Southern Utah University’s biology major educates students in a variety of areas, including: botany, forensic science, biology education, zoology. Because classes are purposely kept small, students have opportunities to work closely with their biology instructors on research projects, assignments, and field trips to the major ecoregions located within driving distance of SUU. This combination of coursework and experiential learning prepares students for post-baccalaureate pursuits.
The mission of the Biology Department is to provide our students with personalized, participative educational experiences over a broad range of biological disciplines that promote critical thinking, effective communication and lifelong learning skills. We provide learning opportunities where students can gain the knowledge, develop integrity and acquire the empathy needed to become independent researchers in the advancement of science.
Program Goal Statement
Biology strives to provide our students with quality lecture, laboratory, and field instructional experiences which foster student inquiry into science, and prepare them for post-baccalaureate pursuits by doing the following:
Maintain a highly qualified faculty with diverse areas of specialization covering the scope of the biological world.
Foster student inquiry into science and experiential education using a variety of pedagogical approaches including laboratory and field-based activities.
Provide a personalized learning environment where students are educated in critical thinking, effective communication and lifelong learning skills scientific literacy.
Provide opportunities for research, scholarship, and other professional experiences with qualified faculty mentors.
Prepare students for post-baccalaureate pursuits including:
graduate programs
professional health programs
science teaching careers
natural resources management
other biology-related careers
Provide service courses for general education purposes and that adequately prepare students for acceptance to and success in other academic programs.
Establish short-term and long-term goals defining the future direction of the department and establish specific policies to describe departmental governance.
Develop departmental criteria to define excellence in teaching, exceptional service and outstanding scholarly activities and establish support mechanisms to encourage and reward those efforts.
Periodically review and modify curriculum to ensure that we are meeting our students’ needs while remaining current within our discipline and the evolving goals of SUU.
Student Learning Outcomes
Biology degrees are engineered to provide graduating students with the following learning outcomes. Specific course learning objectives or required skills and experiences are listed beneath each learning outcome:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of general knowledge of biology: its language, history, findings and applications, including:
the basic chemistry of life, DNA, RNA, proteins
the processes associated with inheritance
cell structure and function
physiological systems and processes
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics of interactions and adaptations within and among biological systems, including:
population biology and the importance of organismal interactions
the importance of the interaction between biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem
the diversity of living organisms and the evolutionary relationships among them
evolutionary processes and their importance
Expected August 2024
Walter Maxwell Gibson College of Science and Engineering
351 W. University Blvd.,
CEDAR CITY,
Utah,
84720, United States
Record of courses taken and grades received from each high school, Foreign transcripts will be converted to a U.S. 4.0 grade point average (GPA) scale and must meet a 2.0 minimum GPA requirement.
TOEFL IBT 71
IELTS 6.0
iTEP Academic 4.2
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.