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In Depth

As a first-year student, you’ll take General Biology and General Chemistry in both the fall and spring semester.

In your first semester of General Biology, you’ll explore topics in ecology and evolution through the study of local biodiversity. You’ll be designing and executing a semester-long research project focusing on the conservation of a local threatened ecosystem, the sandplain forest, as well.

As they move farther along in the major, students will then have the ability to widen the range of their fieldwork while focusing more closely on particular subjects and issues that interest them. Those interested in聽Tropical Ecology, for example, might travel to Costa Rica to study the biodiversity of rainforests.聽 We offer courses and research opportunities in a range of biological fields, including molecular biology, genetics, neurobiology, animal behavior, physiology, development biology, and ecology.

Up close and personal

You’ll find that although biology is one of our most popular subjects, you’ll get personal attention and career preparation and guidance from your professors from the very beginning. Our introductory biology courses for first-year majors聽have no more than 60 students in each lecture section,聽with聽20 or fewer in each lab section.

Most upper-level biology lab classes have a maximum of 20 students per section, and seminar style classes will be smaller.

Biology Department-level Learning Outcomes

Research

Our biology professors have a broad range of research interests, including aquatic biology, animal behavior, ecology, genetics, molecular biology, evolution, developmental biology and biology education. Our faculty are active researchers who have received major competitive grant awards from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, among others. As importantly, they genuinely love to teach undergraduate students.

Biology students will find many opportunities to perform research with faculty during the academic year or in the summers.聽Recent grant-funded research projects by Biology students聽include:

• Cholinergic neurons and their projections in the nervous system of the Central American Hunting Spider聽Cupiennius salei
• Genetic characterization of Tripartite Motif (TRIM) Protein 25 Gene in Lynx Rufus in Vermont
• Measurement of neuronal physiological properties in the heartbeat system of the North American leech species
• Molecular evolution of APOBEC3H in Felidae species
• Population and evolutionary genetics of anti-viral innate immune genetic diversity in Vermont bobcats
• Understanding the site of phosphorylation in multiple proteins

Student researchers have been co-authors on professional publications and have presented their work at conferences locally, nationally and internationally, including at:

• Lake Champlain Research Consortium
• Vermont Genetics Network
• Posters on the Hill in Washington, DC
• American Society of Microbiologists in Boston
• North American Benthological Society in New Orleans
• International Maize Conference in Mexico City
• American Fisheries Society in Quebec City
• International Society of Limnology in Montreal

Internships

Internships are a great way to help build valuable experience for potential jobs and further education, as well as a way to put your learning into action. Biology majors have many possible internships available, including positions related to human health, natural resources, environmental education, and medical research:

Study Abroad

In recent years, 35% of Saint Michael’s biology majors have had a study abroad experience – it’s highly recommended.聽 However, it does require planning, so speak to your academic advisor during your first year so that you can get a plan in place that will allow you to study abroad.

Faculty-led Study Trips:聽

The Biology department takes students on faculty-led study trips. Students can gain field experience studying tropical rain forests or the ecology of Ireland and earn 2 academic credits:

Costa Rica: Tropical Ecology Study Tour (Biology 250) – This study tour provides an introduction to tropical ecology including tropical climates and topography and their effects on ecosystems. The sites include a tropical dry forest at Palo Verde National Park, a mid-elevation cloud forest at Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, and a premontane rain forest at Selve Verde Preserve. Activities include guided hikes, our own group hikes, early morning bird walks, a boat ride, and night hikes. Students generate study questions from observations made on the field trips and on the last full day at each site students gather data for a study that they have designed. Students analyze and interpret the data and give oral presentations on their studies. Students also keep a field journal on plants and animals we encounter and on their observations on conservation, ecotourism impacts, and sustainable development.

Galway, Ireland: Coastal Biology of Ireland (Biology 237) –聽This academic study tour will explore the ecology of the Galway Bay and count as an upper-level science course for Biology and Environmental majors. Galway offers access to rocky intertidal habitats, dunes, Atlantic wind-swept hills, streams subject to tidal influence, and freshwater lakes. This combination of habitats in close proximity shapes the local flora and fauna presenting unique opportunities for study, data collection, and analysis. The cultural setting is dramatically different than that typically experienced by our student population. Biological field trips will also include visits to historically important cultural aspects of the Irish landscape. The Aran Islands are particularly rich in well-preserved historical and cultural artifacts such as St. Benan鈥檚 Church, and D煤n Aonghasa, a pre-Christian fort perched on a sea cliff. The course will also include visits to Bunratty Castle, a significant Norman Fort, and to the Cliffs of Mohar.

Careers

Being a biology major at Saint Michael’s is big step toward a rewarding science career. Our grads work in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, biological聽and chemical research labs, environmental consulting and conservation, and pharmaceutical labs.

Others pursue a career in medicine or health sciences.聽We provide special advising for students interested in Pre-Medical and Health Careers.

After graduation, our majors go on to careers like:

• Environmental Scientist
• Fishery Observer
• Laboratory Analyst
• Molecular Diagnostics Technologist
• mRNA Synthesis Production Associate
• Water Treatment Technician
• CDC聽Public Health Associate
• Clinical Research Coordinator
• Health Care Associate
• HIV Case Manager
• Physician
• Physician’s Assistant
• Pharmacist
• Registered Nurse
• Environmental Educator
• Science Teacher

If graduate school is in your plans, plan to be accepted – over 80% of our graduates who wish to go on to post-graduate studies are accepted.

Medical, dental, and veterinary schools attended by recent聽Saint Michael’s biology graduates include:

• Dartmouth Medical School
• Laval University
• University of Vermont
• SUNY Buffalo
• Tufts University
• University of Pennsylvania
• New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine
• University of Dublin

Our graduates have also gone on into Masters and Ph.D. programs at strong research universities, including:

• Harvard University
• Dartmouth College
• Cornell University
• McGill University
• University of Massachusetts-Amherst
• University of Massachusetts-Medical Center
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Michigan State University
• Colorado State University