The major allows students to specialize or take a broad range of elective courses as they and their advisers deem appropriate. Elective courses are designed to help prepare students for graduate and professional school and biology-related employment. The capstone experience allows biology majors to synthesize and apply the knowledge and skills gained in earlier coursework and serves as a transition to post-baccalaureate training and employment.
Course offerings in the biology department are well balanced and broad, ranging from animal behavior to recombinant DNA technology. In all courses, material focuses on principles and their application to current topics in each of the fields. Advanced, double-numbered elective courses allow qualified seniors to study in depth in their chosen fields. Almost all courses offered for the major include laboratory instruction. Laboratory curricula complement lecture material and emphasize hands-on learning through experimentation. As students progress through the curriculum they are challenged to develop increasingly sophisticated experimental and analytical skills. Some courses also include trips to undertake field research and to tour industrial and research sites of interest.
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