Biology nature and obtain meaningful answers. Through mentoring our students in the skills of inquiry, and by modeling the behavior of scholarship, we cultivate the investigator and prepare the scholar for his or her personal path towards a career as biology educator, research scientist, or health care professional.
process: design, data collection, analysis, and communication.
Student Learning Outcomes • Upon completion of the program students will be able to identify representative examples of all major taxonomic and organizational levels and explain why they are placed into their respective groups in the hierarchy of living things. • Upon completion of the program students will be able to apply scientific methodology to address questions about natural systems and analyze data to determine the validity of the conclusions they make. • Upon completion of the program students will be able to summarize the results of their investigations in written and oral reports as well as critically evaluate the written works of others. • Upon completion of the program students will be able to explain the interconnected character of the sciences and discuss the significance of the role of biology in a greater global context.
Goals for the Department • Graduates will be able to recall and explain basic information derived by the biological sciences and allied fields and demonstrate the skills required for immediate employment, the graduate school, or the professional school of their choosing. • Graduates will be able to discuss the major concepts from all areas of biology and demonstrate the ability to relate information from the many disciplines that comprise the biological sciences as well as be able to explain the importance of major technological and theoretical advances in the field from a historical perspective. • Graduates will demonstrate the ability to clearly communicate biological data and hypotheses/theories to explain them formally both orally and in writing as well as be able to evaluate whether an action of their own or others at any stage of the research process impinges on professional expectations of intellectual integrity. • Graduates will be able to apply the scientific method in an attempt to solve biological problems and use the results to construct logical arguments as well as be able to logically criticize both their own scientific work and that of others. • Graduates will be able to design controlled scientific experiments and make use of scientific methodology and a variety of instrumentation in order to perform all parts of the scientific research
Major in Biology A major in biology requires at least nine courses with a minimum grade of C or better in each course. Students may repeat any major-level course taught by the biology department in which they received a grade of C-, D, F, P, NP, or W no more than one time. Four required courses are BIO 200 General Biology I, BIO 201 General Biology II, BIO 315 Genetics, and BIO 498 Capstone Seminar (note prerequisite). In addition, all majors must complete five elective courses at 300/400 level. At least one elective must be chosen from each of the categories below. The remaining two electives are chosen from any category after meeting with an academic advisor. Students may count BIO 352/452, Special Topics in Biology, as 77