Undergraduate Programs
The Department of Biology offers four majors and one minor. Typically, students begin their program as a Biology major and take Foundations of Biology I and II in the first year. In the second year, students may elect to stay as a Biology major or may apply to one of the more specialized majors – Environmental Biology, Biology of Global Health, or Neurobiology – and begin a different series of coursework to complete the majors.
Our programs are designed to provide the finest education in biological principles and their application. Our departmental learning goals and advances in pedagogy (the art and science of teaching) are described in more detail on our pedagogy and learning goals page. We emphasize inquiry-based coursework to promote analytical thinking and synthesis. Our curriculum is communication-intensive, giving students the opportunity to develop expertise in both written and oral forms of communication within the discipline; more information about our communication emphasis can be found on our integrated writing page. Additionally, we emphasize a research intensive experience both in coursework and in research laboratories; students can opt to conduct research in laboratories in our department, the medical school or elsewhere in D.C. through volunteering, research tutorials, and RISE (Research Intensive Senior Experience).
The Biology Department supports students as they pursue careers in medicine, research, biotechnology, education, business, or law. Our students are very successful in entering professional and graduate schools as well as careers of their choice. Read about our award-winning students and undergraduate publications.
Several programs exist to support student research, e.g., GU Research Opportunities Program in addition to grant supported projects by individual faculty researchers. Several students each summer receive support from alumni donations.
There are many opportunities outside of the classroom to involve yourself in biology, including attending seminars and special lectures, joining the Pre-Med Society, and becoming an EMT the Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service GERMS.