The Biology Department presents students with the challenge and excitement of learning about living organisms and their relationships to their environment. The courses offered by the department cover a broad range of topics within three main subdivisions of biology: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and population biology. Many of the courses have a lecture component combined with a laboratory component. Laboratories are conducted in Fondren-Jones Science Hall facilities, a greenhouse, and a 17-acre biological field station on the North San Gabriel River.

Plant growth facilities in the Biology Department include a 50 ft walk-in environmental growth chamber, several smaller growth cabinets, and a new (as of Fall 2002) Nexus greenhouse. The greenhouse has two bays, each of 480 ft with independent climate control, as well as a 200 ft workroom. These facilities support faculty and student research projects as well as courses including Biodiversity, Biology of Food, Botany, Genetics and Evolution and Ecology.

Introductory courses in the Department of Biology can serve either as prerequisites for further study for the biology major/minor or satisfy the Life Science component of The Natural World in the Perspectives on Knowledge area of the General Education Requirements. Non-introductory courses are designed for students seeking more in-depth information on cellular and molecular, organismal, and population biology and for students with specific vocational aims. The department also offers several non-majors courses as part of the Perspectives on Knowledge curriculum.

The Department of Biology offers majors and minors for the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees. Interdisciplinary majors in Animal Behavior and BIOLOGY are supported by the Department of Biology.

By proper selection of course combinations, students can prepare for various options, such as entrance into graduate or professional schools (dental, medical, medical technology, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, and veterinary) and acquisition of positions in industry, government, public health, and teaching. Students should consult with their academic advisors and other members of the department for assistance in making proper course selections that will prepare them for their chosen career directions. The Bachelor of Science degree is recommended for students seeking entrance into professional schools, graduate schools or technician positions in industry. The Bachelor of Arts degree allows flexibility, particularly for students wishing to obtain a minor outside of the Division of Natural Sciences.

The capstone experience for the biology major consists of either a research project or internship approved by the Department of Biology or a capstone seminar associated with an upper-level biology class (50-931). Consult with members of the department for more details on the capstone experience.

CONTACT:
Department of Biology
Southwestern University
P.O. Box 770
Georgetown, TX 78627