2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Aug 13, 2025

2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Biology Minor

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Biology Overview

Undergraduate Program

The Department of Biology offers both a major and a minor that prepare students for careers in the biological and biomedical sciences. The Department provides support for other programs within the University that require students to obtain a background in one or more subfields of biology and meets the needs of non-science majors who wish to integrate the science of biology into a liberal-arts curriculum. The major in Biology is suitable for students who intend to go on to professional schools in the health sciences (such as medical, dental, or veterinary school) or graduate studies in the biological sciences and for those planning careers in biomedical research, biotechnology, education, environmental sciences, or conservation biology.

The Department encourages students to begin the major by obtaining a broad foundation in biology before choosing an area of focus (e.g., cell and molecular biology, ecology and evolution, computational and quantitative biology, among others), or the pre-health careers track. In consultation with your faculty adviser, you’ll select courses appropriate to your area of specialization. You should include one course that develops research techniques in biology, a seminar course, and a capstone experience, which can be an upper-level research course, internship, or directed research (on or off campus).

The Biology minor provides a pathway for students to expand their knowledge in Biology to augment another major. The Biology minor may be of interest to students considering careers in education, healthcare, or natural resource management as well as students exploring their own personal interests. In consultation with their faculty advisor, students can select courses in Biology that cover a wide range of topics or develop expertise in a sub-discipline following the guidelines below.

For more information, please visit the Biology Department’s website.

Minor Requirements

The requirements for a minor in Biology are:

1. Two introductory courses in Biology

2. Four additional courses in biology to include:

Courses from two of these three categories

Genetics ( BIOL 118 )
Evolution (BIOL 105 )
A course in biological diversity, which currently includes the following: BIOL 109 - Microbiology, BIOL 110 - Botanical Diversity, BIOL 111 - Comparative and Human Anatomy, BIOL 114 - Marine Biology, BIOL 119 - Herpetology, BIOL 180 - Introductory Mycology, BIOL 221 - Developmental Biology, BIOL 251 - Plants, People, and Fungi

3. At least one of the four courses must be at the 200-level or higher

4. Courses may not be taken with the pass/fail option. Courses to be used for the minor must be approved by a faculty member in Biology. The minor must be declared by the end of the junior year, although earlier is recommended.

Biology Faculty

Program

Nathan Ahlgren, Ph.D.

Philip J. Bergmann, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Bone, Ph.D.

Jackie Dresch, Ph.D.

Robert Drewell, Ph.D.

David Hibbett, Ph.D.

Chandra Jack, Ph.D.

Denis Larochelle, Ph.D.

Kaitlyn Mathis, Ph.D.

Erin McCullough, Ph.D

Néva Meyer, Ph.D.

Deborah Robertson, Ph.D.

Javier Tabima, Ph.D.

Justin Thackeray, Ph.D.

Adjunct

Dominik Kulakowski, Ph.D.
Noel Lazo, Ph.D.
Arundhati Nag, Ph.D.
John Rogan, Ph.D.
Morgan Ruelle, Ph.D.
Donald Spratt, Ph.D.
Christopher A. Williams, Ph.D.

Research

Todd Livdahl, Ph.D.

Emeriti

Halina Brown, Ph.D.
Frederick Greenaway, Ph.D.
Thomas Leonard, Ph.D.
Timothy Lyerla, Ph.D.

Biology Courses

Courses offered within the last 2 Academic Years