About
Get your feet wet
Whether you’re up to your knees in the streams right next to campus or deep in the rainforests of Costa Rica, our diverse courses emphasize hands-on learning. You can study Neurobiology, Tropical Ecology, Animal Behavior, Genetics, Evolution and more. And you can get involved with faculty in their active research programs during both the academic year and the summer.
Not just lab work
Experience matters at Saint Michael’s. As a biology major, you’ll spend plenty of time in the lab, but for starters you might also:
- Intern with the Vermont State Medical Examiner’s Office or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Conduct and present professional-level research on aquatic biology, or genetics and evolution, to name just a few subjects
- Prepare for graduate schools in areas such as medicine, dentistry, other healthcare professions, and M.S. or Ph.D. programs in a variety of other fields of biology
At Saint Michael’s, you can study Pre-Health, Conservation Biology, Cellular and Molecular Biology, or Biology Education. You can also create your own selection of biology courses.
Check out a conversation with Biology Professor Mark Lubkowitz and learn more about the Biology program at Saint Michael’s College:
Faculty
Biology
Ruth Fabian-Fine
Director of the Neuroscience Program, Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroscience
Read more
Biology
Adam Weaver
Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, Director of Health Science
Read more
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 Tropical Ecology, for example, might travel to Costa Rica to study the biodiversity of rainforests. 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 have no more than 60 students in each lecture section, with 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.
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. Recent grant-funded research projects by Biology students include:
- Cholinergic neurons and their projections in the nervous system of the Central American Hunting Spider 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
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 and chemical research labs, environmental consulting and conservation, and pharmaceutical labs.
Others pursue a career in medicine or health sciences. 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 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 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
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 Tropical Ecology, for example, might travel to Costa Rica to study the biodiversity of rainforests. 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 have no more than 60 students in each lecture section, with 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.
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. Recent grant-funded research projects by Biology students include:
- Cholinergic neurons and their projections in the nervous system of the Central American Hunting Spider 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
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 and chemical research labs, environmental consulting and conservation, and pharmaceutical labs.
Others pursue a career in medicine or health sciences. 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 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 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
Related Programs
Related Programs
