The Department of Biological Sciences has research faculty with specialties in five disciplines: human and evolutionary biology, marine and environmental biology, molecular and computational biology, and neurobiology. A diversity of upper division undergraduate and graduate courses permits biology majors to choose an emphasis in any of these three disciplines.
The department offers both B.A. and B.S. degrees in biological sciences and an honors program in which a student can earn either a B.A. or a B.S. degree in biological sciences with honors. The B.S. in biochemistry is offered as a joint program with the Department of Chemistry. The honors program is available to students who maintain a GPA of 3.5 in the sciences and who have completed their freshman year. The honors program includes research opportunities, seminars and thesis preparation courses. Applications for the Honors Program are available in Allan Hancock Foundation (AHF), Room 105.
Marine & Environmental Biology
The core scientific mission of the Marine and Environmental Biology section is to understand marine organisms, their interactions in complex marine ecosystems, and the emergent properties of the communities that result from these interactions.
Molecular & Computational Biology
The faculty and students in the Molecular and Computational Biology section share the common approaches of molecular biology, computational biology and genetics, yet they are extremely diverse in the way they apply these approaches to specific biological systems.
Human & Evolutionary Biology
The primary scientific mission of Human & Evolutionary Biology section is the elucidation of the structure and function of the human organism within the context of development, environment, pathology and evolution
Neurobiology
The Section of Neurobiology is composed of a vibrant neuroscience community of faculty, students, post docs and technical specialists who pursue research aimed at understanding the basic biological mechanisms that underlie neuron and brain function. Areas of investigation span the range from structural biology to neural gene expression and neural network analysis.
