Biology

Biology: The Study of All Life Forms

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The Biology Program at Alma College introduces students to the study of life and provides abundant opportunities for individual research. General offerings include genetics, physiology, microbiology, botany and ecology. More advanced courses are offered in animal behavior, aquatic biology, immunology, evolution and more.

Alma College is a great place to start for careers in medicine, dentistry or veterinary science; biotechnology; biological research; environmental biology, and high school biology teaching. Career opportunities for graduates of the biology program span the professions in health, ecology, natural resources and teaching. Alma’s program also provides strong preparation for graduate school. Alma alumni are working as environmental consults, epidemiologists, naturalists, physicians, cancer researchers, botanists and teachers.

Great Things about Alma’s Biology Department

  • Lab experiences accompany almost all biology courses. Lab sections are kept small, with no more than 24 students at a time.

  • Students do lab work in the spacious Dow Science Center, which provides a greenhouse and impressive array of equipment.

  • The Biology Department supports students enrolled in pre-medicine and pre-dentistry programs and students interested in veterinary science.

The Alma College Ecological Station

A major resource for student research is the 200-acre Alma College Ecological Station, located in the northeast corner of Montcalm County in Vestaburg. The Ecological Station covers almost 200 acres of mixed hardwood forest, open woodland, a willow march, and a bog.

Alma College Ecological Station

Located on the property are a 1,600-square-foot research facility, a 70-foot observation tower, four-acre Davis Lake, a 75-foot boardwalk, interpretive trails and the Alma College Bird Observatory. The station is used for biology lab field trips and collaborative biological research. Read more.

 

Alma College students have the ability to design their own area of academic concentration—with the assistance of a faculty advisor—to meet specific educational or career goals. In recent years, students have graduated with Programs of Emphasis majors in such fields as arts management, archaeology and anthropology, environmental policy and community advocacy, Foreign Service and international law, and music technology and digital media.

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Student Profile

Rachel Burckhardt

Rachel Burckhardt
Graduation: 2013
Major: Biology

Scientists have estimated 50 to 75 trillion cells make up the human boy, but Rachel Burckhardt ’13 can find even more reasons why biology is the right major for her.

The Waterford senior’s soft spot for the small things is anything but microscopic.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on that the celllar level that you don’t realize is happening, and I find it interesting to see how all the little workings of a cell make up a person,” she says.

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