Students in the tropical marine biology class often go to the Caribbean waters of Belize during Spring Break to conduct research on the second largest coral reef in the world.
Majors in biology are proud of the depth and rigor of their studies. After fulfilling General Education courses in the liberal arts during their first two years, biology majors move on to specialize in aquatic biology, botany, cellular and molecular biology, ecology, zoology, or pre-medical studies.
The location of the College on the St. Mary's River (see picture above), a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, provides excellent opportunities for field studies in aquatic biology. Biology students are encouraged to participate in field and laboratory work in whatever area of specialization through internships or St. Mary's Projects. Research on campus is supported by excellent laboratories.
A SMP is required of all biology majors, becoming an exciting capstone experience in the senior year. Examples include:
Of the seven students on the trip, three plan to attend medical school, which inspired the numerous trips to hospitals and health centers. . . . The trip as a whole was an experience of a lifetime, and to explore the health care system in depth was profound. I never left a health center or hospital without a sense of sadness - how can you leave a place like that without feeling a compulsion to change the situation?
-- Jennifer Yates '00
biology & psychology
Jennifer Yates had wanted to be a pediatrician since she was a little girl. Majoring in biology and psychology at St. Mary's, she participated in several summer pre-med internship programs, including at M.D. Anderson School of Medicine at Baylor University (where she later received her M.D.). While at St. Mary's, she also spent seven weeks in West Africa studying pediatric medical practices in a developing country.
All science majors have access to the College's Health Science Advisory Committee. This faculty group helps students interested in careers in the health sciences to plan their course of study at St. Mary's and later guides them through the application process to graduate and professional schools. Recent graduates have been accepted at:
Medical: Columbia, Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Johns Hopkins, New York, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple, University of Chicago, Maryland, Virginia, Vanderbilt.
Graduate (for research): American, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Harvard, Indiana University-Bloomington, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Virginia, Yale.
Veterinary: Cornell, Ohio State, Pennsylvania, Virginia Tech.
Because of its proximity to Washington and Baltimore, St. Mary's brings top scientists to campus for informal lectures every Wednesday afternoon. They have come from Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, the National Institutes of Health, the Smithsonian, Virginia Tech, and NASA. Students meet the guest scientists in small groups and often over dinner, which provides excellent networking opportunities for internships, jobs, and graduate school connections.
For more information, visit the Biology Department Web site at
http://www.smcm.edu/biology
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18952 E. Fisher Rd
St. Mary's City, MD 20686-3001
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