The Biology Department offers a selection of courses that helps students to understand the unity, diversity and complexity of life at the molecular, cellular, organismal, and ecological levels using evolutionary principles as the unifying theme.
Our coursework focuses on subdisciplines of biology to help you acquire scientific problem-solving skills through lectures, discussions, laboratory exercises and research. We prepare students for a broad range of biology-oriented careers, including in medicine, biotechnology, environmental science, research and teaching, which is why the departments offers two different degrees.
The Bachelor of Science degree is designed for students preparing for careers in life sciences, including continued training in graduate programs in a broad range of subdisciplines, as well as medical, dental and veterinary school. If you're interested in careers in biological research, you should consider the Research Concentration. Students interested in biochemistry and molecular biology have several options. Students who want a course of study with a more biological emphasis may consider a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in chemistry, which provides the equivalent of the biochemistry degree recommended by the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. For a more biochemical emphasis, students may consider the Biochemistry degree offered in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
The Bachelor of Arts degree may be suitable for certain graduate programs that do not require physics or more than two semesters of chemistry, such as wildlife biology or ecology. This degree allows you to take more elective courses in other departments at the university, thus gaining a broader liberal arts education. We also offer a minor in biology for students interested in careers that integrate biological principles with other fields, including political science, engineering, business, environmental studies and scientific journalism. In coordination with the teacher certification program in the School of Education, the Bachelor of Arts degree prepares you to teach biology at the secondary level.