Welcome

The Department of Biology is a community of teacher-scholars, with faculty representing the full breadth of biological specializations — from molecular genetics to landscape/ecosystem ecology.

Our goal is to provide hands-on experiences through classroom laboratories and undergraduate research.  Our faculty and our 45 graduate students welcome our undergraduate majors to engage in independent research ongoing in 23 labs, plant, animal and fungal research/teaching collections, a greenhouse, a sixty-seven acre Nature Preserve adjacent to campus and larger land holdings in the area, as well as access to extensive globally significant surrounding state and federal parks and forests. 

We seek to enable our graduates to gain sound scientific knowledge, learn the skills needed to create new knowledge, the excitement and appreciation of scientific discovery, and the ability to convey that information and enthusiasm to society.  We are dedicated to engaging students in outstanding teaching and we believe that our research and discovery inform the science that we teach.

Department Spotlights

Faculty & Staff

Julia Showalter

Why did you become a biologist (and specifically the type of biologist you are)?

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the forest or helping out on the family’s...

Alumni

Christina Daly

What do you currently do?

I am working toward a PhD in Biomedical Sciences at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the lab of Dr. Ryan Potts.

Why did you pick App...

Graduate Students

Dalton Sizemore

How did you become interested in biology?

Biology has always been a special subject for me. I graduated from high school thinking I wanted a BA in Political Science and wanted to go...