Current Students
The biology major at Gwynedd-Mercy is a rigorous course of study. When you graduate from Gwynedd-Mercy College with a bachelor's degree in biology, you will have the knowledge and the skills to succeed in graduate or professional school or in employment in a variety of technical fields. Graduates of the biology program will find their future in the science of the future. They will make their future by the skills they acquire and the firm base of scientific knowledge on which they build. They will step into their future by the careers that are available to them and by the endless possibilities to use their abilities to improve the future of others.
Careers
What can you do with a degree in biology? Click here to find out!
Courses of the biology major
The curriculum of the biology major consists of two major components: the required/elective general education courses (referred to as “gen ed” courses) and the required/elective biology courses (referred to as “major” courses).
Biology major handbook
Information that will help you as a biology major at GMC can be found in your Handbook.
- 2006 Handbook for Biology Majors
- 2007 Handbook for Biology Majors
- 2008 Handbook for Biology Majors
Portfolio Assessment: All Biology majors matriculating after fall 2007 must compile a portfolio of their work which progress toward achieving the learning outcomes of the College and of the Biology program. The portfolio contributes to the final grade in the program capstone course, Biology seminar 1 (Bio 4001) or biology seminar 2 (Bio 4002) or biology seminar 3 (Bio 4003) but the contents are collected during the student's tenure in the Biology major, beginning in freshman year. Complete details on the process of compiling a portfolio are presented at a workshop on the portfolio requirement conducted early in the first semester of freshman year.
For more information about this and other policies, students should consult their handbooks (see links above) which were distributed to them when they entered the program.
Student Organizations:
The Student Association of Science (SAS) provides opportunities for students to further their biological inquiries outside the classroom and to establish good fellowship among students. The organization provides a communication link among the biology students and with the rest of the Gwynedd-Mercy College community. The annual membership, under the guidance of the elected officers, determines the direction of student experiences to be shared during the academic year. As Mercy Leaders, the students are dedicated to integrating the core values of GMC into both their personal and professional lives. The activities of the group include both educational experiences, such as field trips and museum visits, and service projects, such as fundraising for charitable causes, mentoring of newer students, landscaping the Lady Garden, and construction of a bioretention basin. Membership is open to all students of the College, regardless of major, who have an interest in biology. Sister Anne Donigan serves as the faculty advisor to the group, which is recognized by the Program Board of Student Government Association. Interested students should contact Sister Anne Donigan or Sean Carney for more information and are invited to the next general meeting on Thursday October 23 at 4:00 PM in Room 207 Keiss Hall.
In 1996, the Beta Delta Chapter of Sigma Zeta was chartered. Sigma Zeta is a nationally chartered Honor Society recognizing student achievement in Mathematics and Science, programs that are generally acknowledged to be academically rigorous. Membership in Sigma Zeta is a prestigious addition to a student/alumnus resume. Election to Sigma Zeta requires that the candidate must have completed 30 credits in math/science courses at Gwynedd-Mercy College with a science/math GPA of 3.3 and an overall GPA of 3.0. Since being chartered, the Beta Delta Chapter has inducted 110 students, faculty, staff and alumni into the Society. Dr J. Wade Farrior serves as faculty advisor for the group. Members of Sigma Zeta are expected to participate in Division service projects, such as mentoring new students.
Faculty:
The full-time faculty members of the Biology program are recognized for their academic and professional expertise as well as their service to the College. Click here to meet them!
Facilities:
Laboratories: The laboratories and faculty offices of the Biology program are located on the second floor of Keiss Hall; in addition, courses in the program are scheduled in the lecture and seminar rooms on the first and second floor. There are four teaching laboratories dedicated to biology, two dedicated to chemistry, one dedicated to physics and math as well as a cell culture room and an instrumentation room. There are also two labs dedicated to faculty/student research.
Equipment:Instrumentation includes UV-Vis spectrophotometers, a FTIR spectrophotometer, gas chromatographs, HPLC chromatographs, Abbe refractometers, polarimeters, vertical and horizontal electrophoresis equipment, a thermal cycler, a fluorescent microscope, a phase contrast microscope, laminar flow hoods, etc. All equipment and instrumentation owned by the program is for the use of students in regularly scheduled labs; no equipment is designated strictly for faculty research.
Computer labs: There are three computer labs available to students, on the second floor of Keiss Hall, in the ARC on the second floor of Lourdes Library, and in Room 12 of Saint Bernard's Hall. These labs are equipped with Pentium 4 computers with DVD/CD burners, USB ports and access to the Internet and the College's Intranet. Scanners and printers are also available. Students who use these labs are expected to observe the College's Computer Use Policy.
Internship Opportunities:
Students may earn course credit toward the biology degree by participating in an internship experience. Students are encouraged to find summer internship experiences; the internship locations and programs may vary but all require student participation in the activity of the internship rather than simple observation. Examples of recent internships include employment at local pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and a summer-long volunteer experience with the Montgomery County Detective Bureau's Crime Scene Unit. Several of these internships led to seminar research projects; others resulted in full-time employment after graduation.
To qualify for an internship, rising junior and senior biology majors must have a program GPA of 3.0 at the time of application. Students must apply for approval of an internship through the Biology Program Director, who serves as instructor for the Internship course. The internship must be approved by the Director before the student may register; lists of some possible internships are available from the Director.
The three-credit internship requires a minimum of 120 hours of participatory activity. In addition, to qualify for credit, the student must keep a journal, obtain an evaluation from the activity supervisor and give a presentation on the internship to peers.
Resources for Current Students:
Disability Support Services
Blackboard
I.Q. Web (online registration, course search, and more!)
E-Mail
Academic Resource Center (ARC)
Library