Department of Biology
Location: 101 Maes Building
Phone: (409) 880-8262
Chair: Randall G. Terry
Administrative Assistant: Tracy Boudreaux, Phone: (409) 880-8262
Biology Mission Statement
The Biology Department has three missions. First, we seek to produce graduates with a broad-based knowledge of biology and the capacity to apply their education in critically evaluating emerging scientific knowledge. Second, the department is committed to providing research opportunities to faculty, undergraduate and graduate students as part of its broader educational mission. Third, the Biology Department provides courses that fulfill laboratory science requirements for many other degrees and for the university core curriculum.
The Biology Program is committed to the laboratory approach to science. Students completing the biology core will have been exposed to all major areas of biology and are allowed the freedom to concentrate on an area of special interest within the major. Sufficient hours of free electives allow a Biology Major to obtain secondary teaching certification simultaneously. Faculty offices are located in the Maes Liberal Arts Building and in the Science Auditorium. The Dujay Bird Sanctuary in the Big Thicket, the Center for Coastal and Marine Studies at Pleasure Island near Port Arthur, and more remote field sites in the west Texas desert and Neotropical rainforest and coral reefs of Central America provide an opportunity for field-based study.
Areas of faculty expertise and research interests include Animal Behavior, Invertebrate Physiology, Cytogenetics, Biotechnology, Medical Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Toxicology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Limnology, Botany, Tropical Biology, Molecular Phylogenetics and Systematics, Invertebrate Zoology, Parasitology, Ichthyology, Herpetology, Ornithology, and Mammalogy.
Pre-Professional Programs1
A Bachelor of Science in Biology is an excellent way to prepare for medically oriented professional schools. Freshman and transfer students declaring themselves as Pre-Chiropractic, Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Occupational Therapy, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Pharmacy, Pre-Physical Therapy, Pre-Physician Assistant, Pre-Podiatry, or Pre-Veterinary Medicine status should consult the College of Arts and Sciences section of this catalog for information on the Pre-Professional Program. Students with a pre-professional concentration are advised by the Pre-Professional Office throughout their undergraduate career. In addition to advising by the pre-professional academic advisor, students with freshman or sophomore standing are advised by their assigned academic advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Center, and students with junior, senior, and post-baccalaureate class standing are advised by a biology faculty member/advisor. Students are encouraged to contact the Pre-professional Coordinator, Ms. Molly Crespo (Parker 106, (409) 880-8534) for information and assistance.
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Note that a Pre-professional program cannot be declared as a degree major.