the study of coral reefs symbioses between invertebrate animals and their prokaryote and eukaryote microbial partners. Dr. Wall’s research program is broadly focused on the coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis, where he uses stable isotopes and molecular techniques to understand coral energetics and nutritional plasticity, symbiont functional diversity, and the mechanisms that support holobiont resilience to environmental stress. Dr. Wall received his Ph.D. in Marine Biology as an Environmental Protection Agency STAR Research Fellow at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and served as a Postdoctoral Scholar at University of Hawai‘i Mānoa and the University of California San Diego. His recent works have extended beyond coral reefs, focusing on terrestrial subsidies and their influence on aquatic systems, and how stochastic and deterministic factors act to structure microbial communities and host-microbe interactions. As of 2024, he has returned to the University of Hawai'i as a Research Faculty, continuing his research on coral reef ecosystems.

As an instructor, Dr. Wall has taught courses (Botany, Biology, Marine Biology, Topics in Conservation, Geography, Microbiology) at two-year and four-year colleges in traditional classroom, as well as online. As a graduate student, he served as a teaching assistant for 6 years teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in marine biology and oceanography. 


 
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196801

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 4/13/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Cecilia Cheng

Cecilia Cheng
Dr. Cecilia Cheng earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where she conducted research on protein kinases in the lab of Dr. Susan Taylor. She is currently a Scientific Solutions Consultant at Benchling. Dr. Cheng previously held roles at BP Biofuels and Verenium, where she focused on developing and commercializing cellulosic ethanol technology using chemical and microbial fermentation processes, and at Schrödinger, overseeing the deployment of computational chemistry platforms to biotechnology and life science industries.
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196802

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 4/27/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Ariel Rabines

Ariel Rabines
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196807

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

Microbiology: An Introduction 14th
by Gerard J. Tortora
ISBN / ASIN: 9780138200398

You may purchase textbooks via the UC San Diego Bookstore.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 5/11/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Helen Goodluck

Helen Goodluck
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196808

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Lisa Zeigler

Lisa Zeigler

Dr. Lisa Zeigler (Allen) is an Assistant Research Scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego (UCSD) and Assistant Professor in the Microbial and Environmental Genomics Group at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Dr. Zeigler Allen received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD). She has extensive experience in the area of viral genomics, specifically using environmental metagenomic and metatranscriptomic tools to investigate food web interactions in the ocean. In addition, Dr. Zeigler Allen has developed curricula as part of local outreach for K-12 students related to the oceans, their microbiome, and connections to human-influenced perturbations to over 50,000 student contacts over the last four years.

Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

196809

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

  • No refunds after: 5/25/2026

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Elliot Lee, Ph.D.

Elliot Lee, Ph.D.
Elliot Lee, Ph.D, has an abiding passion for science education. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Utah, he earned a Master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on technology in education. He then entered the University of Washington's Microbiology PhD program where he used classical microbiology methods along with "big data" techniques including metaproteomics and metagenomics to research the vaginal microbiome and the condition bacterial vaginosis. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle where he continues to study bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host interactions in the vaginal microbiome."
 
Full Bio
Add To Cart

Section ID:

197461

Class type:

Online Asynchronous.

This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.

Textbooks:

All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.

Policies:

Schedule:

No information available at this time.
Add To Cart

Instructor: Susan Weaver, Ph.D. Microbiology

Susan Weaver, Ph.D. Microbiology
Susan Weaver is an instructor for all things related to the Clinical Laboratory. During her 20-year tenure in various Labs, Susan held a number of positions including Pathology Technician, Shift Supervisor, Section Head, Staff Scientist (medical device industry), CLS contract/traveler, Lab Supervisor and Manager. She gained hands-on experience in every section of the clinical lab, for both community hospitals and university labs. Most recently, Susan held multiple, concurrent roles as Director of Laboratory Services for Clinical and Anatomic Pathology. 


Susan consults for the medical device industry, and actively participates in continuing education. Her background and previous professional experience well-equip her for a teaching and mentoring role. Susan holds a B.S. in Clinical Laboratory Science from Wayne State University in Detroit and a PhD in Microbiology, with a research emphasis in parasitology from UC Davis.


 
Full Bio