For further information about this major, contact the Biology Coordinator (Dr. Preston Garcia): Preston.Garcia@Castleton.edu
A comprehensive program in biology that prepares students for admission into graduate schools, admission into professional schools, a career in biology, or a career in secondary education. The program includes a capstone research project and presentation requirement that integrates students' knowledge across the biological and physical sciences and demonstrates their quantitative, intellectual, and communication skills.
The Biology Program is designed to provide students with experiences that will result in a thorough understanding of the following:
Knowledge and Understanding of Biological Concepts
1. Define and explain the boundaries, foundational theoretical constructs and practices in the major subdivisions of biology:
- Evolution and Diversity of Life
- Ecology
- Organismal Biology
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Genetics
2. Demonstrate fluency in the use of tools, technologies and methods in the laboratory and natural environment, for example:
- Evolutionary biology (phylogenetic analysis, bioinformatics)
- Ecological field biology (habitat sampling, mark/recapture)
- Organismal biology (microscopy, organismal culture, dissection)
- Molecular biology (nucleic acid isolation, PCR, electrophoresis)
Intellectual Skills
3. Analytical and scientific inquiry: Make systematic observations, construct hypotheses and make predictions, design an experiment, interpret data and form conclusions based on the data.
4. Use of information resources: Locate, comprehend, assess and apply the scholarly work of scientists according to accepted practices.
5. Communication: Communicate scientific information, both orally and in writing, according to accepted practice in the field of biology.
6. Quantitative skills: Use appropriate mathematical and statistical methods to evaluate and interpret biological data.
7. Integration Across disciplines: Demonstrate the ability to integrate the physical sciences (chemistry and physics) with biology.
Civic Learning
8. Demonstrates a clear understanding of the issues and involvement of biology in modern society.
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