B.S. or B.A. in Biology with Research Option

The Research Option is a new, challenging track within the Biology major.  Its goals are to make research experiences available to more students, to show students the value of science education outreach through experiential learning, and to provide our students with a more solid foundation in biological mathematics and science communication.  It consists of a number of courses and experiences designed to prepare students to pursue research in some venue (graduate school, industry, government, medical school, or science education) after graduation. Students can enter the program at anytime, although we anticipate most students will enter the program as sophomores and juniors.  The Research Option Declaration Form must be completed and signed by your academic advisor prior to admission into the program.

Download the Description of the Research Option
Download the Research Option Declaration Form

To complete the Research Option, the following requirements are added to the requirements for the BS or BA degree in Biology:

Participate in a significant research experience. This means working on an independent research project for the equivalent of 4 credits or for a summer. With prior permission, this requirement can be fulfilled at a different institution. The credits themselves are not necessary (for example, a student may be paid from a faculty's grant, HHMI or by Gonzaga Summer Research Program (GSRP) in the summer).

Present research findings at a scientific meeting.

Attend research seminars (BIOL 484; 1 credit) and attend at least 3 department seminars in addition to those in BIOL 484.

Take math classes: 1) take a college calculus course (Math 148: Survey of Calculus or MATH:157: Calculus and Analytic Geometry I) and 2) a statistics course or biological mathematics course.

As part of the requirement for BIOL 499, Biology's capstone course, students in the Research Option program will write up their research results. This course is already required of all biology majors but will have difference writing options for different students.

Participate in science education outreach (Science in Action! or GIEOP) for 15 hours one semester.