• Academics at Bryn Athyn
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  • Biology
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As a biology major, you can explore a wide range of interest areas: ecology, genetics, botany, marine biology, human physiology, biochemisty, ornithology, and more. You'll discover that our professors are passionate in multiple areas and are active in study and research.

Hands-on Experiences

Like hands-on learning experience? Our biology program is decidedly so, with laboratory research and field work built into the course curriculum. In addition, there are opportunities to join faculty in research projects or design your own study in an area of interest. Those opportunities are now even greater since the opening of the 39,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Doering Center for Science and Research, which houses classrooms, laboratories, and research facilities.

Recent student and faculty research projects have included:

• A project investigating the molecular biology of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Human Virology at Thomas Jefferson University.
• A deer tracking project in cooperation with the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust (PERT) through 2010, following the movements of white-tailed deer in suburban Philadelphia. | Learn more

Be Prepared for Anything

A major in biology will give you a solid background for graduate school, medical school, or the work force. You have the option of pursuing either a bachelor of science or a bachelor of arts degree in biology. Our program also incorporates rigorous coursework in related disciplines of math, physics, chemistry, earth science, and computer science.

Our biology program has two primary strengths:

• Ecological sciences, or the study of the environment and our relationship to it; and
• Molecular biology, or the study of genetics, disease, and the biological codes of life.

Environmental Conservation is also a priority for our science faculty. That's why we're creating a Center for Environmental Conservation (CEC) at the new Grant R. Doering Center for Science and Research.

Laboratories That Extend Beyond Campus

Not all learning takes place in our classrooms and science labs. We take advantage of opportunities available to us because of our great location. Recent biology department activities include:

• Touring the Infectious Disease research division at Thomas Jefferson University
• Observing hawk migration at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
• Constructing and placing Kestrel nest boxes around campus
• Getting a behind-the-scenes tour of Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences
• Observing bald eagles and their nests at Holtwood Dam in Pennsylvania and the Conowingo Dam in Maryland on the Susquehanna River
• Tracking deer movements in the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust