Department/Program:
Biology
Majors, Minors & Degrees:
Minors
Two degrees are offered in biology (B.S. and B.A.). The B.S. is more stringent in biology and supporting field requirements than the B.A. Both degrees prepare students for a variety of health career fields (including medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, veterinary medicine, chiropractic medicine, podiatry, and physician assistant) as well as non-health careers and graduate studies in ecology, animal behavior, evolutionary biology, immunology, reproductive biology, parasitology, botany, plant pathology, genetics, systematics, conservation biology, wildlife biology, physiology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics.
Students interested in majoring in biology should arrange a visit with the department chair to discuss their program of study. Students who wish to meet Nebraska certification regulations for secondary teaching of biology should consult the current handbook of the education department.
Department Learning Outcomes
Biology majors will have knowledge of the:
- characteristics of life and species diversity
- structure and function of biomolecules
- cellular structures and functions
- genetic basis of life
- principles of evolution
- structure, function, and development of organisms
- interactions between organisms and their environment
- ethical dimensions of biological discoveries
- scientific terminology
Biology majors will have the ability to:
- read, interpret, and write papers in the format used by biologists
- interpret and generate statistical analyses and graphs
- locate scientific articles or journals in their field of choice
- generate hypotheses and experimental designs to test scientific questions
- present their knowledge to others, both orally and in writing