Course description
Hood’s Department of Biology provides students with a challenging academic environment and an excellent preparation for the future.
Our faculty is comprised of committed teachers and mentors who actively work with students to make inquiries about the living world, to develop critical thinking skills and to integrate concepts from our broad-based curriculum to solve biological problems. From investigating cells to studying ecosystems, we emphasize a strong foundation in biology that includes practical classroom, laboratory and field experiences. Our small class sizes foster an excellent learning environment that truly values student-faculty interaction.
Student research opportunities are another hallmark of our programs. Our faculty is engaged in active research in a diverse range of subdisciplines. Students can work with faculty to investigate the population genetics and ecology of the American chestnut, the symbiotic association of nitrogen-fixing algae with marine corals, the molecular biology of plant viruses, the behavioral biology of frog vocalizations and the biochemistry of protein DNA interactions, just to mention a few. Independent study, honors research and our exciting Summer Research Institute (where students stay on campus and receive a stipend to conduct research) are all available for our students.
Biology students also have the opportunity to take courses offered in the two graduate programs—biomedical science and environmental biology. We have heard from our graduates that this provides a real "head start" for those students who want to continue their education in graduate school or medical, veterinary or dental schools.
The biology department is housed on the first floor of the Hodson Science and Technology Center, a $20-million complex that opened in 2002. Classrooms and labs are designed to engage students in a rich variety of learning activities. All classrooms are equipped with the latest in multimedia teaching tools. Specially designed and equipped labs for ecology, microbiology, molecular biology, cell culture, physiology and animal behavior are available for coursework and student-faculty research collaborations.
